Lalo felt It was refreshing to speak with someone that was not speaking ill of him or abusing him, but merely asking such funny questions like 'If the lady that was in the room with the scary guy was his sister' or 'Are you the one that gave birth to me?' However, what was nice as well were such kind comments like 'You are very smart' or 'Your eyes are stunning.' Lalo only smiled at such things and changed topics. He hated the color of his eyes. They were an ugly orange, which the staff of the empire made sure to tell Lalo every chance they got. They were pale but darker around the rim of his irises, which he liked to compare to a flame, but Lalo was quickly denied the chance to feel right about them.

His eyes were the only reason the Emperor had chosen him as his assistant because the Emperor said it made him feel like he had a monster for an assistant and it thrilled him. The Emperor treated him terribly and thought that by paying him in large amounts of money that it would compensate for all the abuse and harassment that he inflicted upon Lalo. This made Lalo often cry himself to sleep and wish for death to come for him, but its cold embrace never seized him. He admitted that often he would try to make himself sick or harm himself to the point of bleeding and bruising, but it just made him feel worse about himself and was slowly driving him mad with anguish. He wanted to go away for good, just like everyone that had known and loved him once.

No one loved him and cared for him now, aside for the whores that would practically beg for him to sleep with them, but he refused. He didn't want to be that type of guy. Everyone said he was handsome, with his muscled and lean body, but he or she only wanted him for sex, and that was something Lalo didn't wish to. He wanted to love someone and that someone loves him back. To make matters worse, Lalo didn't like anyone in the empire since they were all the same. Cruel and disgusting.

Lalo didn't have any friends, and he never thought he would. That thought alone would be enough to make tears spill to his cheeks and a pain form in his chest, but as he watched the boy begin to climb the tree across from Lalo to demonstrate how the squirrels were doing it, he started to feel that he had finally found one. Lalo may have found friendship in a peculiar boy, but he had finally found someone, and it made him smile.

Lalo looked up at the sky and shielded his eyes. It was almost sunset, and the guards had not come back, making Lalo worry. What were they going to do? He turned to the boy, and he noticed the boy was looking at a small spider who was climbing the tree. He was talking to it and answering as if it were talking back which made Lalo chuckle a bit. This continued until a sudden thought came into Lalo's mind that he should've dealt with first.

“Excuse me,” Lalo interrupted the boy, “ Quite rude of me not to introduce myself. My name is Lalo Pascual. What is your name?”

The boy stared at Lalo with a blank face. “My… name? Huh, I don’t recall ever being given one.”

Lalo was going to inquire as to why he didn’t have a name when suddenly he heard footsteps. He shot up to his feet and shushed the boy as he was about to ask what was wrong. Lalo's heartbeat quickened. Had the guards come back already? “Who’s out there?” Lalo called out into the forest. The footsteps stilled and silence surrounded them once again.

After a few more tries he was going to pass it as just a small rodent when he saw the silhouette of a giant being coming into view. He picked up the boy and pushed him behind him, trying to protect him. The boy was silent the whole time.

Lalo was preparing to be confronted by a large animal but what he saw when the being came into view was nothing like what he expected. He gasped and covered his mouth. In front of him, he saw what seemed like a woman, but she had thick horns protruding from her skull and a dress that only a whore would wear. She was gorgeous, having a tall stature and being lean, with a face more beautiful than the witch’s. Her eyes were a lovely entrancing violet color, but he could see a malicious and unfeeling gaze directed towards him. He was so entranced by the stranger he was startled when he heard someone clear their throat. He whipped his head towards the sound and found himself staring into the eyes of a miniature fat man, with the torso and head of a fat man but the legs and tail of a doe. Lalo noticed the man also had a goatee and small horns on his head. What was he?

"Pardon me, but staring is not polite!" the man huffed, bringing Lalo back to the moment and realized he had been staring.

"I apologize, for I have never seen a creature like you. You have the most peculiar features. I surely must be dreaming." Lalo tried to reason. He rubbed his temples slowly, trying to ease his growing headache.

