The boy

Mira is visiting Resa at the moment.
Kaya is on her way to the mountain of death with Elena after all.

So, what are we going to do now?

I was actually still busy. Ace, can you take care of Mira until then?
Why don't you show her her room?

Can't you tell me more about Linda right now?
I think I even knew her. Wasn't she friends with Kaya?

Later. I still have to finish this.

You shouldn't disturb Resa any longer.

Alright, then show me my room.

But where is Mira supposed live?
The whole room where Linda lived is full of your stuff.
Someone would have to clean it up first.
And you know that's not my strong point.

Mine neither.

There's enough space in your room. Isn't that possible?

Of course it is. I'd be honored.
But is it okay for Mira to sleep with a boy?

Oh, that's a good point. But I don't think that should be a problem.
You know how to behave, Ace.

Ace escorts Mira to her room. Mira doesn't seem to mind that there are still some of her clothes lying around, mostly underpants.

What are you? A boy? What is that supposed to be?

That doesn't matter now.

Well, you do look a little different, don't you?

What do you mean?

Never mind. I didn't mean to be rude.

It definitely is related to the looks.
You'll find out soon enough anyway.

And I'm really supposed to sleep here?
There's only one bed.

If you don't mind, we'll just sleep together.

Alright. That's cool. I didn't have a proper sleepover for centuries.

Mira throws herself into the bed.

Ace just lies down next to her.

It's pretty nice to Mira to have such a nice boy next to her.
She's glad to have met a boy like her.

They just keep lying there for a while until Mira starts to get bored.

What's it like to live here? What do you do all day?

I haven't lived here for long.
So I still have to get used to this place.
But mostly I help my master.

What master? Who are you working for?

I'm talking about Resa, of course. She's always pretty busy, so I'm helping her.

I see. And where have you been before?

I've just finished a very exhausting journey. Outside the valley, life is much more difficult.

You've been outside the valley before?

Sure, I grew up there. Like everyone.

I don't remember ever living anywhere else.

Was it that long ago?

Ever since I can remember, I've lived together with my two friends Kaya and Elena.
Whereas, now that I think about it, it could be that there used to be four of us.
Maybe a Klara?
Or was that before Kaya joined us?
Or was it Elena who came to us last?

If your memories are that bad, you must have been living here for a really long time.

I can still remember a beautiful day with Elena.
We were at the big tree that she had planted herself a few years before.

Then you must have lived here for over 300 years.

Something like that.
But probably before that, too, with Klara and all.

It's quite a pity that some people just have to leave. Klara was such a lovely girl, too.
Mira had almost forgotten about her.

And doesn't it get boring at some point, always living with the same people?

Not for me. Elena unfortunately did get bored and so...

Yeah, I know...
So... what have you been doing all day?

Playing a bit in the meadow, or sometimes going a bit further away, maybe into the forest to swim at the lake.
And always eating something together.

Sounds like fun. We could also do that some day.

Yeah, sure.

And what else?

I've been reading a lot.
I had already read the best stories several times.
They even got more and more exciting.
And I'm always learning new things.

Oh, nice.
I learned reading just recently.
I have to read all the science and biology books.
We don't have any other books.

Oh, I'll show you mine one day.
They are mostly stories of the past, but I'm not sure if they happened for real.

That sounds nice.

Oh, and I regularly do some training.
I already know some tricks.

What kind of tricks?

I can show you a simple one.

Mira stands up, stands and bends down until her hands touch the floor.

Then she does a handstand, and starts walking on her hands. But after a few steps, she falls over.

She seems to have hurt herself a little.

Are you alright?

She stands up again.

Yeah, I'm fine. I must have put on a little weight over the last few years. I used to be able to do it much better.

She pats her belly.

Anyway, you really don't seem to get bored.

And how is life outside the valley?

You really don't remember what's there, do you?

No.

But you do know where people come from?

No, I never really thought about that.
I thought we just existed.

No, everyone is created somewhere.
To get to that valley, you have to take a hard journey.

Oh, I didn't know. But I might have lived somewhere else before.
And what about you? Are there any more boys like you?
I guess they're just too weak to reach this place.

No, there aren't. As far as I know it's just me.

So you really are the only boy?

I guess, I am.

Ace knows more, but he doesn't want to tell Mira everything for now.

They keep relaxing for a while until Resa calls for them.
Is it already time for dinner?