It was morning in the log house. Rays of light shined through window next to the bed Luke lay on. As the sun rose the rays of bright light moved till they fell upon his face piercing through his eyelids and disrupting his sleep. The peaceful expression on his face faded and his eyebrows furrowed as he stirred awake. After a short battle to ignore the bright light and drift back into sleep, he finally gave in and opened his eyes.

Where is this? The log house? Why, we were so close. He shot up to a sitting position and turned to get down from the bed. Before he could get down his eyes landed on the figure of a man unknown to him, causing him to pause mid action. He was young, nothing more than five years older than himself. He had fair skin and the strangest hair Luke had ever seen. He sat crosslegged on the floor, a book lay in his front. He was watching Luke warily, as if he was prepping for his reaction.

“Who are you sir? Did mama tell you to take me back home? I must’ve fallen on the way. Please take me back, I can make it this time.” pleaded Luke eager to get back to the journey.

The young man didn’t respond and kept staring, his expression was a bit worried now.

“Please?”

“No, your mother didn’t send me.” he said slowly, as if careful of each and every word he uttered.

“Then why are you here, why did you enter our house? Are you a thief? If mama didn’t send you, who brought me here then?”

“I did.” replied Yuga.

“Then were are mama, papa and the baby?” asked Luke.

“You’re the only one left” replied Yuga in a soft voice.

“Only one left what?” Luke questioned, starting to lose his patience.

“Alive. Everyone else… is gone.”

“What, what are you talking about? How can everyone be dead. We were all together”

“You couldn’t get through the cold and fell one by one. When I got there you were the only one still alive, barely breathing” Yuga replied.

“That’s a lie! Mama and Papa are strong, if I’m alive then they’re definitely fine. You broke into our house and now you lie too.” said Luke in anger.

Yuga merely shook his head at his outrage.

Luke ran past Yuga, out of the log house, fuming as he went. He needed to catch up with the rest, he wanted to see his cousins too. He wasn’t sure how he got back home or who the man was but he wasn’t going to be left behind.

Did mama send him and tell him to lie? But she wouldn’t say something that horrible. Maybe he picked me up when I fell, they must be looking for me. I have to get back.

He ran into the forest not so sure of where to go, but if he kept heading in one direction he’d find his way somehow. His body was still recovering and he barely had the strength to move but he didn’t stop, pushing himself with pure determination. But determination and adrenaline could only take you so far. After ten minutes of running he had tired out and had to take a rest. He sat on the root of a large tree, breathing heavily to recover his breath. He had run till he couldn’t see the log house anymore but there was still a very long way to go. After resting for only a minute, he got up, ready for another sprint. He ran for about ten seconds before coming to a sharp halt. He stood still as a statue and held his breath, trying his best to not make a sound, not even letting a drop of sweat fall. He’d run into a wild beast. It was feeding on a carcass, it hadn’t noticed him or it just wasn’t interested. Hopefully it would stay that way. It was similar to a wolf aside having three tails and red fur that glistened in the sun. It kept on eating before suddenly pausing and sniffed. It put its head up and sniffed the air severally then snapped it in the direction Luke stood. It had noticed him and without a second thought, he turned and fled.

He ran as fast as he could, trying his best to escape the beast but he knew it was futile, in very few seconds it would catch up to him and it’ll be over. But then it didn’t, the sound of its running had stopped. He turned back to check what happened and he saw the beast, dangling in the air, held up by the man with strange hair. He tossed it away with little effort and then walked towards Luke. He picked him up, held him under his arm and ran. Before Luke could protest they’d already arrived back at the log house in the blink of an eye.

“You can’t leave by yourself. Aside the beasts, it doesn’t look like you know the way and you won’t make it on your own in the snow.” said Yuga calmly before walking into the log house.

Luke trailed behind, still shaken from his encounter. He’d never seen a beast in the forest before, but he’d never gone in alone or followed that path either. He couldn’t leave right now but he wouldn’t give up. He’d try again later.

***

It was now evening in the log house. Luke had just woken up from sleep. He’d fallen asleep immediately after getting back, his body wasn’t fully recovered and it needed rest. He opened the door of the room slowly and only small enough for him to peek through. In the living sat Yuga still reading. He closed the book then walked up to the shelf to return it and pick another one.

