The Boy and the Animal

Part I | Twenty-Six

Two months passed since their escape from the worst week of their lives. The Autumn came in full bloom and all at once while they were focused on where they were headed; it seemed that the trees stayed green and the wind stayed quiet, until, one day, the harvest colors suddenly erupted throughout the forest like the bang of a gong. Dark almost felt like Summer had abruptly vanished and left Autumn to figure everything out on its own.

He knew the feeling.

Still, gazing around on what short breaks they would allow themselves, he'd found that never an Autumn season had come to pass as magnificent or bold as this. The elegant furs and coats of the ladies who came for the season shown in the stealthy animals that darted between the trees with grace. The swarm of new faces amongst old ones in the city streets- that was the leaves scattered on the ground.

When the chill of beckoning winter came, it came like a plunge into Arctic waters. The smell it carried was of sweet sap and crisp air, and, when he concentrated enough, he could catch a whiff of his mother's Autumn pies  sitting in the window sill. His heart would sink at this- wondering where she was, how she was, and how much she knew about what had happened to her children. Then, as if feeling his pain, Jesiter had held his hand.

The boy had bloomed just as much as the fall had. Over what must have been a couple months, though Dark wasn't quite sure, the teen's speech soared from that of a three-year-old's fumbling mouth to an aware young lady. He even began to enjoy listening to him speak.

Subsequently, Dark found that the more he gave him the ability to speak and taught him to express himself, the more he found just how much the boy had to say. Jesiter had been isolated so much from humans because of his inability to communicate, but, now that he was forming grammar and a growing lexicon, he was a complete chatter box- and he never ceased to interest him. 

Jesiter told him stories about living alone, before the basement, how he didn't remember his parents- whether there was ever someone there, even his mother- and how he was attracted to people because of food. Dark, of course, thought this was a bit humorous, and the boy had to agree, but then he said something that had tugged the man a bit too much.

He was also attracted to the humans because half of him wanted them to find him, to take him in and protect him from all the scary things in the wilderness. As a child forever barred from their society, he would copy them, imitating games of hide-and-seek with rocks or stealing pacifiers and clothes to feel like a part of them.

That part of him always seemed to find its way in and out of their conversations, just wanting to belong. Maybe, when Dark thought about it in the long silences as they climbed over obstacles or ran from approaching hunters, he could relate to him in some way. Sitting on the outside, wanting to be like everyone else. Except, he actually did something about it.

But was it the right decision?

Teaching Jesiter to speak properly and to express himself better had taken an inch more than the patience he had the capacity for, of course. The boy had remarkable learning prowess, however, which was exceptional given that he had passed the critical period, so the painstaking task proved to be rewarding in the end.

Seeing him learn and become more and more normal became almost addicting, as well. Dark began to teach him other things, like simple arithmetic and how to read the alphabet. Jesiter was an insatiable sponge, and soon he demanded him to show him more and more. And he couldn't help but oblige.

Sometimes, on nights when the moon was bright enough and the forest settled down to a soft quiet, Dark would show him magic tricks like removing his thumb or making something disappear- even the silly coin in the ear trick, of which the boy spent the rest of the night trying to find more. The way his eyes lit up in wonder, in such childish innocence he'd never seen in an adult before...