Shadow 1 Gazing at the wind

"What are you doing? It's almost dusk, you should already be home."

The boy crouching near the bushes turned his head after I spoke to him. From his movements earlier, he looked like he was looking for something there. He alternately turned to me and the bushes without saying a word.

"Looking for what?" I squatted down next to him, maybe my presence could help him. That way, he could go home quickly and not linger here. "Are there any marbles missing?"

The boy shook his head. "There was the sound of chicks crying like they were looking for their mother."

I was stunned and glanced at the silent and motionless bushes, trying to sharpen my ear sense to listen for the sound of the chicks. "I don't hear anything. It looks like it's gone back to its mother."

"Really?" The boy turned to me with his eyes wide with disbelief.

"Maybe," I answered briefly and rose from my squat. I extended my hand to him. "Let's go home! Let me take you. If you're still playing at this hour, Mahesa will get worried."

The boy finally stood up and took my hand. We walked together down the path, accompanied by a gentle breeze and the sun that was increasingly rolling to the west, as well as the sound of oxen already in their stalls. Not once or twice we passed the villagers who were also on their way to their respective homes with the results of their work from morning to evening.

"Arsa," I called to the little boy. He mumbled while shifting his gaze from the road, "If you hear the sound of chicks again in the future, just ignore it, okay?"

"Why?"

I racked my brain, trying to find a suitable answer that would be acceptable to the little boy's mind. How could I say that there could be something out there that could mimic the sound of animal sounds to attract the attention of an innocent child-like Arsa? Even looking back to see what was behind it, I was reluctant, afraid that what I had in mind would become real.

"I'm afraid the chicken belongs to someone. So, could you not take it? There could also be wild animals there. Then-"

"That's Big Brother!" exclaimed Arsa as if he didn't listen to my previous warning. 

I let out a long breath and followed Arsa's gaze to a young man of my age with a bigger body. He was the tallest among my peers. His skin was tanned because he was often in the middle of the grasslands with cow and goat herders. Even now, next to Mahesa were two oxen that he was about to deliver to his stable.

However, what caught the attention of all pairs of eyes was the sweet woman walking beside him. Unlike Mahesa, the woman's body was petite, her hair soft and silky, her skin shining white, the whitest among the women in this village.

A smile appeared on her charming face as she talked to the man next to her. She was Danastri, the daughter of the Village Head, a village flower who also attracted the attention of other village men.

Mahesa momentarily stopped his steps when our eyes met, making the girl next to him also turn her head out of curiosity. Meanwhile, the boy beside me stopped holding my hand and ran towards his brother.

"Arsa? Chandra?" Mahesa called out to me and his brother. I smiled and nodded to Mahesa in greeting. Mahesa looked down at Arsa, his brother who was only about waist high. "You're not bothering Chandra, are you?"

"What? I'm not doing anything!" Arsa turned to me. "Right, Chandra?"

I laughed and nodded. "Don't be so hard on Arsa, Mahesa. I just ran into him by accident on my way home from fishing. So, I'll take him home since it's already dusk."

"Ah, I see, thank you, Chandra." Mahesa turned to the woman beside him who had been silent. "Then I'll go home first. I'll be home soon and won't have to go around anymore. See you tomorrow." Mahesa smiled gently. Of course, it was not directed at me, but at Danastri. I secretly smiled at his behavior.

Mahesa held Arsa with his empty hand, while his left hand pulled the ox rope. I waved at Arsa who turned and waved at me. 

I turned to Danastri stiffly. Clearing my throat to correct my voice, I said to Danastri afterward, "Then, I'll go home first." I was not good at small talk with the opposite sex, the dusk that had come was also a reason not to linger outside the house.

Danastri, who had grabbed the wooden fence and was about to enter it, stopped to simply nod at me. "Be careful on the road," she said briefly. Although it looks and sounds stiff, this is how we communicate with each other.

As I was about to take a shirt step, my eyes fell on a sparrow that suddenly landed next to Danastri's fence. The girl passed by with just a glance at the bird, then walked into her house without thinking, leaving me still silent looking at the sparrow. 

I noticed someone nearby from the corner of my eye without bothering to turn my head. He didn't look like someone from this village. After seeing Danastri enter, I turned my body toward the stranger.

As expected, he was staring at the door where Danastri was last seen. From the looks of him, he looked like an ordinary young man a few years older than me, perhaps the age of Danastri's older brother.

The stranger stood still. I don't know how long he had been here because Danastri herself ignored his existence and didn't turn to him at all, let alone bring him in if he was perhaps a guest of her father or a friend of Danastri's brother. 

I unconsciously nodded at him when I thought our eyes accidentally met. However, since I didn't see him nod back as a mere form of greeting, it seemed he didn't see me. 

"Chandra! What are you doing there?!" the shout that called out made me flinch and turn my head. One of the villagers who was on the windowsill and about to close it seemed to stop what he was doing to warn me. I was about to reply, but he was already shouting back, "Hurry back, and don't stand there like a fool!"

I blinked a few times at the person who had closed the window. There was no time for me to reply to his cry of alarm. People here are strict about not wandering around at dusk or night. 

In that case, I should have warned this stranger too. It could be bad if he suddenly decided to leave the house at night. However, when I looked back at the young man next to me, he had moved on and was no longer standing next to me to silently stare at Danastri's house. 

There was no one here. There was only me and the cold wind that gently caressed my skin as if the figure had never existed before. If I'm not mistaken, hopefully, that person will be fine here.

Trying to ignore the strange and suspicious thoughts that started popping up, I hurried home before the sun completely set. Who wants to get lost at night and not be able to come back? I didn't want to leave Mother alone in this world.