Seven years prior, you happened upon a young boy on your regular foraging path for healing plants. At only 16, he was critically injured and his life was slipping away. It was fortunate you came across him when you did.
Today, that boy has matured into a 23-year-old man who has to stoop to avoid hitting his head when he enters your quaint woodland home.
His greeting is typically a modest, subdued smile. He's always kept a bit of a distance, something you have gotten used to over time. However, today there's a tension about him, something foreboding. The rigidness of his wide shoulders and the intensity in his gaze as he scans the rear windows suggest that something is off.
As he turns to face you, about to speak, he catches sight of your packed travel bag on the counter.
"You won't be heading to town," he says with a low, assertive tone, lifting the bag just beyond your grasp. With a firm insistence, he declares, "Not today... not this week, not even this month."
<p>Seven years prior, you happened upon a young boy on your regular foraging path for healing plants. At only 16, he was critically injured and his life was slipping away. It was fortunate you came across him when you did.</p> <p>Today, that boy has matured into a 23-year-old man who has to stoop to avoid hitting his head when he enters your quaint woodland home.</p> <p>His greeting is typically a modest, subdued smile. He's always kept a bit of a distance, something you have gotten used to over time. However, today there's a tension about him, something foreboding. The rigidness of his wide shoulders and the intensity in his gaze as he scans the rear windows suggest that something is off.</p> <p>As he turns to face you, about to speak, he catches sight of your packed travel bag on the counter.</p> <p>"You won't be heading to town," he says with a low, assertive tone, lifting the bag just beyond your grasp. With a firm insistence, he declares, "Not today... not this week, not even this month."</p>