Louis, seventy-eight years old, sat beneath an old banyan tree on the edge of the farm. A thin stick rested between his teeth, and the wind whispered through the tall grass around him. He watched the clouds drift above and said quietly,
> "It was then, when I was a child… that day changed everything."
His voice trembled like dry leaves.
The memory came back:
A small boy, barefoot, running across the fields, laughing as a dog chased after him. In the distance stood an old man — not his real father, but the one who had found him years ago, lying hungry in the streets.
"Father," young Louis asked, tilting his head, "why is the sky so blue?"
The old man smiled, setting down his hoe.
> "Ah, because nature loves beauty, my boy. The sky takes its color from the ocean — and the ocean keeps all the world's beautiful things deep inside."
Louis smiled softly. "Is that so?"
The old man nodded, looking toward the horizon. "Yes, Louis. Beauty hides in depth. Always remember that."
"Father," Louis said softly, staring into the dusk. "Tell me… where is Mother? People say everyone has a mother. Is mine alive too?"
The old man, Jack, froze for a moment. His hands, rough and cracked from years of work, trembled slightly. He turned away, pretending to check the fire.
> "Ah, your mother," he said at last, forcing a smile. "She's… travelling, Louis. Far away. On a great journey. But she'll buy you something beautiful when she returns."
Louis's eyes lit up. "Really? She will?"
Jack nodded, though his voice grew thin. "Yes. Now come, dinner's ready."
The boy ran to the small wooden table. His dog, a golden creature named Lab, followed close behind, tail wagging. Jack placed a bowl of soup in front of him — thin, but warm.
Louis took a spoonful, grinning. "Wow, it's great!"
Jack chuckled softly. "Glad you like it, lad. There's not much food left, but we'll manage. We always do."
They ate quietly as the night settled in. The stars above blinked faintly through the smoke of their small chimney.
Later, Louis ran outside with Lab. The moonlight shimmered over the grass as the two played — the boy laughing, the dog barking joyfully.
Then, something changed.
A faint orange glow shimmered through the trees. The wind carried a strange, dry heat.
Louis stopped. "Hey, Lab… do you see that?"
The dog barked, ears sharp, tail stiff.
"It's… fire," Louis whispered. "A big fire!"
Lab barked again, louder this time, and dashed toward the glow.
"Lab! Wait! Come back!"
Louis followed — barefoot, breath shaking, the sound of crackling wood growing louder. And then he saw it — flames rising high from the old cabin. Jack's cabin.
Louis ran after Lab, the grass brushing his legs, his breath breaking fast.
"Lab! Wait for me!" he shouted.
The glow was brighter now — not far, but too close. The closer he got, the heavier the air became. Smoke filled his lungs, sharp and bitter.
And then he saw it.
The flames were everywhere. His small wooden house was burning, cracking, screaming under the fire.
Louis froze. His eyes widened, his hands trembling.
> "No… no… Father… no!"
He tried to run forward, but Lab barked loudly and bit onto his trouser leg, pulling him back.
"Let me go! He's in there! Father's in there!" Louis cried, pushing and pulling, but the dog wouldn't let go.
He fell to his knees, coughing. The fire roared louder, higher — and through the flames, he saw something.
A man.
A figure standing above the burning house, in the light of the fire. A tall man with a black hat — a magician's hat — watching in silence.
Louis blinked through the smoke, his eyes stinging.
> "Who… who are you?"
But the man said nothing. His shape shimmered in the heat — and then vanished into the fire.
Louis screamed. "Father!"
The world blurred — the heat, the smoke, the pain — and then everything went black.
---
When he opened his eyes again, the fire was gone. The field was silent. The tree's shadow stretched long across the ground.
Old Louis sat beneath it — seventy-eight now, the same stick in his mouth, eyes lost in memory.
> "Father…" he whispered softly.
The wind moved through the grass, and for a moment, it almost sounded like the dog's bark, far away.
Louis sat beneath the tree, the wind moving softly through the fields. His voice trembled as he spoke to no one in particular.
> "That night... it was heartbreaking," he said quietly. "I was shocked. Why didn't I do anything? Why couldn't I? But that's the truth of it… I just watched. And that's when I saw the cruelty of this world."
He looked down at his hands, wrinkled and still.
> "I just want to change the world, even once. I want humanity to return. I want it to be human again. And one day…" — he paused — "I'll find the one who did this."
Louis stood slowly, brushing the dust from his old coat. The stick dropped from his mouth and hit the ground with a soft tap.
He began walking — past the fields, down the narrow dirt road that led to the village.
Soon he came to a small house and knocked gently on the wooden door.
> "Hello?" he said. "Do you have a place to stay here? Just for the night?"
The door creaked open. An old man with sharp eyes stared at him.
> "No," the man said curtly. "I live alone. I don't take in outsiders. Go away."
Louis blinked, then nodded slowly.
> my mistake then, sir. Forgive me for asking."
He turned away without anger, just quiet acceptance, and walked back into the fading light of the road — his coat swaying with the wind.
Snow began to fall, soft and quiet, covering the ground like a gentle blanket. Louis walked slowly, letting the cold sting his cheeks. He stopped for a moment and looked up at the sky, letting the snowflakes land on his coat and in his hair.
After a while, he found a small place to sit. The silence of the falling snow pressed around him — peaceful, yet lonely.
"Hey! Come here!" a small voice called.
Louis looked up to see a boy, no older than seven, standing a few feet away.
"Hey, mister… are you lost?" the boy asked.
Louis shook his head softly.
> "No… it's just that I don't belong anywhere."
The boy tilted his head, frowning.
> "Oh… can I help you then? Do you have no home to stay?"
Louis smiled faintly.
> "How old are you?"
"Seven," the boy said proudly.
Louis chuckled softly.
> "Children are always so kind… I cannot deny that."
The boy grinned.
> "Then you can stay at our house!"
Louis felt a warmth he hadn't known in years.
> "That would be… truly grateful," he said quietly.
---
The scene shifted.
A woman's voice came from inside a warm little home.
> "Oh… who is it?"
The boy ran forward.
> "It's a random uncle!" he said, grinning. "What's your name again?"
Louis knelt slightly to meet the boy's eyes.
> "Louis. Nice to meet you."
The woman looked him over, then nodded.
> "Oh… it's alright. You can stay here.
Louis felt a small spark of belonging, a quiet hope that the world still had kindness in it.