Donkey Rider

He sat and leaned against the wall. He sandwiched the pillow between his knees and chest and wrapped himself with the blanket, only showing his face. And no, he wasn't cold, it was just a habit he had whenever he woke up and wanted to think about something. Made him feel safe. Made him feel protected.

"Yerribas the bloodless, huh." He muttered under his breath. Soft enough for Diego not to hear who was lying on the opposite bed. "Heh! What a weird dream indeed." He said before finally getting off the bed.

Then he stretched. And a loud honk reverberated from the outside. So loud it has woken Diego from his sleep.

"What was that?" Diego asked in his groggy voice. His eyes were still red and puffy from sleep.

George shrugged his shoulders. "Dunno. Came out of nowhere."

Then they peeked out the window to see what it was. It was still five in the morning. Just starting to get bright and they could see a lot of people coming out. Curious about the honk as well.

Then another honk sounded. All necks jerked to one direction only to see a young man riding a donkey, blowing a large horn, gathering everyone's attention.

"Attention, everyone! Attention!" The donkey rider yelled. "The Strawford captain is missing. I repeat. The Strawford captain is missing."

Unrest spread within the crowd.

"What did he say? The captain is missing?" A middle aged woman whispered to the person beside her.

"That's what I heard." They were the town gossipers.

Diego grabbed George and ran outside. They had important business with the town captain regarding George's certificate of residency. He couldn't just disappear like that. Diego couldn't accept that.

They met Stallione on their way out, wiping the tables. He didn't care about the ruckus outside. Huckleberry had long disappeared into the crowd though.

They immediately made their way to the front.

"What did you say?" Diego yelled amidst the noisy crowd. George just stared at him. He didn't know the exact process of getting a residency so he just let Diego do his thing. He didn't belong to Phulas so he thought he wasn't in the position to ask. He simply observed.

The donkey rider stopped in front of them. "Like I said. The town captain went missing. We were together last night, fishing, then he suddenly disappeared."

"Fishing? You were fishing… at night?" Diego asked, getting skeptical. "Why would a town captain go fishing? And at night no less."

The whispers from the town gossipers became louder. Voicing out their 'theories' which did nothing but add to the noise and confusion.

The donkey rider felt Diego's suspicions and was slightly offended by it. 'Why are you suspecting me? I was just telling the truth!'

"Young lad, fishing at night is better. Better fish and better experience. And everyone in Strawford knows fishing was the captain's hobby since he was just a young boy." The donkey rider defended himself as he puffed out his chest and acted older than he actually was. To assert dominance.

"Well… Ahem! I didn't know that. But why and how did he disappear when you were there? Like, just all of a sudden? No warning? Disappeared before your eyes?"

The donkey rider shrugged. "Heard cries of people. Lots of 'em. Then the captain pushed me off the boat. T'was so sudden I almost drowned. I was never a good swimmer to begin with. But when I came to the surface, the captain's no longer there."

Diego squinted his eyes. He had his suspicions but he didn't want to jump to conclusions and unnecessarily cause drama to the town folks. Exactly what the gossipers wanted. So he took a deep breath to calm himself. Shot George a quick glance and decided there was no point to unnecessary babbles.

So he just said, "Did you check his house? His family?"

"I already did. And the town hall and the tavern he frequents. Checked 'em all though I knew it was useless. We were in the ocean. He disappeared but the boat was still there. How'd he arrived here then? Fly? Last time I remember he ain't got no wings."

Diego sighed. Feeling defeated an annoyed. Then he grabbed George by the wrist and they marched back to their room.

"Wha—"

"George. I need you to make a decision." Diego cut him off.

"A decision? About what?"

"You're aware you only have a week, right? Six days to be exact and you're doomed. And here's the thing. To acquire a certificate of residency, one must gain a merit. Large enough to trade it with a graveyard residency. I was planning on going to this town specifically as it was the nearest to my house and ask the captain if there was anything that troubled the town that you can perhaps solve but you just heard it. He went missing. And I think I know where he is."

"You know? Then let's just find him ourselves then. No? Or we could just find another town or village."

Diego shook his head. "Death Whisperer. Have you heard of it? T'was a famous legend in Phulas. And for your second question. The nearest one is four days ahead. Too much time wasted. And that leaves us three choices. First, find the captain. Second, gamble on the next town. Or third, give up on the residency. Have your memories erased and you will return to your world. We can beg Fobela to lessen the burden of your soul so you'll live normally. At least in there, your life will be peaceful." Diego honestly wanted George to choose the third. He didn't wanna put him in danger. He realized he was being hasty for recruiting George and didn't think through it and he regretted that now. His guilt was eating him up.