Argur

Mirus

When I woke up it was already noon and I was in my shed. It was very noisy outside so I tried to get up and see what was happening but I realized that my body didn't have any energy to get up. I tried to sit up when I heard a familiar voice say "Nothing's wrong. Go back to sleep. You need to rest". I could recognize the gentle tone anywhere. It was Mirus, the closest thing to a brother that I had. Something about his voice just calmed me down and I went back to sleep.

As a kid, Mirus stood up for me everytime the villagers tried to punish me for crimes I didn't commit. His parents were close friends of the Chief, who took him in after they died. Chief raised Mirus like the son he never had and helped me out from time to time on his insistence. Mirus grew faster than most of the kids of our age. By the time he was 14, he was six foot tall. He towered over quite a few adults of the village. By the time he was sixteen, he was the tallest person in the village and he had the strength to match his height. I was shorter than him by a few inches but I didn't have his strength. He had started going out on hunting trips with the adults since the day he turned 14. The villagers loved him but always tried their best to make him stop hanging out with me.

When I opened my eyes again, it was evening. Mirus was still by my side waiting for me to get up. I could sense there were around five people outside discussing in a low voice. I realised that I could hear what they were saying very clearly "I always knew this child was the spawn of a demon" "it was a mistake to take him in" "I was the first one to object when the chief said he'd raise the child with other orphans". I wasn't exactly surprised as I always knew they hated me since a long time but what surprised me was I could hear them and send their presence beyond the shed.

Mirus noticed that I was up and helped me get up and supported me as I stated walking. I said I didn't need the support but he would have none of it and helped me walk out of the shed. Before walking out the door, he looked at me seriously and said "No matter what happens, you're supposed to deny knowing about anything" I had never seen him this serious before so I just nodded. As soon as I walked out, I heard someone shout "he's awake" and suddenly all the villagers rushed out of their houses and surrounded me. There was anger and hate on their faces but I knew they wouldn't try anything with Mirus beside me.

I realised that Mirus was escorting me to the Chief's place. All the villagers was walking behind us. I still didn't understand what exactly was happening but such things had happened quite a few times in the past. Anything goes wrong, they'd make me the culprit and try to get the Chief to either punish or exile me. Only, this time, they seemed more angry than all the previous times.