The Old Man in The Cave - Part 2 & The Meeting at the Ayodale Oasis

#A cave in the Jungle and an old man

The truth that he could not remember his past or where he came from created a kind of emptiness in his heart. He could not hide his disappointment. The sorrowful expression pushed away the bright smile he had on him.

"Eiii...boy...! Don't be sad! What's the point of feeling sad about something you've lost? If you can't remember your name, I can just give one to you." The old man felt a bit guilty and quickly tried to comfort the child. He came forward, sat beside him, and patted his shoulder.

"Here...here...good boy...don't be sad! We all come alone to this world, and we all go alone! Sometimes it's better not to remember if you have forgotten something."

The old man combed the boy's beautiful, wavy black hair. The boy was bruised and battered all over his body. He wondered, "What kind of brutality did this young lad go through to be in this state?"

"Boy, do you feel tired? Want to sleep? Here...," the old man showed a bed made from leaves and grasses, "lie down here...," he also handed a small pillow made from leaves and dried stones of fruits, "use this pillow."

The boy looked at the strange arrangement but did not have the energy to think about why the bed and the pillow were like that. If anything, he was very thankful to this strange old man who fed him, cared for him, even if it was for a very short time, and provided him with a bed to lie down on and a pillow for his comfort.

The old man watched the boy fall asleep. However, it was daytime, and a little boy like him needed to sleep and eat a lot to recover and grow.

It was his time to play with his mates, run around, play pranks, and enjoy life. He felt sad that this little one had to go through the harshness of life at such a young age!

The old man went to the corner of the cave again and started rummaging through his belongings.

After a few minutes of searching, he stood up with a wooden container of some sort. There was a paste-like substance. He made it from various wild herbs that work wonders on wounds and bruises.

As he slept, the old man took his time and carefully cleaned the dirt and wounds on the boy. Then he softly applied and rubbed the wounded places with the paste.

The boy would sleep for a while. The medicine would have enough time to work its magic on the boy.

The old man stood back up. His young guest was weak and battered. Only medicine would not help him regain his health. The boy needed proper food—meat or fish, carbs, and fiber.

Thankfully, in the jungle, if you live long enough, you can find everything with some effort. The young guest should be rightfully entertained, thought the old man.

With a happy smile, he slowly walked out of the cave. It had been a long time since a human could find his way to him! The boy needed to be handsomely rewarded! Perhaps it was fate that brought them together!

"He will need a name! When he wakes up, he will be surprised to see the extent of my hospitality! I must make haste. There is a lot of work to do. I need to call for all the help I can get."

The old man slowly vanished into the shadow of the cave as he hummed and walked toward the way out of the his humble abode.

#At The Ayodale Oasis Hotel

Ayodale is the capital of the Nordurljos Kingdom. A meeting had been called to discuss the future course of action for the little girl who was brought in from the jungle.

Even after a highly secretive investigation by the police, the girl's origin was still unknown.

They could not go public for more information because they were still unsure if the girl was a threat to the kingdom's security or if her life was in danger.

The NIA, or Nordurljos Intelligence Agency, observed sudden movements of foreign spies. Usually, this kind of thing would happen right before a major operation.

The NIA believed that there would soon be a race to secure the girl for their respective nations and interrogate or get rid of her if they deemed her to be a potential threat to the power balance in the region.

This was exactly the reason why this meeting had been called at the most famous 7-star Ayodale Oasis Hotel. The meeting will take place on the topmost floor. There was a secured conference room for occasions just like this.

#Meeting in the Conference Room

It was almost time for the sun to go home—only a few hours left. The soft glow from the afternoon sun pervaded Ayodale City.

Usually, this time of the day feels boring and lazy. You could feel the same even from the birds, cats, or dogs. They would find a shadow for their siesta.

Random caws of crows were wafting through the air. Dogs were sleeping or lying in the shadow, eyes half closed.

One or two cats could be seen sitting in shadows, usually impossible for anyone else to reach except birds, and grooming themselves. One needed to be very attentive and inattentive at the same time to notice that.

The mildly warm, yellowish-orange glow of the sun was still unbearably bright. A mild breeze was blowing from the direction of the Ogologos.

Slow-moving clouds were not able to cover the beauty of the amazingly clear blue sky above. The sky looked like a washed-up sandy beach after the tide had receded.

Dr. Juli Emerson, the representative of Ayodale City Hospital, arrived earlier than the prescheduled meeting time. She was in charge of the child.

As a psychiatrist, she was always a bit too observant of the finer details around her. Now, she was observing these while she lazily rested her cheeks on her left palm.

She looked at her watch. Almost three in the afternoon. It was about time the other members arrived!

Dr. Juli started sifting through her patient notes. There was not much. She again thought it was such a sad thing that the little one had to go through such an ordeal!

The doctor was in the conference room, completely sealed from the outside world. She was not allowed to take her cell phone in.

Guards at the door thoroughly patted her down and scanned for any hidden wiretaps or bugs. The standard protocol is here.

The meeting began at three o'clock sharp.