Ch6 My small world.

A considerably young girl with brown, shoulder-length hair can be seen running around the streets as she enters a house; it was to meet her childhood friend, a black-haired boy with chubby cheeks who was sitting outside his house after helping his parents.

"Kit! Grandpa William brought a new kid to the village last night! He looks so unusual—you have to come with me to see him!"

Meli jumped up and down in excitement in front of her friend, who also looked curious at her words.

Most children have never left the village unless with their parents to buy things from nearby cities or sell stuff. Since it was mostly business-related, they never had the opportunity to make friends outside their tiny village.

"Who is it? Don't tell me Grandpa William will cook him."

The chubby kid frowned and grabbed his hand in a defensive position; it was visible he was a victim of William's pranks, which had scared him at an early age.

"No silly, why will grandpa William cook him? Don't tell me you are still scared of him." Meli chuckled at her visibly pale friend, who has still not let go of his childhood fear.

Even though they are 14 now, and just at the start of the year he made them a delicious cake.

Grabbing his hand, she dragged him to William's house, not too far from there, only to witness Mr. Baker standing there talking with William.

"So have you put a complaint about this kid on guild?"

"No, not yet. I was going to ask you to do it. He was lying down in the middle of the forest; of course I can't leave him alone there."

Seeing a serious conversation going on, Meli stopped in her tracks. Kit, whose face was beet red from holding Meli's hand, was totally ignored by her.

"Ah, Grandpa Will, who is the person you have brought back?" As the chief left, they both approached William, who, upon seeing them, gave a warm and kind smile.

"Kids, are you all not early in the morning? Why not help wake that sleeping beauty?" William pointed inside his house.

Kit, who was hiding behind Meli, gathered some courage and went in first, not wanting the newcomer to get cooked.

A kid almost the same age as them was lying on the bed. He had black hair, white skin, and a healthy and fit body with no sign of injury.

"Ah, he looks so cute, like a small rabbit." Meli, who saw the sleepy kid, couldn't help but comment. She was used to being with people taller than her. This new kid was almost the same height as her, making him look like an adorable doll to her.

"You are much cuter though." Kit, annoyed at her comment, tried to be cheeky only to get his hair ruffled by William, who stood beside them.

The kid asleep finally woke up, and as he moved left and right in bed, opening his eyes, they saw a beautiful pair of silver eyes shocking them.

"Kid, what's your name, and where did you come from?"

William did not want to question the kid so soon but also wanted to send him home as fast as possible.

The kid looked dazed as if he could not understand the question asked. He shyly answered.

"Um, I don't know."

"You don't know.!!!" This time a bigger shock came to all three of them.

"Goodness We are in a mess now." William grumbled.

"Mess?" The silver-eyed kid tilted his head.

Looking at this site, William sighed and explained his situation, leading to a small frown appearing on his face.

For someone with no memory, this silver-eyed kid was sharp to understand everything after a simple explanation.

"What should we call you? We can't keep calling him with nothing." Meli asked.

"How about silver eye?" Kit proudly told.

Seeing the children bickering, William again sighed; he was sighing too much today.

"How about Asher? It was a name my wife and I had in mind for a grandchild. It feels... fitting."

This was the name he and his wife had decided on if they ever had a grandchild, secretly hiding it from their son. Of course this secret will go to his grave with him now that the one he shared it with was no more.

"Asher, Asher." The silver-eyed kid said the name a few times as if liking its sound on his tongue and gave him a nod of approval with a bright smile.

"I am Asher."

The silver-eyed kid—Asher—declared.

"Asher, that's a good name." Meli brightly told.

Not wanting to be left behind, Kit also nodded like a parrot.

Sitting in bed, William patted Asher's head, making his whole body move left and right with a gentle smile.

"You can live with me for as long as you like. I am William. You can like everybody call me grandpa."

With a tilt of his head as if considering his offer, Asher nodded again.

"You need to answer as well." William corrected.

Feeling embarrassed, Asher answered hastily.

"Yes, I would be more than happy to be here. Thank you. Ah... grandpa."

Everything was foreign to Asher; words like grandpa felt weird but not out of place to his tongue.

"For someone with no memories of loss or belonging, Asher couldn't name the emotions stirring inside him. But in this little room, with kind strangers calling him family, he felt something rare—something like home. And yet, somewhere in the back of his mind, a question lingered: Who am I really?"