A RING OF LIGHT PULSED OUT with them in the center, causing the lively flames and lanterns to flicker. The old man felt his despair and inner pain slowly melt away with each light pulse. Abraham recalled the memories of his loved ones from years ago while his eyes looked over each picture. He pulled himself together and tapped the shoulder of the small child. “You can let go now,” he chuckled slightly. “Thank you.”

Kou let go as the old man stood up. The small child stared up at them with a look of worry in their eyes.

“I’m okay now,” Abraham said once more as a look of content overcame him. “You have a special touch, you know?” he told Kou, causing the small child to look down at their sleeved hands. “I don’t understand how, but you took away my sadness. You don’t need to worry about this old man,” he assured with a smile like those in his pictures.

Kou’s eyes grew bright as they nodded.

“Now, I may not know as much as my wife when it comes to the legend, but I know someone who does.” Abraham pulled out a folded map from the inside of his raincoat and placed it flat on the wall above.

The small child watched carefully as the light from their eyes made the map bright enough to see with clarity.

Abraham tapped the center-bottom of the map, where it appeared to be a standing city. “We’re here.” He slid his hand over to the far eastern side. “You will need to head to the forest, but you can reach it with a few shortcuts.” He paused as Kou pointed at the swampy area. “That’s right, you’ll need to go through there and there’s no other way around it.” He folded up the map and gave it to Kou. “Listen, there are several more thing you must know about Oasia.” Abraham walked back to the fire and picked up his belongings while the small child followed him. “Humans aren’t the only ones in this world.”

The small child cupped their hands together as a bright butterfly landed on it. Kou raised it up while they tilted their head with a puzzled expression.

Abraham laughed. “That’s not what I meant. There are other groups here on Oasia, the Elkhi and the Harpies,” he said as he put out the fire. “The Elkhi are small. Maybe even smaller than you,” he joked, causing Kou to pout. “They used to be called ‘Dracolings’ but the ‘Elkhi’ has a much nice ring to it. Anyway, the swamps and marshes are their homelands. They’re playful little things and they’re not strangers to the legend either.” The old man motioned his hand for Kou to follow as he picked up the pot. “The Harpies used to take to the skies and be the messengers throughout the land, but the skies became empty when the catastrophes began. You’ll know them when you see them.”

The duo stopped at the edge of the store as light rainfall caused the lanterns to occasionally flicker. The stars of the night sky with its deceitful guise, twinkled above them, giving nothing more than false hope for the denizens of Oasia.

They both left the abandoned store and past the flickering red lanterns. A slight breeze brushed by them while the rain sprinkled when there wasn’t a single cloud in sight to hide the beauty of the stars.

“the forest you have to get to,” the old man said as they stopped on the wooden docks. “It used to be called ‘Forestria Synesthesia’ but now, it’s just the Forest of Ash.” He walked onto a gray fishing boat that was tied to the wooden dock with a thick rope.

Kou pointed at the wooden raft on the other side as a confused expression appeared on their face.

Abraham chuckled. “No, we won’t be using that. This…” He knocked on the metal beam of the boat. “This will let me take you as far as I can.” The old man placed down the plot and his belongings near the wooden wheel while Kou sat down on the bench behind him. “Go ahead and rest.” He started the ignition, causing it to sputter and start. “It will be some time before we reach Elkhi territory.”

                                       ***

Kou rubbed their eyes as a warm light embraced the small child. A bright blue sky with swirls of wispy clouds and the rays of a twilight sun woke Kou from what could have been a horrible nightmare. They found themselves on an open grassy field where a slight breeze passed through, forcing the trees in the distance to wave back and forth. The small child helped themselves up to their feet. The wind picked up and swirled around them, forcing the bunny hood off.

A sudden voice, both familiar and unfamiliar to the small child called out to them. Kou turned around and saw a blurry figure in the distance with their hand out, reaching towards them. The face of the strange figure was indistinguishable but even to a small child, it was too close to ever forget. The blurry individual in the distance was, without a doubt, much taller and far older than Kou.

Tears slowly swelled up in the eyes of the small child as they ran toward them. Every step, the figure grew further and further away. Kou ran faster and faster, trying to reach out and grab their hand. Out of breath, Kou could no longer take another step. They looked up at the blurred figure in the distance and with their hand reaching out, the small child tried to yell with all their might as the sky above cracked like glass and fell into an endless night.

The rays of the sun vanished, and the warmth was quickly replaced with a cold, spine-chilling breeze. The small child hugged themselves as their once pleasant dream manifested into an endless nightmare. The clouds above swirled into a powerful storm as the night sky flashed with a powerful boom. Small and helpless, Kou sat down and hugged their legs.

A large flash of light and the sound of thunder took hold in front of them., causing Kou’s eyes to snap open and return to reality. They found themselves back on the fishing boat and reaching out to a blurry figure in front of them. The small child rubbed their tears away and found Abraham standing there instead. The old man steered the boat through heavy rainfall and slightly dangerous waters.

The starry night sky flashed with a boom, causing Kou to flinch and pull back their hand. Abraham glanced over his shoulder and saw the small child has awoken from their nap.

“I hope you slept well, Kou.” Abraham turned the wheel once more as the boat came to a halt next to a wooden dock. “It’s only been a few hours but we’re finally here.”

Kou sat up and looked around. The swampland had a strange glow beneath Oasia’s deceitful sky. Small, glowing mushrooms laid near the banks of the water and leafless trees were scattered throughout as far as the eyes could see. The little child hopped off the boat and onto the wooden docks. They turned around and looked back at the old fisherman.

“I can’t go with you.” Abraham smiled like a father-figure would. “This is your journey and the legend never said anything about an old man trying to keep up with a young’un. Even if I tried, I can’t match your energy,” he said. “Head to the Forest of Ash and find Ms. Mania. She leads the Harpies and knows the legend better than anyone else.” He instructed as he turned the wheel in the other direction as the boat slowly backed up.

Kou nodded and waved as Abraham waved back. The small child watched the boat disappear into the mists of Oasia. They pulled out the map from their pocket and unfolded it. Kou turned it around several times and stared at it with a confused look.

They walked around the swampland with barely anyone or anything in sight other than the luminescent butterflies and fireflies scattered around.

“Fia!” a little voice called out, catching Kou’s attention.

Kou looked around, trying to find the source of the voice.

“Fia! This one is still looking!” it called out again, this time louder than before.

Kou walked toward the direction of the voice, carefully stepping over the glowing fauna of the swampland. The small child’s eyes glowed brightly, determined to find the source of the voice.

“Ah!” it suddenly said loud and clear. “The glowy one!”

The small child looked around and saw not a single soul in sight, confused why it sounded so clear and close.

“Glowy one! Down here!”

Looking down in front of them, Kou saw what they thought was a tiny person half their size. Small, stubby horns were sticking out of their head as well as tiny, reptile-like wings out of the back of their coat. A little dragon’s tail was sticking out below the wings. A few dark blue scales beneath their yellow, reptile eyes reflected the light from Kou’s shimmering eyes. The tiny creature’s blue jacket seemed to be too big for them along with messy dark blue hair to match.

Kou stared down at the little being, thinking back to their drawings. The small child immediately thought it looked like a cross between a toddler and a dragon.

“Glowy one, can you help this one?” He looked up at the child. “This one really needs help!”