Through the Jungle

Moving across a heavily forested terrain is exhausting. I understood that some time after I entered the jungle. I had to constantly tear through dense thickets of vegetation and even swim across small lakes. The effort quickly tired me out and I began to regret my earlier decision. Still, at this point I did not dare to turn back. My stomach pulled and ached with hunger, but I found nothing that looked even remotely edible.

Sudden anger burst within and I slammed my fist into a tree branch, breaking it.

Swoosh! A little red fur ball boldly jumped out of the thick crown of the tree and fled into the bushes. A cat! No... Ocelot! Hmm, lets see if you can be caught.

I dove after the little creature into the maze of the low-lying shrubs. Unfortunately, the animal proved more agile than me and, while I still tried to crawl after it, easily avoided my grabbing hands. It skipped a few meters away and then just sat there, with deliberate care licking its paws and washing its face. I glared at it with disbelief. Was it... teasing me??

"Hey!" Suddenly came a voice. "Who are you?"

I jumped to my feet. Beneath the tropical trees stood a man and curiously studied me. He wore a jacket, trousers, and boots made of some sort of leather, carried a bundle of torches attached to his belt, and in his hand held a ridiculous wooden sword – completely useless, unless he planned to use it like a... club?

"I don't know." I confessed. "Who are you?" My unexpected question seemed to have baffled him. With strange mistrust he kept peering at my eyes, as if searching for something.

"Um... I'm Steve. And you... Are you really alive?"

"Of course I am. Why wouldn't I be?" I shrugged my shoulders in confusion. "...But... I just don't remember how I got here. Anyway, what IS this place?"

Steve seemed to relax a bit and lowered his sword. He then took one of the torches from his bundle, set it alight, and attached it to the trunk of a tree. Puzzled, I watched him. It was still bright out?

"So... You forgot everything. I heard that this happens sometimes..." He sighed and immediately perked up. "But, don't worry about that. I will call you Davis!" He cheerfully declared.

I kept my expression flat, though it certainly seemed brash for someone to just start giving out nicknames to random people. What kind of name is that, anyway? Davis? Seems more like a last name, rather than a first name. Before I decided to open my mouth and protest, however, Steve amicably grinned at me.

"You are probably hungry, right? Well... Come on. And I'll explain everything to you on the way."

Dismissing my earlier indignation as not important, I stepped forward to join him.

... Well, it turned out that Steve didn't really know that much, after all. The place where I ended up was simply called the Island. Not particularly big, with only a day of walking needed to cross it from end to end. Steve lived here for a while, though he admitted that he couldn't tell exactly how long – his count of time was lost along with his gold family watch. In his past, Steve claimed to have traveled a lot and even managed to get to the mainland, but for some reason returned and made his home here.

"... I grow wheat and breed sheep. And I do some mining for fun in my free time. It's a hobby of mine." My new acquaintance told me cheerfully, while we unhurriedly walked along. I cast him a doubtful look. How can something so hard as mining be FUN?

"Well, its not really THAT hard." He dismissed. "The land here is soft, so its really easy to get iron ore and coal. And even gold if you're lucky."

"Really? Then, you must be really rich." Dim recollections gave me a hint that gold was a very valuable metal.

"Well...Not exactly." Steve's embarrassed look told me that he has not found any gold just yet.

Conversing about similarly insignificant things, we left the jungle behind us and crossed into the sparse, oak forest. I noticed that Steve constantly paused to attach more torches to trees along the way.

"Is that to mark the path?" I asked curiously.

"That, too... " Steve muttered. "But mostly it's to keep away the dark."

"Why? It's day time." His words baffled me.

"It's still day time... But, look... the sun is already going down. Luckily, we are here." Steve's last words came with obvious relief.

Just past the last scattering of oaks a spacious field came into our view, with a small hill jutting up in the middle. What caught my attention, however, were the countless torches studding the entire place. In some places there seemed to be lamps instead of torches, made out of pumpkins with candles inside. Several sheep lazily chewed grass, ignoring our presence. I didn't notice any signs of a dwelling, though.

"The main rule of living on the Island is to not work after sunset." Steve muttered with a gloomy frown shadowing his expression. "Always return home."

"What?... I mean... Why?"

"THEY come out. The light keeps them away, but sometimes they still come."

"... They?"

