Zion opened the door of his house. A creaking sound made his presence known to the silence that was waiting for him.
He lit the oil lamps in a familiar fashion and began his dinner preparation. After starting the fire, he placed a cooking pot filled with rice and water over it and let it get warm.
Meanwhile, he fetched some water from the river and used it to take a bath. His body was covered in sweat and dirt, and it was the same case for his clothes.
After freshening up and wearing fresh robes, Zion ate his tasteless dinner.
He just swallowed the rice without any seasonings, allowing water to wash it down his throat.
He was not in the mood to eat at all. Any normal person would not be in the mood to eat after losing a close one, but Zion had made a promise to his father.
"Father, like I promised, I'll become as strong a hunter as you," Zion muttered to himself as he finished his food. To grow strong, one must eat.
After washing the dishes, he made his bed and went to sleep.
Sleep didn't come easily to him as he continued to stare at the dark thatched roof for several minutes.
However, after an indefinite period, his eyes naturally closed, and his breathing turned more relaxed.
The next morning.
Zion woke up early and was training with a spear outside his house.
Each thrust carried conviction, but the lack of strength in them was apparent.
Beads of sweat kept trickling down his well-built chest as he continued to practice his swings and thrusts.
It was only when the sun's intensity increased that he decided to stop his training.
Zion picked up a bucket and was going by the riverside to collect a fresh batch of water when he saw Fana's figure.
She, along with her mother, was carrying water back.
"Hello, Fana," Zion greeted her.
Fana was about to greet him back as well, but was soon reminded of her parents' words. She glanced to the side towards her mother's stare and then held herself back.
Zion's eyes furrowed in confusion when he saw this.
"Let's go, Fana, we have a lot of work to do at home," Her mother said, and before Zion could ask anything, they left.
"What's wrong with Fana? She was all good to me yesterday..." Zion couldn't make sense of it at first, but Fana's mother's annoyed expression answered the doubts in his mind.
The next moment, he glanced at his shadow on the ground and chuckled in a self-deprecating manner.
"So that's how everyone's going to be from now on…" he muttered.
With these thoughts bogging his mind, Zion soon collected the water and returned to his house.
After freshening up and having some meat and rice for breakfast, he left once again.
His destination: Village Outskirts
The village was surrounded by forest on three sides.
The forest gets so thick and dangerous as one gets deeper into it that no one who has ventured more than fifteen kilometres into it has ever returned.
In other words, the villagers have never seen what's outside these forests.
Many have tried the river route to explore beyond, but the river's flow becomes more treacherous as it passes the village, making it impossible for one to make it back home through the river route.
As a result, those who left via that route have been considered dead by the villagers.
The villagers depended upon farming and hunting. Women, children and elders mostly helped with farming while the men did the hunting.
There were many hunting groups that entered and returned from the forest throughout the day.
When a boy turns eighteen, he starts his hunting journey for the first time. Zion, too, turned eighteen two weeks ago and had been going on a hunt regularly.
Zion took a deep breath and reached outside the village walls. Many small groups of men between the ages of 18-40 years old were present there.
The moment they saw him, murmurs started going on in every group.
"Hey, didn't his father die saving him a week ago? Why is he here today?"
"How burdensome,"
"That boy is bad luck. I don't want him in my squad."
Hearing those mocking words and seeing those shunning gazes, Zion was reminded of the events which he was desperately trying to forget.
"Concentrate, Zion! You can't let that affect you!" Zion muttered under his breath and drove those thoughts away.
He soon approached a group with familiar faces and requested to join them.
"We are full, look for someone else."
Zion's heart felt like it was being stabbed when he saw those piercing gazes of the hunters who once smiled at him, but he kept himself strong and approached another group.
"Sorry, look for another."
"We don't babysit."
"Try another group."
"Go away!"
The other hunters who were observing everything from the side jeered softly when they saw this.
"Why is he wasting his time coming here?" Someone blurted out loud.
Zion ignored him. His gaze finally landed on someone. It was Fana's father. With a hopeful expression, he approached him and asked, "Uncle Lu, can I join your group?"
The wrinkles that were present on Lu's forehead creased when he heard Zion's request.
"Zion," He said without an ounce of pity for Zion's plight, "Why don't you do farming and help the women and elderly in the village? I believe the message that everyone has given you is very clear. We do not have places for cripples,"
"B-but I can still fight," Zion replied while trying hard to suppress the choking feeling in his chest after being slapped by those words.
"Stop joking!" Lu finally lost his temper, "Just what could you do after getting your left leg replaced with a wooden one? Just living the rest of your life would be a struggle for you, so just focus on that instead of wasting our time by coming here!"
Zion could only stand still at his place and look at the ground as tears finally fell from his eyes.
"Let's go, everyone! It's time to hunt!" Irritated and not wanting to engage with Zion anymore, Lu shouted at everyone and soon left with his group.
One by one, other groups left as well and before long, the weeping Zion was standing there all alone, abandoned by everyone whom he had trusted once.