Chapter Six

Alis hadn’t noticed he had fallen asleep until he awoke with the feeling of something crawling on his arm. Alis looked down, and a massive spider the size of his palm was crawling on him with its pokey legs. Alis screamed and swatted the spider away, and then he dashed up. Then, he saw that it was nothing but a spider, and he apologized swiftly, “I’m so sorry!”

Alis looked around him at the leaves that shone yellow with the sunlight, and he felt a sense of sadness. This was a place he was stripped from, and he thought he would never return again. He walked around and heard the sound of running water, so he ventured toward it. He climbed down a miniature cliff and held on to tree roots to support him. Then, once he reached the rocky shore of the river, he dashed toward the water and knelt down. He cupped the icy water in his palms and brought it to his mouth. It was too cold for him to taste anything, and it felt like he was drinking air as his thirst was unquenchable. He ducked his face under the water and then raised his head. His white hair dripped over his face, and he pushed it back. Alis smiled and then stood up, and his stomach growled like a bear. He looked around and then felt an air of helplessness freeze him. When he was younger, he remembered eating berries that made him sick and drinking water that nearly killed him. The only food that was safe to eat was his mother’s cooking. Alis clenched his hands and walked to the edge of the forest. In the distance he could see a village with a large church, but Alis didn’t know what a church was, so he assumed it to be a castle as he’d read in fairytales. 

“I’ll go there to ask for food,” Alis said as he left the forest.

As soon as he walked away from the tree line, a waft of wind nearly lifted him off his feet, and he looked behind him to see where the wind came from. Nothing more came, and so he felt strange. Alis shrugged and continued walking toward the village, and he came across a gravel road. The rocks cracked under his feet with an uncomfortable sound, and Alis’ lip twitched. He moved off the road and walked in the grass, where the sound of his steps was muffled.

“That’s better.”

The village looked way larger up close, and Alis entered the first building he came across, a grocery store. There was so much food that Alis’ eyes nearly bulged, and he swiftly grabbed an apple that was shining ever so invitingly. A worker watched as Alis took a bite and yelled, “Hey! What are you doing?! You have to buy that first.”

Alis halted and asked, “Buy?”

Alis soon found himself thrown out of the grocery store, and he pouted.

“Well, that’s unfair. What about the people who are starving and have no money? Do they just die?”