Page 2

All the dirt and rips in my mostly white clothes easily conveying to him that I had gone through quite a lot recently.

"It's alright. You can come closer." I told him unabashedly.

"Oh, were you writing?" He was quick to notice when close enough, "And at such a young age as well. Remarkable." He then quickly followed that with a high opinion of my scattered drawings, before picking one up: "And what about these? Did you draw all of them as well?"

"I did."

"I know this man..." The old man confessed, "and this woman as well." He added as his eyes caught glimpse of another half-finished sketch. He picked up that one as well, and then held them close to each other ...

"I know these people." He insisted, without taking his eyes from those two pictures... "You do," I assured him quite calmly. "That is why I am here."

"How are you acquainted with any of them?" He asked quite seriously, and only then did his eyes seem to notice my hair, which was blue all over except for its still black tips. "You're quite the odd one." He admitted, while he was far from what anyone would deem as 'normal'. "And I do not need my bigger glasses to see that."

"Here. This is for you," I tried to hand him my big notebook, the one that had been resting safely beside me. Almost falling out of it was a whole compendium of drawings and other poorly attached notes. "Father wanted you to have it." I nudged it towards him. "He also wanted me to go with you."

"Father, you say?" He cautiously asked as he refused the offer, "I am afraid I will have to doubt that. You see little one, I am not one with many friends, let alone associates." He then took a few steps back "No, you must be mistaken. But fret not, you may accompany me back to my place, if you so wish of course. After all, it is not proper to leave one so small and meek behind, especially in a place like this. Old Gorliochi over there," His eyes went straight towards that beast; this one was completely relaxed even if its jaws kept finding one thing or another to chew on, "he can easily carry the both of us for as long as necessary. He has been with me for many seasons now, lending a hand in the carrying of all sorts of things."

He smiled, but it was a ruse that could not hope to work on the likes of one such as me. "Like all sorts of flowers and fungi that I so often like to come and find in these parts... Or even

"You are no mere flower picker or mushroom gatherer." I said as I kept forcing that notebook onto him. "Go on, take it. You are the Thinker-Tinker, and you are meant to read it."

A short silence stood between the two of us ...

"Your father, who is he then?" He eventually asked, even if his interests appeared to be dwindling the more he was going through those notes and drawings, "I know many of the names inscribed here." He kept confessing, as he tipped his glasses just in time to prevent them from falling off his curved nose; and then he looked at me with refulgent eyes: "Some of these people, they are in these drawings of yours as well! And this man here; a Kharn. He is my friend. A dear one."