a series of sbi oneshots

my gold

For as long as he remembered; Tommy had always been different.

He wasn’t like the other kids in the village. They had family’s, Warm beds to sleep in for the night, and their cheeks swelled with fat from being well fed.

Not Tommy, he lived by himself in a small village that bordered the Northern Wilds in the land of Esempi.

He slept in the streets, cold during the long winter nights. Bones poked through his skin from how scarce food was; especially because the other villagers had learned most of his tricks by now, after all in their opinion 12 was too old to beg for food anymore.

But the thing that stood out the most about Tommy was his golden blond hair.

Everybody else in town had dark brown or black hair. Maybe that’s why nobody adopted him, why the adults would whisper about how dangerous he was.

Why everyone in the village would smear mud on his head whenever the tiniest bit of gold peaked through.

Because of this his head was always filthy, scalp itchy and dry as dust fell onto his face. He hated being dirty, but the one time he tried to wash the muck out he was beaten. Told he was a fool and put the entire village in danger; before mud was smeared into his curls once more.

Hell he couldn’t even remember what it felt like to be clean, which bothered him; especially on the cold nights when the mud would freeze to his skin. He didn’t understand why his hair made him so dangerous, it’s not like it did anything special; just sat there like everyone else’s.

That’s how Tommy found himself at the edge of the woods; following a small stream that ran past his home. (which happened to be an abandoned shed that used to be used for sheep herding, until the entire flock vanished one day).

He knew the water led to somewhere and Tommy was determined. After all, when he woke up this morning to find a bug crawling out of his hair he decided enough was enough. He was going to get clean, even if that meant spending a day or two in the forest.

Now Tommy was a big man who wasn’t afraid of anything, but staring into the dense woods he’d been warned about his entire life made him falter just the tiniest bit. The townspeople threatened him constantly about staying away from the Wilds, saying he’d put everyone at risk by entering them. But if he was already breaking one rule today might as well break all of them and have some fun while doing it.

So with a deep breath and an itchy scalp; Tommy matched into the woods.

Taking a step into the border he waited to be cut down but nothing happened, instead he was met with a calm atmosphere. Birds chirping nearby, squirrels searching for food after waking up from the long hibernation they took in the fading winter.

He stayed close to the stream; admiring how the ground was coated with a comfortable layer of moss. The trees spread out letting rays of sunlight peak though the canopy.

‘This was beautiful.’ He thought. Why was everyone afraid of the forest when all he felt was peace.

His journey was short lived as he stumbled upon a large stone cliff that towered high above him.

“Well fuck.” He said to himself, giving up his hope of finding a pond or river. However, as he glanced down at the stream he noticed how it ran through a small opening in the rock face.

Tommy bent down looking in the hole and marvelled as sunlight peeked through from the other side. The crevice was small; but so was Tommy, so with some effort he slid himself through the opening, getting his clothes wet from the stream under him.

Just as he breached the hole he placed his hand on the side as an anchor. Unfortunately the rocks were damp and covered in a thin layer of algae; causing the boy's grip to slip.