Panting and out of breath, Nire took off from the mountaintop on which she awoke from a long slumber and ran towards the base. She passed by trees of all shapes and sizes that all felt familiar on a mountain she knew her way around all too well. However, she never questioned it. She figured that maybe she was just a natural-born survivalist and knew her way around. Afterall, running away seemed like her specialty these days. After running for a couple minutes, she slowed down from sprinting into a jog and spoke to the voice that had gone quiet earlier, hoping for a response.

“So, uhh,” Nire began, “Where exactly are we going?” To her surprise, the voice did speak up again, except it didn’t sound confident and knowledgeable like it had previously, but rather uncertain and still in mid-thought.

“Well, about that,” it replied a bit sheepishly. Before it could finish it’s thought, Nire had come to a complete halt and rubbed her temples, seemingly feeling the same emotions as the voice, but also a little bit of her own irritation at the situation.

“You don’t know where we’re going?”

“Actually,” the confident and knowledgeable voice returned, “it’s not exactly that I ‘don’t know’, but time’s change. The world changes.”

“I guess,” Nire tried to grasp the situation of so much time going by that the world changed with it. It was a concept new to her on all levels, something that a child her age normally wouldn’t sit around and think about, but it was also something that Nire could undeniably feel about the terrain she was running on. Nire rolled her head and listened to the cracks her neck made as her head went around. “Earlier you told me my name. That must mean that you know more about me. Are you going to tell me more about myself then?”

There was a bit of silence and Nire feared that the voice had gone quiet again, but it soon spoke up again. “I promise that I will. In due time. Until then, please stay patient, and I will guide you, just as I always have, and just as I always will.” The voice guided Nire to the base of the mountain, where an old stone bridge was constructed to allow people to cross the river that divided the mountain that Nire came down from and the great plain that stretched far ahead. All the while, Nire could feel a familiar warmth embracing her with each step that she took.

“Cross this bridge and follow this road,” it spoke again, and Nire knew that the voice had gone silent once again. A sudden rush of extreme loneliness washed over her and she began to tremble at the thought of leaving the mountain. She felt that it was something that she had always wanted to do; leave the mountain and venture into various lands far and wide, but a fear of leaving the comfort of the mountain alone scared her.

Just then, she felt a strong tug at her heart and she could hear someone whisper in a voice all too familiar to her. “Stay safe,” it had said, and Nire could feel someone gently push at her back, urging her to be free and leave the mountain. She quickly turned around to see who had pushed her and for a split second, she could see a smiling boy with silver hair and silver eyes. Nire sank to the ground and while her heart cried out in pain, her eyes did so as well.

Thunk!

“Well, look what we have here!” A loud, excited voice interrupted Nire’s crying and she looked up with a startled look. “What’s a little girl doing out in a place like this? Not to mention crying too!” A young man dressed in a long, light blue tunic and tall, tan boots jumped off a fully loaded horse-drawn cart and crouched down in front of the crying girl. He swiftly took off his hat which was a darker shade of blue than his tunic so he could get a closer look at Nire. “What exquisite eyes!” He exclaimed. After his loud exclamation, he proceeded to introduce himself, while stretching out his hand to help the girl up. “I’m Melvin! And you are?”

Nire took his hand and introduced herself, to which Melvin was astounded by her name as well. “You’re clearly not from around here,” he began to say after Nire’s introduction. “Strange eyes, strange name,” he nodded towards her outfit and finished with, “strange clothes as well.” He chuckled to himself as Nire took a good look at herself. She didn’t find anything strange about her outfit. Her faded purple shirt and pink sash tied around her waist seemed very normal to her. Then again, there was much Nire had yet to learn, so she just shrugged sheepishly.

Melvin laughed at Nire’s reaction, then asked, “What brings you to Sonnum?”

With her guiding voice asleep, and no knowledge about anything, much less this “Sonnum”, she tried her best to come up with something on her own. “I’m traveling?” Her tone went up at the end making what was supposed to be a statement a question to both herself and Melvin. Luckily for Nire, Melvin didn’t seem to mind her confused state at all. He jumped right back into conversation.

“Me too! Well, I’m actually a Trader who buys and sells goods from everywhere. Judging on how you’re probably new to the area, let’s say we travel to the next town together. You’ll be in need of an excellent guide.”

“The town doesn’t happen to be down this road, does it? If so, I can probably find it by myself.”

“Well...” After having traveled alone for some time, Melvin wanted some company so he tried to persuade Nire to come with him, even if it was only a short ride, so he replied, “It is just down this road, but what do you say to traveling together for a while? I’d love to tell you more about Sonnum, seeing as you’re new around here.”

Nire thought about it a bit, then nodded. “Sure,” she replied, “let’s go.” Nire walked up to the horse-drawn cart, and after Melvin danced a little jig, he helped her up onto the back. He then moved to the front and took his seat.

“Hold on tight!” He called back to his new traveling companion. She flashed a thumbs up signaling to Melvin that she was all set, and with a sparkle in his eyes, he shouted, “Here we go!” and set the horses in motion. Not used to this at all, Nire fell back as soon as the horses took off with a loud thud and an “oof” escaping her mouth. “I told you to ‘hang on tight’!” Melvin teasingly called back to her as he laughed and enjoyed the ride.