2 Running Away

Actually, Number 5 wasn't mute. He could speak but for the past five years, almost no one had asked him to talk. They didn't treat him like a human in general anyway.

He didn't know where he came from but for as long as he could remember, he had always been a slave to Dotan, his master, since when they were still living in a manor with many slaves.

When Dotan had lost all his fortune in gambling, he sold the rest of his slaves to his gambling buddies and kept Number 5 before moving from city to city and made Number 5 steal money from the houses he worked at.

Their lives were now no different from the homeless. After the several failed attempts of escape that Number 5 did, which resulted in heinous tortures, Number 5 shivered even at the thought of leaving his master.

That was why, like a tamed dog in fear of the whip, he still returned obediently to Dotan's hut while bringing his wage for the day or any valuables he had managed to steal from the house he worked at.

Their neighbors in the slum, where they lived now, wouldn't understand how difficult it was for Number 5 to escape again. They didn't know how it felt to be left barely alive many times without mercy.

"Hey, you! Get me wine!"

Number 5 shuddered before slowly raising his face at the vicious voice behind him. He had just finished cleaning his wounds with well water, but his body was already trembling at the thought of Dotan hitting him again. He nodded meekly at his master.

The old man tossed ten coins to the ground and grumbled. "Bring me five bottles of wine. Otherwise, I'll break your bones so that you can never walk again."

Number 5 had never learned how to read nor write, but he knew how much a small bottle of wine cost. 10 coins were only enough to buy two bottles.

Where could he get three more bottles?

"Don't you dare come back if you don't get the five bottles!" Dotan raised one hand as if he wanted to slap Number 5.

The boy hurriedly picked up the coins as he trembled in fear and ran stumbling toward the market. His eyes were red because of dust and all the tears he had been holding back for years. He knew tears were useless, so Number 5 always held them back. Today was no exception.

He only had two options to avoid another beating from Dotan. He could beg the tavern's owner and hoped he'd be pitied to be given three extra bottles of wine. Or, Number 5 would have to steal them.

Number 5 arrived at the tavern. It looked lonely for it was noon. There weren't many visitors because most people were busy at work, trying to make money. He approached the owner while carrying the 10 coins covered with both hands.

The owner who was fanning himself to cool off his dripping sweat, slightly raised an eyebrow to the boy approaching. The man put down his fan as Number 5 placed the money on the counter and counted.

With a simple grunt, the owner grabbed two bamboo bottles of cheap wine from the shelf behind him and tied them together with a rope before handing them to Number 5. He was completely unconcerned how the little boy looked malnourished and pitiful.

Number 5 didn't move after receiving the two bottles. He looked over behind the owner, and on the shelf, he saw five bottles of wine tied together with a rope. Maybe it was someone's order and the owner was waiting for the buyer to show up and pick them up.

Number 5 looked up and stared at the shop owner's face which showed an impatient expression.

"What now?" said the man rudely as he waved his fan. He was never the friendly type, but today he was more rude than usual. He was in a bad mood because he hadn't sold enough wine today. The owner repeated his question. "What do you want, boy?"

Number 5 pretended to be startled and dropped the two bottles of wine from his hand, spilling the contents on the floor.

"Bastard! You made my floor dirty!" He slammed the counter and went to the back room to take a rag to clean up the spilled wine.

The moment the owner went inside, Number 5 jumped and grabbed the five bottles of wine tied together and ran with all his might.

The owner was late by two seconds. When he realized what was happening, he threw his rag and ran after Number 5 while shouting and cursing. "Hey, hey! Stop right there! Catch that boy! Thief!"

Number 5 felt a surge of energy coursing through his body as he ran with all his might and forced his legs to run as hard as they could. He kept on running, paying no attention to his surroundings as he navigated the alleyways of the slums.

After a while, the tavern owner's scream faded until he could no longer hear anything. Everything felt like a blur.

Number 5 didn't realize he was running westward not East where Dotan's hut was located. Because he was overcome by fear, his mind didn't work properly. He only thought of how to escape the tavern owner's chase. He couldn't let himself be caught. Number 5 had witnessed how a thief was lynched by the mob in the market before. He knew his fate wouldn't be much different.

When his legs finally lost their strength, Number 5 felt his whole body turned into jello. His body froze for a moment before slumping to the ground as he fell unconscious.

***

Number 5 was woken up by the drops of water landing on his face. He tiredly opened his eyes and realized it was starting to drizzle.

He looked around at his surroundings enveloped in darkness. Number 5 didn't recognize the place. As far as his eyes could see, there were only trees and shrubs.

Was he in the forest now? Ah, this might be the forest mentioned by his neighbor this morning.

Raindrops trickled harder and Number 5 could hardly stand up straight with his legs devoid of strength to look for the lushest tree branch to protect himself from the rain. As rain fell to earth, he huddled under a large tree, trying to keep himself warm.

When the rain finally stopped, his body was soaking wet. To avoid catching a cold, he took off all his shabby clothes and squeezed them dry. He hung his clothes on top of a shrub to dry them.

While waiting, Number 5 was shaking due to the cold. He was freezing. So, he decided to open a wine bottle and drink the contents. At least, by drinking a little wine, he should be able to survive through tonight.

The pitiful naked boy curled under the tree as he slowly sipped wine for a little warmth to ease his shaking. Actually, he didn't dare to drink Dotan's wine. He was terrified of his master's anger. But he was so thirsty and cold that he didn't have a choice but to drink it.

Surprisingly, the slightly sweet taste of wine gave him happiness and warmth he never thought was possible. He didn't know that he took the best quality wine from the tavern and the taste was truly amazing.

Unknowingly, he kept sipping, and suddenly, one bottle of wine was gone to his stomach.

Two bottles later, Number 5 lay still on the ground and fell asleep, naked. He no longer cared about his surroundings.