Steve nodded. "They hide during the day... In the shadows..." He carefully lowered his voice and I unwillingly looked back to the shadows between the heavy crowns of trees. There was nothing there.

"There is nothing there." I said doubtfully.

"I'm talking about the other kind of shadows. Those shadows that are thinner than a hair. When the night comes, THEY get free..."

Once again, I kept my expression flat. I understood very clearly what was going on now. I was lucky to end up on the same island with a madman... Doubtlessly, the poor guy lost his marbles out of loneliness. Well, hopefully he'll quickly get back to normal with me around.

"... So, where is your house?" I asked to change topic.

"Cannot you see it? It's right there." Still frowning, my companion nodded to the hill. I walked around it. And there it was - a hole in the ground.

"It's a very cute... mud house." I managed a compliment. But Steve's face lit up.

"You like? One day I'll build me a huge wooden mansion! This is just a temporary little place." Steve said apologetically. "Well, go on in and check it out. And I'll be there in a minute. I need to get wool." Procuring small metal scissors from the depths of his pockets, Steve started climbing up the hill... or rather up the roof of his house to the cluster of sheep on top. With a carefree shrug, I went inside the house and looked around.

Despite the absence of windows, light filled the cramped place. Lamps and candles left no shadows even in the most remote corners. A hastily constructed, wooden bed stood near the wall and a crafting table perched in the corner. Hot air radiated from a small furnace nearby.

Ah! A furnace means food! I hastily lifted the flap and looked inside, only to make a disappointed huff. No tasty smells. Instead of delicious pies or soup there was a little bit of ore, slowly melting in the fire. Rivulets of iron flowed from it into molding forms of blocks.

"... Hungry?" Steve's voice came from the entrance. He came in carrying a bundle of sheep wool. "I should have given you some bread right away. Sorry, I kind of didn't think about that."

He opened a chest near the entrance, threw the wool in, and dag around for a bit, before drawing out a delicious looking bun, which he reached to me.

"Here. Eat up, while I make you a bed."

"A bed?" I readily took the offered bun.

"Of course. You didn't think we would share a bed, did you? Sorry, I am not quite ready for such close relations... Ha, relax! I'm kidding, buddy, I'm kidding."

Hungrily swallowing the baked bread, I watched how Steve quickly produced planks one after another on his crafting table. My opinion of his mastery rose, seeing how handily he shaved the wood and used the hammer, putting the planks together into a four-cornered frame. By the time I stuffed the last bite, Steve was already spreading the sheep wool on a newly made bed.

"There... A bit hard and... a bit shaky, but good enough to sleep on." Steve shook off the saw dust from his hands and proudly looked over his achievement.

"Wow. That's amazing. Thanks!" I said honestly and came over, immediately plopping down on my bed to test it. "... Comfy." I grinned.

"And just in time. The sun just set." Steve looked outside with concern returning to his face.

True, I got so distracted that I didn't even notice that it got darker. I followed Steve's gaze to the door. Just outside, defying the murky skies, hundreds of scattered torches made the entire field bright.

I watched Steve secure the entrance with a heavy board.

"... Time to sleep." Steve declared, already settling down on his bed. "I'll show you my mine tomorrow."

"Wait. Do you have any more bread?"

"Look in the chest by the door." Steve muttered and yawned. "You still didn't have enough?" Came a sleepy chuckle.

I ignored the friendly teasing and headed for the chest. It was filled with stuff! Different kinds of herbs, pieces of coal and clay. All of it jumbled together without any kind of order.

"I gotta clean this mess up." I quietly noted to myself, frowning. Steve didn't answer. Judging by his calm, even breaths he was already asleep.

I resumed digging. Finally, I managed to find another piece of bread in the corner of the chest and pulled it out. Sitting down right there by the entrance and munching the deliciously crunchy crust, I allowed myself to reflect on everything that happened today.

I fell from who knows where, traveled through the jungle, met Steve and managed to get a new name from him. Hmm, and thinking about Steve... He mentioned something about not working after sunset?... But a relaxing stroll under the light of the moon was not work, was it? I needed some time to think and figure things out. A nice stroll before going to bed would help me do that. I looked at the patch of lit field I could see through the narrow cut of a window within the boarded door. I should go for a short walk before going to bed and clear my mind. Plus, it might be a good way to dispel my new friend's groundless fears and prove to him that there is nothing threatening about the dark.

I quietly opened the door and slipped outside.