“Leave those alone, those are papa’s books” said Luke in a commanding tone.

“Oh, you’re awake.” Yuga said “I will, just borrowing them for while. Most of these are books about voyagers, was your papa a voyager?” asked Yuga, still making his pick of books from the shelf.

“No, but he liked to read about them” Luke replied in a softer tone. “Are you a voyager sir?”

“Yes.”

That’s how he got to the log house so fast.” Have you been to the stars before?” asked Luke, allowing his curiosity to overshadow his anger.

“No. More like I don’t know.”

“You don’t know?” asked Luke.

“I woke up on your planet some weeks ago, I don’t remember anything before that.”

“You don’t even remember anything but yet you say mama and papa are gone.” retorted Luke.

Yuga was confused at this remark. What does that have to do with what he said?. He’d finally decided on what book to read this time. He pulled it out from its place in the shelf and turned to face Luke. “What’s your name?”

“My name is Luke Mannas.”

“How old are you?”

“I am thirteen years old. Old enough to cut logs.” answered Luke “What’s your name sir?”

“Yuga.”

“Why did you make your hair green, or is it blue?” asked Luke.

“It’s always like that, I think.”

“You’re a weird person……Will you let me see them now?” requested Luke.

Yuga’s expression turns dark again. “You can’t do that, they’re-“

“Stop lying!” screamed Luke before storming off. This wasn’t going to be easy Yuga thought. But of course it wasn’t, no one would like to wake up to face a reality like that, much less one so young. He closed his book and dropped it on the floor then left the log house. Thirty seconds later he was back with a few items in hand.

He opened the door to the room Luke was in and found him sitting on the floor clutching his stomach. He must’ve been incredibly hungry, it was perplexing how he could even move at all.

“You haven’t eaten for nearly two days. I knew you’d be hungry so I brought some food” says Yuga as he throws something in Luke’s direction. It bounced twice on the floor before rolling to a stop. It was of course as you’d expect….

Fruit? “This isn’t proper food, this is dessert.”

“I don’t even know where I came from, how would I know how to cook?” responds Yuga with a shrug.

Luke picked up the fruit, he sniffed it and turned it over to check if anything was wrong with it. He probably shouldn’t have been eating things from people he didn’t know but he was too hungry to care, he ate it anyway. He ate ravenously and was done with it in less than a minute. He was still hungry for more. Once he finished with the first one Yuga threw the rest at him.

“Thank you” said Luke before picking up another fruit to eat.

They sat in silence as Luke ate the fruits. After a while, Yuga spoke. “Do you want to see them?” he asked.

On hearing this, Luke sat for a second staring at nothing as if his mind couldn’t process what he heard. He blinked himself back into focus and responds with excitement “Really?! You’ll really let me see them?!”

“Yeah, but tomorrow. You need to rest.”

“Ok!” he agrees happily.

“Try to sleep, tomorrow will be a tough day” says Yuga as he gets up to leave. Much harder than Luke thought it will be.

***

It was very early into the next day and the sun hadn’t risen yet but Luke was already up, waiting for the daylight to come. He couldn’t wait to see his family again after a whole day of not knowing how they were. Thankfully the strange man, Yuga, had finally given in and would let him see them. Mama must’ve told Yuga to take him home. Was he one of his uncles? If he was, he was a mean one, he lied about his family dying. He sat idly through the hours till day broke properly, watching in anticipation for the sun to show up on the horizon. And after a long wait, his devotion was rewarded and the sun rose, shining its golden light on all. He sat by the window, watching the sunrise till he felt it was bright enough for them to leave. He ran out of the room to tell Yuga that he was ready to go.

Yuga was sitting on the floor, back against a wall with his eyes closed. He opened his eyes as he heard Luke enter.

“I’m ready to leave.” said Luke.

“Now? I never said when* we’d leave.” replied Yuga.

“So we’re not leaving now?” asked Luke, disappointment already creeping into his voice.

“In an hour.”

“Ok….”

***

An hour later, Yuga was up and ready to leave. It was time to confront the inevitable. He stepped outside the log house, Luke was already waiting for him, his face filled with excitement. J“Time to go. I’ll carry you, it’ll be much faster like that.”

He gently picks up Luke, carries him in his arms and sprints off