"You are not dreaming, mortal. We are as real as the sun, but enough chatting. I have come to meet Chief Chonulo. I believe he has something that belongs to me." spoke the beautiful woman. Lalo shuddered. Her voice was silky and very patient, but he couldn't help feeling that there was something that he didn't like about her. She was a little too patient like a predator waiting to pounce on its prey.

As he was about to open his mouth, the boy began to tug at his garments. He shifted his attention to the boy and regretted it immediately when he saw the strangers also take notice of him as well. Their eyes widened, and the miniature man started to tremble profusely, his gaze ascending to the woman and his eyes widened impossibly wide in horror. Lalo understood the look and was beginning to feel his fear to rise as well. The woman started to tense, her calm demeanor slowly vanishing as her once entrancing violet irises gradually lost all color and darkened into a charcoal black. She began to shake, and the ground beneath Lalo's feet began to quake and jolt, shoving him into a tree that he held onto with all his might. He closed his eyes tightly and began to pray for the ground to stop, but that only seemed to make it worse. He was going to resort to screaming when all of a sudden everything stopped. He opened his eyes slowly and was surprised by the scene that was before him. The woman was still standing and shaking, but now her eyes were widened in shock, their entrancing color restored. Although that was strange, he was even more confused and shocked to find the boy hugging the woman's legs tightly.

He moved to remove the boy, but a fiery glare from the woman stopped him in his tracks. Her eyes softened, and she turned to the boy. "Child," she spoke tenderly, " why do you hold me?"

"I...I won't- I won't allow you to hurt him!" the boy cried, sobbing, shaking uncontrollably and tightening his hold on the woman. Lalo felt his chest tighten and tears form in his eyes. He was trying to move towards the boy to hold him. To wrap his arms around him and whisper soothing words to calm him and stop his crying, but his legs were immobilized. He could only watch with jealousy as the woman bent down and removed the boy's arms without a struggle, kneeling before him and cupping his face in her hands.

"Shhhhh. No no, I was not going to hurt him", she spoke to him softly, wiping his tears away gently, " I was just angry. Very angry. You see, I made a deal with a man from this village. He promised me something, and in return, I gave him power and a lot, a lot, much money." She explained to him while stroking his hair trying to relax him. Soon, the boy completely relaxed and grinned.

Lalo was the complete opposite. His heart skipped a bit, and he gulped loudly. "Does that mean you are Oshinawa? The Demon that Emperor Chonulo made a pact with?" He breathed out shakily, growing pale as Oshinawa turned her attention to him and narrowed her eyes.

"Yes. Oshinawa is my name. How do you know about me?" she asked curiously, standing to her full height, holding onto the boy's hand. The boy turned to Lalo and raised an eyebrow curious as well.

Lalo gulped once more before telling them who he was and what had occurred that led to this moment, leaving out the part about why Lalo's life was spared. He did not want to remember that at all. Oshinawa had a blank expression, but her eyes held fury and hatred, while the boy only looked at Lalo in confusion. The boy was too young to understand what had happened and why possibly. Lalo didn't have the heart to tell him more and ruin his innocence. Lalo didn't want anyone's pity.

The fat man that had been silent the whole time shook his head in disappointment and wore a knowing sad smile. He mouthed 'I know' and beckoned Oshinawa to bend down. She did, and he proceeded to whisper something in her ear. Lalo's hands became clammy and sweaty because he had his suspicions about what the fat man had told her. She nodded stiffly and drew her lips into a thin line, then stood to her full height once more. She stared into Lalo's eyes, and he felt almost like if she was looking for something. Probing and searching. Lalo didn't know for what, but he didn't like it.

The silence was disturbed when Oshinawa smiled caringly and said, " Do not worry, mortal. You do not need to return to the empire. There will be a cart waiting for you at the gates of the empire that will take you to wherever you wish to go. You will receive a large amount of wealth each month when you arrive where you wish to stay. I need not know where, but I will advise you to leave this land and away from anyone you may know. Change your identity and do not do anything that will draw attention to yourself. Is that understood?" She asked with authority in her voice.

