Chain Breaker

Part 1

In the small village of Raasi, Enso say on a boulder at the side of the road, watching people pass by. No one paid any attention to him, and he wanted it that way.  His name had made him nothing but a joke since he came into the world. He sometimes wished he hadn't been born into Ensoia, where children were forced to memorize the infamous Line of Enso and recite it at Houses of Enso whenever they misbehaved. It was an ancient system, meant to bully children into submission to authority at an early age. Enso's parents had been so zealous about the Line of Enso law that they had named him after it. Although he had never had to recite the Line, he was the laughingstock of the village. Just then, a young man passed by and shot a dirty look at Enso.

"Hey, Enso," the man called. "Said your name at any of your houses lately?"

"No, Anjan," Enso replied with clenched teeth.  As Anjan walked away with a laugh, Enso sighed heavily. Of all the names in Ensoia, why did they pick this one for me?  Didn't they care at all?  Oh, right. They haven't cared about me for twelve years.

Enso stared dejectedly down at his crippled right leg. At five years old, he'd been run over by a horse drawn cart. The accident had crushed his leg, and he hadn't been able to walk without the help of crutches since. As if being the village invalid wasn't bad enough, his parents had been appalled at the thought of having a less than perfect son, so they tossed him out on the streets. Enso had quickly learned to do small jobs around town in exchange for food in order to survive. I must have done at least that right, he thought. I made it to seventeen so far. By day he limped from house to house and merchant to merchant, taking whatever tasks villagers would scornfully give him, and by night he would look for a tree or bush to sleep under since no one would let him sleep in their hut.

As for Anjan, the guy had never been anything but trouble. He was a respected chief in the nearest House of Enso, which he seemed to think gave him the right to pick on Enso whenever he felt like it and that seemed to be every waking moment. Enso typically try to stay away from him but he always seem to deliberately make sure their paths crossed at least once a day. Anjan seemed to have a stronger hatred towards him than anyone else. His  cruel taunts were almost always more potent than everyone else's. Feeling hungry, Enso Pulled a piece of dried meat out of his pocket and took a bite. The sun was setting on the horizon; it would soon be time to find a place to settle down for the night. He was tired from the heat in the work he done that afternoon. He scraped antelope pods, well then strips of clot pulled a piece of dried meat out of his pocket and took a bite. The sun was setting on the horizon; it would soon be time to find a place to settle down for the night. He was tired from the heat in the work he done that afternoon. He'd scraped antelope hides, woven strips of cloth, and spent three agonizing hour sweeping out one woman's hut. He never understood why that particular lady always forced him to sweep her floor.  He just somehow figured out how to sweep the debris into a pile while leaning on one crutch but that had eventually gotten too tiring and he tried to work without it.  Unfortunately, his bad leg made him so unsteady that he had resorted to moving around on his hands and knees while clumsily and maneuvering the broom. The only reason he kept going to her for work was because she gave him better quality food than other people did.

Enso finished his meager dinner grabbed his crutches and hoisted himself to his feet. He wanted to find a place to sleep before dark and also to get there before Anjan could find him and hurl another insult at him. As he hobbled in the direction of a decent sleeping tree he found earlier, he caught sight of Anjan watching him from a nearby vegetable garden. He braced himself for an insult, but Anjan just shot him a dirty look and said nothing. Enso tried to walk faster to get away from him. The tree was just outside the village, far enough away that Anjan wouldn't bother looking for him. As soon as he reached it, he slumped down and fell asleep almost instantly.