Storybook

Since then, Winston began visiting Yuna every other day.

He kept her company while sharing his vast knowledge of the outside world—

by telling various stories,

"Then the magician defeated the seven-winged bird with his dark coat!"

singing nursery rhymes,

"Sparkle, sparkle, little light.

Out there, out there, in the night."

and providing her with general information about the world…

"So, where are we exactly?" Yuna asked.

"In a big house!" Winston replied cheerily.

"Do you know where this house is?"

"Umm," he thought carefully before exclaiming, "On a hill!"

"...Do you know where this house is on a map?"

"Uh, uh… uhhh…" Winston felt his head spinning from all the thinking.

"Forget it," Yuna sighed inwardly, 'Winston is young and immature. Naturally, he wouldn't know much about the world at this age. I'll have to find the information myself… somehow.'

Yuna looked at the little boy on the ground, who was disappointed for being unable to answer her question, and she chuckled. Yuna smiled, "Say, how about you tell me another one of those stories?"

Winston spun his head over to Yuna. Sparkles appeared in his eyes. A smile beamed on his cute little face, "Sure!" he replied. He dug through a leather satchel near the entrance and pulled out a book almost half his size.

Winston walked back to sit next to Yuna with a skip in his step and a proud face. He turned to a marked page in the book and cleared his throat with tiny 'eh-hem's. Winston began to read the story with the most mature voice he could muster, imitating a wise adult.

Yuna watched on with an amused expression.

…She was never bored, to say the least.

…

Clink, clank, creak…

The iron door opened, and a small leather boot stepped into the room. A little boy with a lantern shivered with a sneeze and a cough. His nose, eyes, and ears were bright red, and his hands were adorned with colorful mittens. A white wrapped around his neck, burying the bottom half of his face.

"I'm back!" he smiled.

Yuna returned the smile. Over the past few months, they've been meeting in secret every other day. With each visit, they grew closer and were no longer uncomfortable with each other's presence.

Yuna shivered from the newly introduced cold, "Is it already winter?"

"We just had our first snow," he replied cheerily.

'Do the seasons here change so quickly? I remember it feeling like summer yesterday, ' she thought to herself, 'Guess this place really isn't like Earth.'

Winston opened his mouth to say something, only to be thrown into a coughing fit. Yuna grew concerned when the coughing grew louder and more violent.

Yuna clumsily jumped down from the table. The food and meals Winston provided her each day allowed her bones and muscles to finally develop, so she had grown healthier than before, both physically and mentally. She grew comfortable with exploring the cool surface of the room's floor around Winston's light. Winston could never get on the table, so she learned to travel between table and floor first.

Yuna let out a low grunt as her feet touched the ground. There was a stumbled, but she raised herself and quickly went over to Winston's side. Grabbing his satchel, she pulled out a waterskin[1] to feed him, "Here, drink slowly."

Winston took the receptacle and gulped down a good bit of its water. He lowered it and wiped his mouth with another cough, "Th-Thank you..." Winston exhaled.

Yuna asked with a worried tone, "Are you okay?"

He assured with a nod, "I'm fi…," he started before coughing again, though this time, a bit of red stained the white scarf. His eyes widened before turning around to wipe his mouth, and he subtly folded the scarf to hide it. Winston snuck a peek at Yuna to see if she noticed or not, but noticing her with the same worried expression from before, he secretly sighed with relief and chuckled, "I'm fine!"

Yuna didn't seem to believe him, "Are you sure?"

"Yeah! I just have… asthma?" Winston said as if it was a question.

"You're asking me?"

Winston laughed nervously while looking away. That's when his eyes landed on his brown leather satchel, and he was reminded of something, "Oh, right!" Winston looked at Yuna with excitement as he retrieved a book half his size from the bag. He held the book in front of Yuna, offering it to her, "For you!"

Yuna recognized the book; it was the storybook Winston always brought with him when visiting her. She looked at the book, then at Winston, "For me?"

He responded with an enthusiastic nod and scratched his head shyly, "I've long memorized all of the stories inside, so I don't need it any longer, ya' see? So I thought I'd give it to you to put it to better use!"

Yuna trailed her finger down the book's spine and smiled. She pulled the book close to her chest, "Thank you. I'll treasure it forever."

Winston replied with a cheery, "Yeahp'!"

...

They talked for a while until Winston pulled out the golden pocket watch to check the time; he could stay for a little longer. The fact that Winston had to go back to training and couldn't stay with Yuna made him sad. He didn't want to return to his strict instructor, but what could he do? A sigh and pout escaped his lips.

Yuna stared at the watch in Winston's hand. She asked curiously, "Who gave that to you?"

"Hm? oh, this?" Winston lifted the pocket watch.

Yuna nodded.

He looked down at the watch and smiled sadly, "Well, my mommy gave it to me for my birthday."

The downhearted tone didn't escape Yuna's ears.

"Where is your mommy now?"

Winston didn't respond.

Yuna stopped talking, too.

"...What was she like?"

Winston put down the watch and looked at the wall, reminiscing about the past, "Mommy was beautiful. Her hair was ocean waves, and her eyes were sunflowers. Mommy... was like the sun."

Winston stopped smiling, "I miss her."

Yuna realized something and thought to herself for a while, 'Blue hair and yellow eyes? Why does this description seem so oddly familiar...' Then she recalled the maiden who gave birth to her. She let go of Winston and stared at the viciously sniffling boy, 'So this might be...' she smiled. She scooted to Winston for a hug, to which he accepted.

Winston rubbed his cheeks hard after calming down, then suddenly exclaimed, "Oh, shoot," he took a look at his pocket watch and sighed, "Sorry, I gotta go!"

His emotions changed at the speed of light, and he returned to his usual self. Winston jumped up and grabbed his satchel to leave.

Yuna nodded and waved him farewell.

A cold breeze brushed Winston's cheeks as he opened the iron door. His red nose tingled, and he sneezed. Winston looked back at Yuna, who shivered slightly from the temperature and stopped. He walked back to wrap his scarf around her neck, and Yuna looked up in confusion.

He smiled joyfully with pure, beautiful, gray eyes. His curled lips revealed bright teeth.

Yuna smiled back, "Thank you," she whispered.

"Yeah," he replied at the same volume.

Winston walked off, and the iron door behind him shut with the usual clang, clack, and click. Yuna tightened her grip on the scarf and embraced its unfamiliar warmth. She wasn't used to having this feeling, the feeling of being cared for. Such a thing... was this what having a family felt like?

Yuna smelled the scarf expecting daisies, like the little boy who just left... But what she got instead was the smell of salty, metallic blood. Her dark eyes widened as she gripped the scarf tighter in deep thought.

Uneasiness loomed over her.

The boy left the room, leaving a warm heart. But on his small back, there was something cold and ominous.

...

[ 1 ] A waterskin is a receptacle used to hold water. It's typically made of sheep or goatskin.