Chapter 8 - Baba

"Stop!" Lee Sai was chasing a Lizard. He was feeling so much hungry that he could die but somehow, he was feeling more energized than before. He was following the lizard for a while now. The lizard suddenly turned towards left on a small rocky path. It was its tactic to lose a bigger enemy.

"Smart." Lee Sai thought.

They ran for a few hundred steps until they reached a dead end.

"It is my lucky day." Sai thought.

He carefully moved towards lizard without giving it a way to escape. It rarely happens that lizards get trapped like that. He got closer and closer. The cornered lizard tried desperately to climb the hill in front of it but in vain. The hill was slippery. Sai smirked.

"You are mine. You are not going anywhere." Sai was out of breath.

"Be a good Lizard and Give in." Sai said as he inched towards the cornered Lizard. He gulped; it looked mouth-watering. Lizard had stopped trying and stood motionless.

He looked into the eyes of lizard and lizard looked back into his eyes.

He was only a few feet away from lizard. Normally, lizards lose their will to live once captured or cornered but he did not want to risk losing his food. Therefore, he was extra cautious. He went one more step closer. When he was about to take another step, unexpectedly, Lizard attacked him. It jumped and wrapped itself around his eyes. He tried to take it off but in vain.

"Get off! You.... " He screamed and applied more force.

"You..." He wanted to curse.

"You fart smelling, butt licking, stupid Lizard! get off or I'll kill you" He screamed in agony.

He was holding the lizard and was trying to put it away, when he felt something was different. He opened his eyes and he realized there was no lizard on his head. There was something else covering his eyes.

"It was a dream." He exhaled with content. He was drenched in sweat and his weakness was gone.

"What is this?" He thought as he touched the thing covering his eyes.

"What happened?" He wondered.

He could remember something entering his body through his eyes and then nothing. He had never blacked out, before.

"What is happening? What is all this?" His eyes were wide open. He realized he could see strange things. He looked around with astonishment.

"Is this because of this strange thing on my eyes." He could feel everything as always, but it was first time for him to actually see something.

He looked down where he was sitting, A blanket was covering his lower body.

"I-I-Is it eating me?" He jumped out of bed. He looked at lifeless bed for a few seconds, so he could avoid if it attacks.

"I am not tasty." He informed the creature.

No response.

He looked around for a while. He was getting more and more aware of his surroundings with time and his surprise was subsiding. He realized that the thing that covered him was not alive. He felt stupid. He looked around the room and his gaze stopped at the only open space from where he could leave. He could feel a very strong life from there.

"Have I been eaten alive?" He wondered.

"It perfectly makes sense. While running with all my might, I could have entered some 100 times bigger mysterious Kappa's mouth." He theorized.

"Ohhh! I am hungry. I should find something to eat" He could think of nothing but food.

"You are awake."

Sai jumped in surprise and looked in the direction of sound.

"Wh- wh- Who are you?" Sai Stuttered. A strange man twice as tall as himself with all white hair was standing in front of him. He had something on his body.

"This is the same strong life energy I felt before." Sai thought.

"Tum itni Puraani Zamaana Qadeem ki zubaan me baat kyun ker rahe ho?" The old man said something. Sai could not understand his language.

"What did you say? Who are you and what is this place? Have you also been eaten alive?" Sai asked one question after another. He stood defensively.

The old man looked surprised. He stared at him for a while.

"You can't speak Jalaali?" Old man said.

Sai could understand him now.

"What is Jalaali?" Sai inquired. He was getting more and more confused. He felt lost. It was his first time meeting another human being apart from his mother. He did not know how to respond to the situation.

"You don't know…" Old man could not believe his ears.

"Do you take me for a fool? Stop acting and spill everything out. You smelly son of a bitch." He yelled at Sai. His nostrils flared with anger.

"You knew my mother? But she said she was a woman. What's bitch?" Sai ignored his rage. He was smiling from ear to ear.

Old man stared at him for a few minutes. He was completely stumped. He did not know what to make of that man.

"Is he acting, or he is genuinely oblivious." Old man thought. His anger faded away.

That man's gaze was piercing, and it was making Sai uncomfortable. He turned his eyes away. The man sighed.

"Why don't you take a bath, and we can discuss everything later?" Old man suggested.

"What's bath?" Sai said with utter innocence.

"Y- Yu-You filthy little rat's ass. You don't even know how to take a bath?" Old man got angry again.

"N-No. What is it? Is it something delicious?" Sai was still stuck at food.

Old man looked at him with utter disbelief. He could not even get angry at him. He was speechless. There was a pin drop silence in the room.

"What's your name?" Old man asked.

"Sai. Lee Sai." Sai impulsively replied.

"Baba. Call me baba." Old man exhaled. He thought for a while.

"Okay. I will teach you how to take a bath. We will resolve everything else later." Baba gave in. Sai smiled.