Lalo was going to ask why but had a feeling he'd find out soon. Instead, he looked at the boy and offered his hand to him, " Come, boy." he ordered softly. The boy moved towards him but was pulled back gently. Lalo eyed Oshinawa and saw a look in her eyes that he understood quickly and was immediately filled with grief.

Lalo would be going alone.

He nodded slowly and took a step, making sure he could move his legs now, and he ran towards the boy, kneeling in front of him. Lalo stared into the peculiar eyes of the boy and reached out to hold his hand. The boy looked at their hands, and his eyes began to water. He knew that something was going to happen that he did not like. Lalo felt his own eyes start to flood as well but composed himself and began, "Boy, I know that we only met a couple of days ago, but you're the closest thing to a friend that I have had in many years. The empire that you were born in used to be a small village full of very nice people not many years ago. They were humble and kind and loved each other very much, but things changed and became full of ruthless and wicked people that were driven by fear and greed. All the nice ones were taken to jail, or they were... made to go somewhere where they can never come back." Lalo said remembering those awful times. His friends, his neighbors, and his family were all...

Lalo shook his head to shake the thoughts away and continued, "But being with you has given me hope that you will be better than anyone that lived inside those walls. I'm confident that you will be a great man when you grow up...and unfortunately, I will not be able to be with you to see you grow up." Lalo choked out, his voice cracking at the end.

The boy allowed a single tear to cascade down his cheek, and his bottom lip began to tremble. "Why not?" The boy whispered.

Lalo felt himself losing his control over his emotions, so he quickly answered, " I do not know why, but maybe one day we will meet again." He looked over at Oshinawa and was alleviated and happy when she nodded with an approving smile. Lalo turned back to the boy and suddenly remembered something. "Oh, and I have something to give you," Lalo added, clearing his throat and taking the boy's other hand in his. Lalo took a deep breath and looked into the boy's eyes with love and adoration. " I was present at your birth and am the only one here that has been with you the longest. I am the closest thing that you had to a caregiver, and, if you let me, it would be an honor if you allowed me to gift you a name." The boy's eyes widened, and his mouth fell open in shock. He nodded quickly, permitting Lalo to continue. Lalo smiled and spoke loudly, "Your name, boy, will be the reminder that I, Lalo Pascual, care for you and forever will be with you and when you look at the moon, let it also be a reminder that we will meet again. By then, I hope you have done some wonderful things and have some incredible stories that you can share. When we meet, you need only tell me your name, and I will immediately know who you are...because your name will be Beneharo Pascual." Lalo stated.

Beneharo smiled and broke down, hugging Lalo tightly and clenching his fists, grabbing fistfuls of his garments as if Lalo could leave at any moment, loud sobs racking his body again and again. Unfortunately, that was precisely the case. Lalo held onto Beneharo as he would never see him again, but another part of Lalo knew they would. Even if it were years or decades, they would meet again.

"We must leave now," Oshinawa said, bringing Lalo back from his thoughts. He tried to remove Beneharo's arms from around him, but he wouldn't budge.

"Please! No!" Beneharo screamed, holding on tighter to Lalo, making Lalo wince in pain and felt sore where he thought his heart was, but he knew that couldn't be possible. No one with a heart would ever leave Beneharo. Not like this.

Lalo held onto Beneharo and giving him one last squeeze, he moved towards his ear, whispering, " I love you." and using the opportunity now that Beneharo was in shock to grab his hands and wrench his arms from him.

"N- NO!" Beneharo shrieked, the fat man grabbing him and holding him in place while Lalo stood in front of Oshinawa, who was looking at them with amusement.

"Take care of him, please," Lalo said hurriedly and walked away not bothering to hear her answer. When he was pretty far, he felt his emotions finally get the best of him, and he slumped against the nearest tree, curling into a ball and bawling his eyes out. He could still hear Beneharo's shrieks and pleas as he had walked farther away, each step separating him from someone he had only met a few days ago but had become one of the best people he had ever had encountered in his life. He could feel his heart being shattered by every time he heard Beneharo begging him to come back, but Lalo knew he was doing Beneharo a favor. Last time he took care of a kid, the child had been in an accident, and disappeared.

TO BE CONTINUED