Chapter Two

Alis walked up to the table and went on his tippy toes to see the coins, and he was astonished. He had never seen so much money before, and judging by his father's expression, he hadn't seen that much money before either.

“This much will do,” the man said.

The man had a suit on, and his hair was light blond.

Alis asked, “Are you a human?”

The man looked down at him and smiled.

“I am,” he said.

Alis smiled wide and enthused, “So cool!”

His mother grabbed him by the hand and dragged him out of the kitchen.

“Don’t interrupt them,” she scolded.

Alis pouted, and the man gazed at him. Alis’ father studied the man’s expression and said, “This isn’t enough,” and he pushed the coins back.

The man frowned and brought out his briefcase, where he placed another bag of coins on the table. Alis stared at them from the kitchen, and then his mother picked him up and took him to his room.

“Mommy, is it bedtime?!”

“No,” we’re going to get you ready.

“Ready for what?”

Alis watched his mom grab him a new set of clothes from his dresser that weren’t torn and dirty like the ones he was wearing. He let her dress him with confusion running through his mind. Once she was done, she ran her fingers through his hair to get rid of the knots.

“Mommy, where are we going?”

“It’s a surprise,” she said.

Alis felt his excitement grow, and he begged, “Tell me! Tell me!”

She slapped him on the back of his hand and scolded, “Behave yourself. We have a guest here.”

Tears welled in Alis’ eyes, and then she took him by the hand and led him out of the room to the entrance, where his father and the human were shaking hands. The human smiled joyfully at Alis, and in return, Alis did as well.

The human asked, “Are you ready to go, Alis?”

Alis, knowing that he was just dressed to get ready, replied, “Yeah.”

Alis’ mother let go of his hand, and the human offered his, and Alis took it. Alis walked out of the house with the man and asked, “Where are we going?”

Then, Alis noticed his parents weren’t following behind them, and suddenly his heart dropped.

“What about Mommy and Daddy? We can’t leave them!”

The human smiled and said, “Don’t worry. They’re just grabbing their things, and they’ll meet us later.”

Alis pouted a little and said softly, “Okay.”

The human bent down and picked Alis up and explained, “It’s faster if we walk this way.”

Alis said, “Probably. My legs are small. Mommy often tells me that they’re too short and that I need to hurry up and grow so I can keep up with her.”

The human was impressed, and he said, “Your vocabulary is very good for a four-year-old.”

“Vocabulary?”

The human snickered and explained, “Your words are very smart.”

Alis smiled and said, “Thank you! Your vocabulary is also very smart.”

The human laughed softly, and Alis gazed at the forest. The sun was peeking through the leaves warmly. It must have been around sunset. Then, he heard the songs of spirits speak up, and he rested his head on the human’s shoulder. Their haunting melody sang along to the rustling leaves, and just as some leaves fell to the grass, Alis’ eyelids did as well, and he drifted off to sleep.