Waking to a new day

The fallen woke to a warm sunny day. He slides out of bed and stretches his sore muscles. He yawns to himself while walking to his chest of drawers. Picking up a few pieces of clothes and changes out of the ones he is wearing.

He walks to the kitchen and finds a bowl of fruit on the table. Muttering thanks for the food he takes a few apples and goes outside and sits on the steps. Eating the apples, he watches the leaves sway in the breeze. Once finished he stands and sets about doing the same as he did the day before.

He makes his way to the shed and pulls out the bucket. He feeds the chickens first. They cluck and gather around him. They peck at the ground and ate the meal happily. He then moves on to the horse. The horse greets him and trots over. He whinnies and presses his snout against him.

"Hello to you as well, " the fallen pets the horse.

Once the horse is content the fallen sets about attaching the feed bag to the horse. He then walks onto the cows. The black-spotted brown cow walks over to him and moos at him. He pats the animal's head and feeds the cows.

When he finishes, he goes to the creak and fills the bucket as full as he can get it. The fallen makes sure all the water troughs are clean and full. Then he waters the garden. While there he looks over each of the plants. As they seem the same as the day before the fallen decides to leave.

He finally starts to bring water to the house for himself. He is unsure how much he will need but he guesses at it. He puts some away to drink and uses a bucket full to clean himself up with later.

He works at the care of the animals and himself until nightfall when he decides it would be best to go inside. He cleans off the day's sweat and dirt. Then he fixed up another terrible meal to eat. Once finished he cleans the dishes up from the day before and today and finally heads to bed.

During the night he wakes up to the sound of loud knocking on the door. He heads to the door and opens it to find the black-spotted brown cow. She moos at him as if distressed and then pulls on his shirt. The fallen lets her lead him to the barn. In one of the stalls sleeps a boy.

"What have you found here?" The fallen mutters.

Unsure of what to do the fallen lifts the boy from the ground and takes him inside to house. The first thing the fallen decides to do with the boy is clean him. the child doesn't stir during this and when the Fallen finishes the water is a dirty dark brown. Grimacing at the basin of water the fallen empties it outside.

Lifting the boy once more he places him in one of the unused bedrooms. Thankful that there were spares. The fallen lays back down in his own bed and looks up at the blackened ceiling. He waits for sleep to come inpatient after what could be an hour. He wasn't certain as he had nothing to tell him what time it is. All the fallen knew was it was dark out and most people would likely be asleep.

Much to the fallen's dismay morning came and he had not fallen asleep. When his body began to ache the fallen got out of bed and started his day. The only difference in his routine was the time he took to look in on the child. Wondering what had brought the boy to the barn during the night the fallen left the boy to sleep. He took a couple of fruits from the bowl on the table and left them in the room with the boy.

After that, he left to take care of the animals and plants. The black-spotted brown cow accompanied him through his work. On one of his treks to the creek, he spots a blackened silhouette.

He took a few steps closer to see a young man with dark hair and even darker eyes. The other person did not approach him, nor did they say anything to him. All they did was stand still and watch. The fallen decided it would be best to leave the other alone. He hoped it would be nothing to worry about later.

The fallen made sure to finish his water run as quick as he could manage and get inside. Figuring the next best thing he could do would be to check up on his guest.

After opening the door, the fallen had to take a few seconds to look for the boy. As the child was not in bed, he ended up finding the boy hiding in the closet. A half-eaten apple clutched in his hand.

"Hello there. You don't need to be afraid," the fallen says as he makes his voice soft.

The boy looks up with a frown. The two watch each other in a thick silence. After a while, the fallen began to feel impatient but before he could do or say a word the boy moves. The movement is slow and his eyes stay firm on the fallen. he lifts the half-eaten apple to his mouth and takes a bite. He chews. Then swallows. Still, he doesn't break eye contact.

"Well, at least you're hungry. I can get you more food if you would like," the fallen offers as he shifts.

The boy finishes his apple but still does not answer.

Impatient, the Fallen moves close to the boy and picks him up out of the closet. The boy pushes a hand against the Fallen's face. The Fallen holds on tight so he doesn't drop the now struggling boy.

With the boy in tow, he walks to the kitchen and places the boy in a chair. The Fallen then places a few fruits in front of the boy. He then leaves the boy and starts to put together a meal.

Today the Fallen makes a stew, hoping he does not burn the food this time. It takes a good chunk of time but when it is ready to serve a pleasant smell fills the air. With that smell comes hope.

The Fallen approaches the table with two bowls of the stew. He places one in front of the boy and then sits down with his own food. Taking a bite of the food the Fallen sighs. It's not burned, much to the Fallen's appreciation, but it is rather bland.

While watching the Fallen the boy takes a bite of food and then another. The boy continues to eat the food. Surprised by this, the Fallen looks away for a moment to hide a small smile.

When the two finish the Fallen stands and takes the dishes. He returns to the boy and takes the seat once more.

"Anything you want to tell me, like why you were in the barn?"

The only answer the Fallen received was the child's brown eyes staring at him.

"How about I take you home? It would be safe to do so before it gets dark. I imagine your family misses you," the Fallen says.

Still no verbal response.

"I don't mind if you stay for a while, but you should go home soon," The fallen suggests before standing.

The Fallen then leaves the room and goes outside. He feeds the animals again. Each takes the time to greet him as he comes by. The black-spotted brown cow follows him around and all the way to the house. She even tries to enter the house.

"The best place for you is with the other cows. Come on," the Fallen guides the cow back to the barn.

The cow moos at him as if she is conversing with him while they walk over. The Fallen amused by this even spends a little time with the cow. While he is indulging the cow in a one-sided conversation the boy comes into the barn. He watches the two until the Fallen takes notice.

"What made you come out here? Do you want to go home?" the Fallen asks.

The boy backs away and runs off. Curious the Fallen takes to tailing the boy only to lose the child in the woods. While the child jumps over logs and runs through the brush. The Fallen does his best to keep up only to find that the longer he chased the child the more tired he became. His breathing became shallow and heavy. Before long he slowed down and soon after, loses sight of the child. Still, he looks around a follows any sign of someone being in the area. Broken branches and footprints are only a couple of the indicators he followed.

Much to the Fallen's dismay, even the signs he followed had disappeared. With a sigh, he turns around and goes back home. The sun falls and he finds the person from before standing in his path.