Chapter 6

Ciroz was standing next to one of the tables in the kitchen area when the girl sitting next to him tapped him lightly on the arm. Turning around, he noticed how concerned she was.

"Are you okay, sir?" she asked softly.

Ciroz stared at her for a few moments, blinking several times before replying.

"Um... yes... Yes, I'm fine," he assured her.

The blonde frowned slightly.

"But it looks like you haven't eaten anything in days," she stated. "Or slept."

Ciroz swallowed and turned his attention back to his plate of food. He pushed some more potatoes and meat around, making no attempt to eat them because he knew that he couldn't stomach any of it.

"I... I've been rather busy," he mumbled, avoiding her question.

It was hard to admit, but he knew that he hadn’t actually been sleeping well. Ever since he had arrived in this world he had been struggling to fall asleep most nights and that meant that nightmares were plaguing him. They weren’t always terrible ones though, so he hadn't even bothered waking up anyone in fear that the nightmare might wake up the others. Instead he had spent most of the time curled up on the floor of his room, crying himself to sleep and dreaming of his family.

"Oh, I'm sorry," said the girl with a sympathetic voice.

For a while, neither of them spoke and it was clear that they both needed to think about what they should say. Ciroz wanted to tell her about his nightmare, but at the same time, he didn't want to talk about it at all. It wasn't like she knew anything anyway.

"Sir, can I ask you something?" the boy's companion asked carefully.

The boy nodded, indicating her to proceed.

"Did you get scared by your parents when you woke up, too?" she asked. "I'm really sorry about that. I know how bad dreams can be!"

He opened his mouth to reply, but then closed it again and sighed. The little girl tilted her head and stared at him worriedly.

"Yes..." Ciroz answered finally. "Actually I did… It's strange that I didn't realize earlier…"

"Well, maybe it wasn't important enough for you to notice," she suggested hopefully. "Maybe that's why you haven't talked to the people you know."

A sad smile spread across the young boy's face. Maybe it was for the best that he hadn't talked to any of them yet.

After a few more minutes of silence, the small girl spoke up.

"Can I hug you?" she asked tentatively.

This question took Ciroz aback a bit and he blinked a couple of times before smiling sadly and nodding. A moment later, the girl wrapped her arms around Ciroz tightly and held on to him for a long time. The boy felt the warmth and comfort radiating from her body and buried his head into the crook of her neck. After a while, she let go of him, but Ciroz stayed on the ground, his legs crossed, his hands resting in his lap, his gaze focused on the floor below him. Suddenly, a hand landed on his leg and gently lifted his chin to make eye contact with the young girl.

"Are you ok?" she asked him.

The raven haired boy nodded.

"Thanks," he whispered quietly. "For helping me, I mean."

His small smile grew larger as he added:

"You're welcome. Just try to get better soon, ok?"

He nodded.

"Thank you. For helping me, that is. It means a lot," he said sincerely. "I'll do my best to get better, so that I can take responsibility."

Before leaving Ciroz alone, his new friend squeezed his hand.

"Don't worry. You'll get better.