Chapter 392 Red
Should he keep sitting there? Would he ever get that necklace back? But what else could he do? He was only told to sell the necklace but didn't know what to do after that. That was probably why he still sat there even after being beaten and having nothing to eat for days. Even if he still had the necklace, nothing would've changed. Little Reyn had no idea how he was supposed to live alone, with or without money. Wouldn't it be good if his brother was still with him? He was old, strong, and smart. He wasn't like this clueless kid. Wouldn't it be better if Redmond was the one who survived instead of him, little Reyn couldn't help but wonder? He'd done everything to keep his brother safe and alive, but in the end, the said brother didn't know how he could live. After a few days, the shop owner didn't even beat him anymore, saying that he'd die anyway due to hunger and his injuries. Curled beside a wall, little Reyn hugged his knees and watched the passer-byes with his eyes barely open. His body was in pain for some reason and he couldn't breathe well. He wasn't that hungry, as some people would throw him food from time to time. "..."
The child watched and watched without caring about the time. "Sir, do you also sell jewelry here?"
He didn't know when but at some point in time, the now familiar cloaked man had arrived and was talking to the shop owner. The chubby man answered him with delight. "Yes, we do!"
"Can I take a look at them?"
"Sure!"
Little Reyn stared at the stranger. A few days ago, he'd seen the man's eyes.
They were red. Little Reyn had never seen red eyes in his life. In fact, before coming to this city, he thought that everyone had either hazel eyes or brown eyes like his family. However, even among the people here, there was no one with red eyes. Red.
The kid had thought about it a whole night while laying down, staring at the night sky. Little Reyn didn't like red. His mother and father were all red before they died. His brother was covered in red too. Their mother's necklace was also stained red for a long while. His clothes had also gotten red from his and his brother's blood. He didn't like Red. Red was an evil color. Everything red made him scared. He didn't want to go anywhere with that color. However, that man's eyes weren't scary. They were red but they weren't ominous. Why was that? Was it because that man was a good man? He's given little Reyn some food so he was definitely a good man. The young child couldn't help but think about it. "Mmm..."
He watched the man talk with the mean chubby shop owner and kept wondering to himself, 'Why does that good man cover his face? I'm sure he's really pretty...'
The man's conversation seemed to be over with the shop owner as he turned around to leave. Once again, he sent a glare at the little kid that was weakly leaning against the wall and walked away. "..."
Little Reyn looked at him leave. Once again, he'd seen the man's eyes through the hood. He thought they were really pretty. Little Reyn got up to his feet while leaning against the wall. He could still see the man walking in the distance. He started to walk behind him. He still wanted his necklace back, but he didn't think he'd ever manage to beat the shop owner. When he also went to where his family was currently living at peace and at ease, he could apologize to them for losing such a precious thing, couldn't he? They'd forgive him for sure. His mummy and daddy never scolded him too hard, and his brother was always kind to him. While forming a proper apology in his head, the kid staggered forward, following the man from a wide distance. They were already near the outskirts of the city, so it didn't take long for them to leave the city and walk to the dry plain on the other side of it. This was the first time that little Reyn had seen this side of the city that was connected to a forest from the other side. The was dry and hot. Even while hot, winds blew from time to time. It was hard to believe that such a place existed near a forest. "...."
The kid kept following the man through the dry land until at one point, the man finally stopped walking and looked back. "Why do you keep following me?"
Little Reyn jolted up and lowered his head. Why was he following this man? He didn't know. He just wanted to do so. He reminded him of red and red reminded him of his family, but not in a painful way like how he thought about them every night, but it reminded him of warmth and gentleness. "I-I..."
He stuttered and lowered his head even more. Even with his head lowered, he kept peeking at the man. The blowing winds fluttered the man's cloak and his hood slipped a little bit. He didn't seem to care about it as he just let it be. "..."
Little Reyn's eyes widened at the sight. The man's swaying hair, the long hair that was tied with a ribbon, which looked as smooth as Reyn's mother's most expensive cloth, was all red. The child watched the scene with his mouth wide open. He stared at the blood-red hair, dazed.
"Whoah!"
The kid exclaimed. "It's red!"
Not just the eyes, but the hair was also red. It was as crimson as he remembered his brother's wet shirt to be, but it was pretty unlike that scene from the past. "It's so beautiful!"
Little Reyn didn't hold back his praises. "What is so beautiful?" The red-haired man asked, puzzled and taken aback. "Your hair!"
The kid ran a little bit closer but still kept some distance from the man out of fear.
"Red hair... Red... So pretty!" That was the prettiest red little Reyn had ever seen!
"Tsk!" the red-haired man turned around. "Kiddo, get lost!"
"No!"
The child ran behind the man, excited. "Get away!"
"Noo!"
"You are filthy! Get lost!"
"I don't want to!"
Reyn clung to the man's cloak.
"I said go back!"
"First you tell me how you've got such red hair?"
"Brat-"
The red-haired man gently pushed the kid away. "Why did you keep following me?"
"I don't know!"
"I don't have food to give to you!"
"It's okay."
"What the-"
The red-haired man covered his face again and began walking. The child ran behind him. His speed wasn't as much as before, as he was tired from walking too much and his injuries hurt. He even felt a little bit dizzy. "Don't follow me, your annoying."
Little Reyn paused for a second before shamelessly shouting back at the man. "I'll follow you from far away so you won't get bothered!" the kid took a step back, more like staggering than moving backward. "..."
The man paused again. "Where are your parents?"
Clasping his hands tightly, Reyn stuttered his words in a low voice, "They g-got killed because of a war," he paused for a second before continuing, "B-brother also died while running away..."
Although he was stuttering, he had a smile on his face for some reason. If one saw him, they might've thought that the kid didn't understand the situation he was in, that he didn't know what death was, but that was quite the contrary. His family should be happy now, so little Reyn was also happy for them. Not because they'd died and left him alone, he was still sad about that, but he couldn't help but feel relieved that at least, his father, mother, brother, and little kitten weren't suffering like him. "...."
The red-haired man examined the child's situation and asked something else. "What's your name?"
The child looked at the man through his blurred vision. "Reyn!"
He hesitated for a second before repeating again, "Reynold!"
As soon as he finished his word, the child found himself falling. His vision which was blurry till a few seconds ago went completely dark and dim.
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