Outside the wooden shelter, the world felt alive. Mushrooms sprouted in clusters, and revered spiritual plants pulsed faintly with energy. The land stretched wide and wild, untamed. Above, ships cut through the sky like silent predators, their hulls gleaming in the morning light. People moved with purpose below, eyes sharp, shoulders tense in the spirit of a new week.
Most of the people who walked across the streets were dressed in silk and fine linen, embodying a demeanor only someone of his status would consider wealthy.
Black eyes watched silently, arms drifting from the opening that served as a window and a sigh escaped the boy's lips.
It was no use fantasizing about a life that could never be his.
"We're not going to eat if you keep on staring out that window," A feminine voice emerged from the adjoining room.
The boy remained silent, only his eyes travelling towards the direction of the voice. A woman stepped out, wiping the back of her hands against the apron that sat around her waist. She appeared to be in her early fifties, yet carried a demeanor that almost seemed lifeless.
The clanging of pots he once heard had been replaced by the sound of a wheezing kettle. He couldn't smell anything.
"Ma, I'm leaving to find a job," He suddenly said.
"Get out now before your mates grab one before you," The woman said, not for once glancing in his direction before disappearing into the room she had come out from.
He then moved towards the only bed in the room and grabbed the pouch resting on it. With that, he stepped out of the house.
His silver hair glistened under the bright rays of the sun. The dark of his eyes were as thick as the darkness that veiled the entrance of a secluded cave, and his pale fair skin was in no better condition.
It was easy to pick him out as odd in the streets, he thought to himself.
"What job exactly am I looking for?" He scoffed. "To pick the gardens of the higher ups or what?"
His mother was always bothered about him getting a "life". She was always putting too much pressure on him and he didn't like that either.
At first, he walked slowly almost as if trying to be cautious with how he placed each foot in front of the other and then, his pace increased. He moved faster through the crowd and soon transitioned to running.
As he ran, he threw stunts which enabled him to cover the distance ahead even faster.
After much running, diving, and jumping, he reached a quiet place covered in trees. He walked slowly into the midst of some trees and crouched, fixing his eyes on the sand.
He proceeded to vertically draw a door in the ground with his index finger. He then opened his pouch and dipped his hand in it to bring out a handful of what looked like golden dust which he poured out on the drawing on the ground.
The sand began to disintegrate, revealing behind his drawing an actual wooden door.
He immediately took the door by the knob and pulled it open before jumping into the hole after it, shutting the door behind him. Once he had gone down the hole, the sand automatically returned to hide the door from view and all traces of the door drawn by his finger were erased.
Underneath the sands that led to the door through which he had gone, was what appeared to be a secret lair. It wasn't a lair owned by scientists or one owned by a smart team nor was it one owned by a secret agency.
It was owned by thieves.
Stuff that ranged from objects to jewelries were scattered across various corners to mark the success of their numerous exploits.
There were two fairly long couches that sat opposite each other. On one sat a boy who examined a gem and on the other were two other boys who emptied the contents of two pouches in a search for something valuable or money.
His footsteps announced his presence and the boys looked up from what they were doing.
"Hey! White head is here!" The boy who had been examining the gem, smiled and patted the space next to him, gesturing for White head to sit next to him.
"Anything for today?" The boy they referred to as White head allowed his eyes to move from each of their faces before settling them on the boy with the gem.
"We have something in mind. Well, it's going to be the toughest so far but, definitely worth it," One of them scavenging pouches, said.
"Spill it out," White head urged, seemingly impatient.
"Well... it's Lord Camellias' garden," The boy with the gem called Jin, continued.
For the first time, White White head had an expression and it was one that read fear and surprise.
"What do you mean Lord Camellias' garden? Even a madman wouldn't dare wander off into that space and expect to go scot-free," White head's eyes moved through each of their faces.
"He has these new plants. The luminous pears and I overheard the villagers saying that those pears will give abilities that match the spirit core of whoever takes it. What if we actually have great spirit cores? If we could gain great abilities as well...we could become as powerful and as rich as we want too!" Jin pushed on his point.
White head turned silent. There were many things he could risk but robbing someone as powerful as Lord Camellias could be one of the greatest mistakes anyone could ever make.
"I don't know..." his voice trailed off.
"We'll do our thing and keep watch and protect ourselves including you. All you need do is go and... and bring four pears then, BOOM! we're all rich," Another of the boys, Cain added.
White head thought for a long while. Sometimes he wished his life didn't take the turn it had but no matter how much he resolved to do something better, it never worked out.
It was as if someone he couldn't see controlled his every move.
"What time?" He found himself asking. He needed power first to get a name.
He didn't have a name. Names were sold just like anything else in this world. Only those who had either money or power could get names.
Jin, Cain, and Rueben had been thieves long before he had become one of them. They got registered names from the money they stole and he was yet to make enough money to get a name.
"Now," Jin spread out his arms with a smile.