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Dice was gasping for breath and his legs were hurting. But he kept running, he had to, or else... He didn't want to imagine. Dice looked behind himself to check if he was still being followed. Just as he noticed in relief that he wasn't, he crashed into someone. The someone was a huge, dark-haired man. Dice uncomfortably landed on his back, but the man didn't seem to be bothered at all by the collision. He just looked down at Dice with curiosity. "Woah there, little man, not so fast!" the stranger said. His voice had a soft and gentle tone that Dice didn't remember to hear in many men before. Still, the boy was cautious. He had learned not to trust too fast. The guy was still much taller and stronger than him and had every right to punish him for bumping into him.
At the moment, he ignored him and packed some groceries into the bag he must have dropped. Luckily, none of them broke. Well, except for one Pudding cup. "I'm sorry", whispered Dice when he saw the pudding mess on the street. The taller man looked up: "You are sorry? Why are you sorry?" he asked, sounding genuinely confused. "Because...it's my fault your pudding cup broke", explained Dice, equally confused. The giant just smiled: "Oh...that's okay, little man. I can buy a new pudding cup. You know, there's a store where they have a whole fridge shelf of only pudding!" Dice could only nod. This man was either the kindest or the dumbest guy he had ever met. He was done packing his bag and focused on Dice again: "Why are you still here, little man? Don't you wanna go home?" The boy looked at his shoes. "No, not really", he murmured after a while.
For the first time, the other looked concerned: "Then where are you going? You can't sit on the street for the night. The night is dark. And cold" That made Dice smile a little. It was as if this man genuinely cared about his well-being. He sighed: "Well, maybe I'll have to. I can't go home" "But why not? A home is where you go at night. That's why it is called home!" Dice hesitated. Somehow, he wanted to trust this man, but his instincts told him he shouldn't. The other tilted his head: "What's wrong, little man?" he asked. Dice felt his eyes watering, then suddenly, arms wrapped around him. "No, No, don't cry, little man!" the giant called out and pulled Dice close to his chest. For a moment, Dice's body stiffened and he weaponed himself against enormous pain. He wouldn't fight it though, since he knew this would only make it worse.
But somehow, the expected pain never came. The strange man just held him close and cradled him like a baby. It suddenly occurred to him that maybe, this man wouldn't hurt him at all. Despite all he did, despite having every right and power to do so. Dice sniffed: "Why are you so kind? You don't even know me!" A huge hand patted his head softly. "Children should not cry. Never", said the other with a conviction that was hard to contradict. Unfortunately, this made Dice cry even more. The man continued stroking his curls: "Shh, it's okay, you know what? I'll take you to my flat, it's right over there, and you can have a sandwich and a glass of milk and the world will be a little less sad. How does that sound?" Too good to be true, that's what that sounded like. How could someone have such a pure heart to just take a kid in he had never seen before? Without wanting anything in return? On the other hand, this man had not punished him for being in his way or making him drop his groceries. So maybe he truly had a pure heart. Maybe he could trust this one.
Dice wiped his eyes with his sleeve and nodded. The part of him that wanted his first actual dinner in days and a safe place to sleep had won over the part that told him not to go home with a stranger. After all, he can't be worse than Dad... The huge hand stopped stroking him and helped him to stand up, then laid resting on his shoulders. Dice could finally smile at him: "Thank you...man. Hey, what's your name?" he asked. The other smiled back: "I'm Goomer", he answered. Dice raised an eyebrow: "Goomer?" "Yes, you said it correctly!", Goomer smiled even more, "What's your name, little friend?" "Dice", the boy answered. "Dice...sounds nice", Goomer commented on his name, then giggled about his rhyme joke.
After less than five minutes, they reached an apartment complex. Goomer unlocked the door and led him to a flat across the hall. "I live here", said Goomer and opened the second door. At this point, Dice hesitated. As trustworthy as Goomer seemed, going into his home would leave him at the other's mercy. "Hey, I live in here, not out there", said Goomer from inside. Dice realized he had no choice. There was nowhere else he could go anyway. "Sorry", he said and entered. "That's okay. I sometimes get confused with all these doors too", answered Goomer "at least there are only four doors in my flat" Dice followed him through the small corridor into a living room. "There's my couch, you can sit down and I'll make you a sandwich, yes?" The boy confirmed with a small nod. Goomer turned around and pointed to his right. "The door over there is my bedroom. Next to that is my kitchen. And across the kitchen..." he stopped talking and looked confused again. "What's there again?" Dice heard him whisper to himself. "Umm...the bathroom?" Dice guessed. Goomer grinned: "Yes! You are so clever, Dice!" The boy still wasn't entirely sure whether this man was that dumb or just pretended to be. But in any case, he was safe for now, and he had to admit, this strange guy started to grow on him.
Goomer returned with two plates and two glasses and placed them on the table. "I got hungry while making your sandwich, so I made one for myself", he explained. "Oh", Dice smiled and sat down. He tried to eat slowly and remember his manners, but he couldn't help it. Being so extremely hungry, parred with not knowing when his next meal would be, he basically gobbled the sandwich down. First, he feared the other might be offended, but Goomer just looked amused: "You're very hungry, my poor little friend, aren't you?" "Yeah", murmured Dice. He was a bit ashamed of himself. "I'll make you another sandwich then", Goomer said and was standing up, but Dice refused: "No, no, it's fine, I'm not hungry anymore" Unfortunately, at this exact second, his stomach growled loudly. Goomer grinned: "Your tummy says he is still hungry!" He seemed to have read Dice's mind, as he added: "Don't worry, it's no trouble at all" "Okay, thank you", the boy murmured. He was still baffled that someone could be this good as a person. The idea that he might be truly safe here, that Goomer wouldn't lash out on him and Dad couldn't find him here slowly arrived in his brain. And made him realize how tired he was. He decided to close his eyes just for a minute.
When Goomer returned, he spotted Dice seated at the table with his curly head lying on the tabletop. He set the plate on the table, went to his little guest, lifted him into his arms and carried him to his couch. As he laid the boy down, he noticed a bump forming right where his hairline began and several small bruises on his arms that looked like someone had grabbed him violently. Goomer might have been an idiot, but he wasn't stupid. He had already suspected that someone was deliberately hurting this kid. He didn't know who, but he knew he detested this person with every fibre of his being. No child should run away from home in terror, no child should expect abuse from every stranger, no child should be ashamed of wanting a second sandwich. Goomer took a blanket and tucked Dice up. He softly ruffled through the boy's dark curls and whispered: "Don't worry, Dice, my little friend, you're safe now. I won't let anyone hurt you ever again!"