Lily lay flat in the boat, unmoving. His stomach ached, his throat was dry, and his head felt light. The food and water had been gone for hours, and he had no idea how long he'd been drifting.
His eyes were half-closed, staring at the sky. He wasn't thinking anymore—just floating.
"Water… meat… even a banana would do…" he mumbled, his mouth barely moving. His body remained still, but his mind spun wildly, hallucinating feasts and warm beds.
But then—
A scent.
His eyes lit up with sudden fire.
"Land!" Lily screamed. He boosted the speed of the boat, suddenly bursting with energy. When he reached the shore, he tied the boat to a rock and landed on the sand.
"It's been so long…"
"I smell fresh water… that way." Without hesitation, he ran, following the scent until he reached a river.
He dropped to his knees and drank deeply from it, laughing between gulps.
Then he rolled onto his back, soaked, smiling like a lunatic.
"I made it."
After resting for a while, Lily stretched and said with a grin, "Alright, it's time to explore the island, hehe."
With no clear destination in mind, he began walking, following the winding path through the dense trees.
"Strange… is this an abandoned island?" Lily wondered, noticing how peaceful everything was—almost too peaceful.
He rounded a corner and spotted a small boy playing alone near the edge of a field, surrounded by a few coconuts. The child alone, barefoot and scruffy, maybe around seven or eight, was tossing a small coconut into the air and trying to catch it.
Lily watched him for a moment, a small smile creeping onto his face.
The boy flung the coconut higher. Then tried to catch it.
Missed!
And accidentally sent it flying, spinning straight toward a small bird perched nearby. The boy closed his eyes.
"Oopsie flip - boink!"
But suddenly, the coconut twisted mid-air, flipped backward, and bounced harmlessly into a bush with a boink!
The bird flew off in a panic. The boy stood wide-eyed.
Lily walked out of the trees, brushing leaves off his hair. Shouting from a distance, "Hey there!"
The boy looked up, startled for a moment. He didn't answer.
Lily stepped closer, keeping his tone friendly. "Hey, I'm Lily."
The boy didn't reply. He simply watched Lily with guarded eyes, clutching the coconut tightly in his small hands.
Lily rubbed the back of his neck, unsure. "Are you alone here? Do you live nearby?"
Still no answer.
"Hmm… you can't speak? Oh, I'm sorry. Can you write down what this island is called?"
Then, finally, the boy spoke—his voice low and serious. "Why are you here?"
"Huh?" Lily blinked, caught off guard.
The boy's eyes flared with something like anger, though Lily couldn't understand why.
"I washed up—sort of," Lily said. "My boat drifted here. I didn't mean to trespass or anything."
The boy didn't respond right away. His gaze lingered on Lily, studying him carefully.
"This island doesn't need more people messing it up," he said at last.
"I'm not here to mess anything up," Lily replied, frowning. "Really."
"Then leave,"
"What do you mean by that? Shouldn't you welcome visitors?"
"We don't."
Just as Lily was about to reply to the boy, they saw a fire in the distance, near the river. Both of them were confused, and the boy quickly ran toward it.
Without thinking, Lily followed him.
"This place is a mess."
"That boy does some strange things."
"Hey, what's happening here?" Lily asked.
"Why did you come after me?"
"Just because…." lily didn't know what to reason it, because he followed his own extinction to follow this boy. They walked for more than 5 to 6 minutes, "Hey! Is your village really this way? How far is it?"
Rin didn't look back.
"You shouldn't have followed me."
"Whatever, can I find some food place in your village?"
Hearing that the boy's fingers clenched as his shoulders lifted slightly, his breathing turning shallow; his eyes tightened, jaw locking as his mouth opened then closed, and after a brief pause he looked away from Lily and took a small step forward.
"We don't have places like that."
Lily stared at him for a second, then broke into a grin, patting his stomach.
"Huh? None at all?" His belly growled loudly. "That's really bad."
They kept walking until the trees parted—and Lily's eyes widened. What he had expected was a busy village. Instead, broken houses slumped at odd angles, roofs half-collapsed, doors torn from their hinges. Burnt wood and splintered planks littered the ground, mixed with overturned baskets, spilled grain, and torn fishing nets. The air smelled of ash, damp earth, and something faintly metallic.
Smoke drifted low from a scorched patch near the river—the fire from earlier.
Villagers sat scattered along the edges of the clearing, some on broken steps, others on the bare ground. A few clutched bandaged arms, others held children close, their faces tired and hollow.
"Isn't that a Kippo?" Lily shouted, already running toward the scorched patch near the river. Rin followed instinctively.
"I thought Kippos only existed in animal books," Lily said, eyes bright with curiosity rather than fear.