Location: Agara, Mountains

“How long were you going to sit there and cry, kid?” The voice of a driver was heard from behind, making Echa look up in shock.

Echa’s eyes quickly darted back to see the driver through the small glass window.

“Did you just speak to me?” Echa asked, her tone soft and curious. But the driver did not respond; he kept driving quietly. “Where did the voice come from, then?”

Echa let out a scoff before taking a deep sigh, furrowing her brow to stare at him for one more minute.

“There is no way you can see me. If you did, why would you let me hop on your truck?” she asked before dropping back down to her original position.

“Yes, I can see you.” The voice came from behind. Echa flinched, stood up quickly, and fell with a THUD before rubbing her back.

The truck quickly came to a halt. The man inside opened the door to look at Echa.

He wore warm greige cloth with rose taupe pants, and he had a green tattoo on his left arm, and his hair was black. He looked at Echa with worry, then braced an arm against the roof of the vehicle to lean on as he spoke.

“You ok, kid?” he asked, keeping his distance and choosing not to step any closer. “Why don’t you come inside? Riding in the back like that can’t be comfortable at all. Come on,” he said; it seemed much of a warm offering.

“He can really see me all this time?” But Echa quickly interrupted him; her face was filled with a small frown. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

He stopped by and turned to look at her once more, pondering the question, before making a pat on the roof of the truck.

“Well, you didn’t tell me about hopping onto my truck, kid. Now, no more questions unless we start moving.” He finished the sentence and got into the driver’s seat without waiting for Echa’s reaction at all.

“Wait, that’s not the same,” Echa said, her hand lowered. She slowly let out a sigh before hopping off the back and walking towards the front seat. “Well, I can’t just say no in the middle of nowhere. Besides, he might know more about where Oshna was.” She murmured.

The door hissed open; the chassis was much cozier, filled with various square-shaped books. Echa took a seat, looked at everything, and slowly met his gaze. “I can’t waste time anymore; I have to find Oshna,” she murmured.

“I want to meet Oshna. Do you know where she is?” she said before leaning back against the seat.

“Oshna? Hmm. Why do you need to see her? Is something wrong, kid?” he asked without looking at her, continuing to drive; he had a rectangular steering wheel. The truck glided along the thin road.

She nodded and was about to say what it was, but she stopped when he lifted his finger to silence her. “But I want you not to speak a word until we reach there, kid.” His hand slowly lowered, while Echa looked at his hand and his face in confusion.

“Fine. Just don’t call me kid; I am not a kid.” She huffed a little before leaning against the window, gazing at the sight around. “He is so… so… taking control over the situation…” she murmured to herself.

He continued to drive quietly; the truck passed through various mountains. On some mountain tops, huge spaceships were parked, casting giant shadows. The sound of a few drilling machines drifted from a nearby factory.

After a few minutes, she spotted a huge, serene lake filled with locals dressed in thick sweaters. At the center of the lake, boats stood with people laughing together while a drone flew, pointing a red-light ring over the water to indicate the best spots for dropping nets to find fish.

Echa took in all those sights before he turned the truck toward a road leading to a grass-covered area and halted in front of an old wooden house.

The vehicle smoothly lowered onto the grass below as the engine shut off.

“We are home, kid,” he said quietly before opening the door, closing it shut, and walking ahead, leaving her alone on the seat.

“Home?” she murmured, remaining seated before slowly opening the door to climb out of the cramped space.

As soon as she was out of the truck, the wind greeted her. It felt as if she were standing in a sacred place on Agara. Echa felt the sheer magnitude of the mountains now that they were this close.

“This is so beautiful,” she murmured before stretching her arms a bit.