Children were playing in the playground, laughing and shouting as they ran around. They were playing hide and seek, their cute little smiles overflowing with happiness.
From afar, a young Kyle watched them with a faint smile, quietly enjoying the sight of their joy. In his small arms, he hugged a hard stone tightly to his chest. He didn't remember his past, nor where he had come from, but being near other children filled him with a faint, unfamiliar warmth.
Kyle looked down at the hard stone with an innocent expression of joy. It was a gift from the other children -his first gift.
His mind drifted to the moment he received it.
He was deep in a forest back then, with no memories and no sense of belonging. A sudden sound caught his attention. The noise of a hunt.
Through the trees, he saw a group of villagers chasing down a deer. The moment they caught it, one man laughed and called out,
"You're always the best when it comes to hunting, my friend. Without you, we'd have gone hungry today."
The other man grinned. "That's what friends do - help each other when they're in need."
They began to skin the deer, separating the meat and hide into neat bundles. Their faces were warm, their smiles sincere, as if they had no worries at all.
When they finished, they turned back toward their village, carrying the day's hunt.
Kyle, his face empty of emotion, quietly followed them from the shadows.
The hunters returned home safely, their faces lit with smiles. All the villagers came out to welcome them back. Many embraced their loved ones, relieved to see them return unharmed.
One villager called out, "Thank God you came back without a single scratch! You must be tired from the hunt. come home, your sister has made your favorite meal."
As night fell, the people returned to their homes, leaving the streets empty. The only one left standing on the lonely road was young Kyle.
He tried to mimic the smiles he had seen on the villagers' faces, but it felt strange and hollow. He lingered there all night, hoping that maybe someone would notice him, that someone might take him to their home.
No one came.
By morning, he had vanished from sight, retreating into the shadows where no one could find him.
Young Kyle, barefoot, wandered through the village, watching people work from a distance. As he observed them day after day, he began to pick up their words, slowly learning to speak.
He imitated their movements, copying their skills and chores, trying to understand how they lived. One day, he saw children around his age playing together, laughing and calling each other "friends."
From that moment, Kyle made up his mind, he would make friends too.
As the days passed, the sun and moon taking turns in the sky, Kyle sat alone in the jungle, a stick resting in his hand. From the village, he had learned how to draw, and now he traced lines in the dirt with quiet focus.
With careful strokes, he perfectly recreated the faces of the children, and among them, he drew himself -smiling, playing by their side. Beneath the drawings, he scratched his first written word into the earth: "Friends."
Around him, the ground was covered in pictures. people living, working, and playing together. In one corner, he drew a small home, a shelter to protect him from the rain and sun, walls to shield him from storms and winter. Beside it, he sketched a bigger house
-one for all his friends.
A faint smile spread across his face. This time, he decided, he would leave the forest. For the first time, he would meet them…and live like everybody else.
As Kyle walked toward the village, his small wings began to flap slowly with excitement, and his soft tail wiggled like a child whose dream had finally come true. Full of confidence, he ran forward, leaping into the air with a wide smile on his face, whispering the word he cherished most: "Friends."
The sound of children's laughter caught his attention. His ears twitched, and his body instinctively moved toward the voices. He climbed the nearest tree in one swift motion and perched on a branch, peering down. Below, a group of children stood in a circle, discussing what game to play.
One boy stepped forward and announced, "Let's play hide and seek! The rules are simple. The one who hides must find a spot where no one can see them. If no one finds them, they win. The seeker must search everywhere, even to the ends of the world!and if they find the hidden player, the seeker wins. Everyone understand?"
A chorus of cheerful voices shouted, "Yeah!"
Kyle's heart raced. Without thinking, he leapt from the tree, landing with a soft thud. A smile lit his face as he said, "Can I play too? I can be whatever you want, I'll just follow the rules!"
The children froze. Then, without a word, they scattered, sprinting toward their homes.
Kyle remembered the rules and assumed they were hiding, he thought he was the seeker. Overjoyed, he began to count and then ran after them, easily outpacing everyone. With pride in his voice, he declared, "I won! That means we're friends now, right?"
One small child stood trembling in front of him, a stone hidden in his tiny hand. With sudden fear in his eyes, the child shouted, "Be gone, you monster!" and hurled the stone.
It struck Kyle's hand. But he didn't get angry. Instead, he bent down, gently picked up the stone, and smiled.
"So… we're friends now? You mean it's my turn, right?"
In a blink, Kyle vanished from sight.
The children stared at the empty space where he'd stood then they began to cheer in relief at his disappearance.
The bushes near the edge of the village began to rustle. Hidden inside, young Kyle crouched low, his small body wiggling with excitement. His little tail swayed side to side, and his wings twitched happily.
He hugged the stone tightly to his chest, a bright smile on his face.
He truly believed it
- he had finally made some friends.