Chapter Text
It was snowing, not bad like a blizzard but still snowing nonetheless. Snowflakes of various sizes were falling from the sky. All of the neighboring areas were just white and gray, rather monotonous. Wandering around all I could remember was Aleksi. Was it the name of someone I knew? Was it a place? Or is that my name? It irritates me to no end not recognizing what it means. On the other hand, being outside abandoned in the cold isn't good for a child as young as me, but I couldn't even recollect how I got here in the first place.
One moment I was laying down in the snowfall and now I just wander. I trug around in the deep white snow of this forest praying to find something. But I wasn't too certain of that something. Presumably something other than snow, trees, and the occasional rock. Today's wind was powerful to the point I was wondering how it hadn't knocked me over yet. Maybe I'm just that much stronger. I power through the wind, snow and my boredom to carry onward just like the times before this.
Besides the 'something' I desperately wanted to find, there were things I needed and lacked, like some food. The few berries I could find in the freezing climate has satisfied me well enough so far. But I wouldn't mind having a little bit more of something that could sustain me longer. Warm meat or even a pastry sounded especially good right now but sadly I couldn't have anything like that. I preferably would love to have wienerbrød, that of the cherry kind. Cherry danishes happen to be one of my favorite things.
There's always something, like something getting in the way of everything. Something, it was continuously the word I used for various things. Perhaps its because I'm young or maybe it because that's the only way to put everything. If you know that there's a thing you need to find or whatever but you don't know what it is it's still something. It can't be nothing, because it's just a thing you don't know what it is yet. I think that's the point that has me progressing recognizing there's something and striving to find that something.
If you're to implement that to my circumstances, my main something at the moment is wandering, survival, not pausing for nothing. Essentially not dying. In this freezing climate, if you don't play your cards right you die, it's just how everything is. I've been at it like this for three days, I think. I really don't know, my sense of time is bad. For someone who's probably about three (I honestly didn't look like I could be six or anything), I think I'm really smart but I don't have a sense of time. Maybe it's because I haven't seen a clock or I don't know how to read the sun and moon. I probably along the way I lost track counting the cycles, but oh well.
For what seems like the past several minutes or so, I have felt weaker and more exhausted then I have been during my wandering. I grasp a handful of snow from the ground and bring it up to my mouth to eat it, using it as my only source of water and continue to power through like before. Being so weak like this reminds me of my earlier hunger, I gaze about for some berries but no luck. Rather than picking up my feet and walking, it felt like my feet were being dragged through the snow.
My eyelids flutter open and close, I desperately wanted to nap or just close my eyes for a little bit. My legs eventually give in on me and I collapse onto my butt into the snowfall. After I fell I sat there for a while just being content. It felt pleasant not having to walk for once and being able to rest my legs. I look around me just snow-capped trees and the snow that blanketed the terrain. It was the same scene as always, nothing distinctive to provide me a hint as to where I was. I tune my surroundings out for a little and close my eyes for a bit praying to get some sleep without anything severe occurring to me.
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I awaken, or what seems to be like waking up from the place that I fell asleep in. I overhear something faint in the distance but with my slight impaired vision and the distance it was at it was pointless. I was so out of it I could honestly be imagining it. I catch what sounds to be like 'Hej', over and over again. I couldn't see anything thou that matched the voice. I rub my eyes to help my vision and gradually start to see a young man walking, and it seems to be towards me. All I hear is 'Hej, Hej, Hej', and nothing else, it's beginning to get irritating.
Finally, the figure that was walking towards me is right in front of me. He sits down where he is standing so it's easier to see me and then starts talking, "Hej, I'm Mikkel. Who are you and what are you doing out in this cold?" "Aleksi?" I question not really knowing how to say anything else. I could think a lot in great detail but when it came to speaking I got nothing. The man who called himself Mikkel was tall, probably slightly above average height. I couldn't really tell too well as he was sitting down. He has very shiny, very spiky blonde hair, eyes that sparkled whose color matched that of the nice aqua blue you thought of when you thought of water. He also had a really nice smile. I could tell that his smile was real, It was also really warm if that made any sense.
Before Mikkel could resume our discussion four more men walked up to us. I could only guess that they had come with Mikkel. The first seemed taller then Mikkel, he had blonde hair but much lighter-toned and had glasses resting on his face. He wasn't anywhere near as happy as Mikkel and seemed a bit irritable which could be from his apparent intimidating vibe. Next to him was a short male shorter than them both, he wore a white hat on his head and his blonde hair color seemed to be a shade in between the two before. His outer expression was cheerful but not the same kind as Mikkel and his smile didn't seem to give off the same warm feeling that I got before.
Next to him was a man taller than him maybe as tall as Mikkel if you didn't count Mikkel's hair. Again the man had blonde hair like the rest but it was darker than all of them so far. His aura felt cold and he wasn't smiling but it wasn't like the first man were it almost frightened you off. Then the final man, he looked to be a mixture of the second and third, his blonde hair most similar in color to the second man. Height wise he was the smallest and he seemed the most annoyed to be here. He also had a puffin perching on his should. I found that to be considerably unusual.
When Mikkel realized that the men were here he spun around to talk to them neglecting me for a bit. "Guys, look who I found! His name is Aleksi!" He appeared overly enthusiastic to introduce me to what seems to be his friends. "Oh, so he's Finnish yah?" The third man assumed proably concluding that from my name and the fact we were in Finland. At least I think we are. He came over to me and sat next to Mikkel. "Moi, I'm Timo and I see you met Mikkel," he addressed, almost as cheery as Mikkel. I gazed at him not understanding what to do since I couldn't say much. I respond with "Aleksi." Since again that was the only thing I knew how to say.
Timo gave me a troubling glance and looks back to the others. "Norge, what should we do? We can't leave the poor boy all alone." Mikkel spoke up to what I think was the third man. I see the man sigh and glance at the two men next to him almost asking with his eyes for an answer. "Is he like us?" he asked bluntly. Mikkel gave him this expression like what does that matter but you could tell deep inside he understood. "Well, I... I... I don't know." He stumbled "He really can only say his name." he finished.
The Norge person sighs again and moves to sit next to Timo. "I'm Sigurd, the tall man is Berwald and the small one is my brother is Eiríkur. Is your name Aleksi?" He converses with slight disapproval from Eiríkur in the back. I shrug and gave him an expression like I know as much as you do. "Do you know what Aleksi is?" Sigurd asks. I shake my head no. "He understands what I'm speaking but can't converse back. He probably was never taught to speak in the first place. He proably vaguely picked up how to say his name from somewhere." He expressed to the others.
"How long have you been out here?" he continues to question me. I shrugged again I really didn't know. Sigurd looks as Mikkel, he seems like he's gonna hate what he's gonna say. "We can bring him along with us back home for now," he told Mikkel. Mikkel's eyes go wide with excitement and he gets up from sitting and grabs me and start spinning us around. I laugh like crazy, to be honest, it was really fun. When he calms down we stop spinning and he stares at me. "You hear that Aleksi? Your gonna come with us! You're not going to be in the cold anymore. Your gonna have a home." He told me. I smiled, I finally wasn't going to be out in the cold anymore, I finally was going to be safe and warm. "Aleksi, I promise you I'm gonna give you the best life you can get. I'm gonna always be with you."