EXISTENCE: Recovery

CHAPTER 1: Three Months' Time

It was a bright, sunny day. Standing outside her house, wearing a blue blouse and a flower in her bright, peach-colored hair, was a little girl, getting ready to explore her surroundings for the first time. She strapped a small bag around her shoulder and checked through its contents. 

She had never really left the home before - she was very sickly, and quite often she'd be cooped up within the walls of her home. It felt more like a prison than a home. Every so often, she would look outside her window and see three boys, all of whom looked to be around her age, playing together and running around the surrounding fields making all kinds of noise. She yearned to be a part of their world, to run around freely, forgetting for once just how frail she truly was. 

Now, today, she stepped outside for the first time, gaining her parents' blessing to go out and enjoy herself, so long as she was within viewing distance, they had said. The girl looked around, a large smile on her face, which quickly began turning into a frown. The three boys she had seen playing from her window were nowhere to be found today, it seemed. She decided to go on an adventure. 

She turned and made for the hill behind her house. It was a rather steep hill, but it didn't seem too difficult to manage. She began hiking up the hill, being careful not to fall over, each step as delicate as her body. She slowly made her way to the top of the hill and set her bag down, taking out a water bottle and drinking a little bit of water from it. She turned to look out over the direction she came, a huge grin spreading all over her face. From atop the hill, she could see everything; her house, her neighborhood, the city park, and the three boys coming out to play once again. Seeing her chance, she decided to go back down to play with them. 

She turned around to pick up her things and came face to face with a group of four boys, whose faces she'd never seen before. The boys wore dumb grins on each face, sizing up the little girl. The biggest boy spoke up.

"What are you doing in our turf, stupid girl?"

The other boys chimed in behind him. "Yeah, stupid girl!"

The girl was speechless. She tried to offer a retort, but the words never came. She didn't know what to do.

The lead boy raised a fist. "I ain't afraid to hit a girl, girl!" He punched the frail girl down onto the ground. "You better pay for tress, uh, trets, uh," he turned to his lackeys, "what's that word when someone who ain't supposed to be here ends up being here?" The other boys shook their head, indicating their lack of knowledge.

"Oh, you mean 'tresspassing!'" 

All heads turned to face the source of the unknown voice. Standing behind the girl was a short little boy with a rather peculiar haircut and red eyes, a sleeveless shirt emblazoned with the number 5, shorts and boots that seemed one size too big for him. The boy wore a long, red sash that wrapped around his waist, and tucked inside the sash was a medium-length, wooden sword. 

The girl uttered no words, looking at the boy standing before her. He had an air of a hero about him, and definitely carried himself as such. She watched as the boy gave a goofy grin. 

"Also, just to add, this ain't your turf," the boy added. "This is our turf."

Behind the boy were his two friends, slowly walking uphill and coming into view. On either side of him stood a boy who seemed slightly older than him; one had messy, silver hair and brown skin, the other had fair skin and hair that reached just level to his neck. The boy with the silver hair took point.

"Think you could tell us why you losers are here in our territory?"

The boys began backing away slowly.