A Kid and His Slime

Chapter 4 - The Woods

It had been several days since Alex had his episode. Darcy, had spent much of that time at his side waiting and praying for him to wake up.

About a week passed before Alex finally opened his eyes. His first words?

"Daddy I'm hungry!" Alex said as he sprang up from his slumber.

"Alex!" Darcy said warmly. He was relieved to see his son appeared okay. "Around you okay? How do you feel?" He questioned as he looked Alex up and down, spinning him from side to side.

Alex let out a laugh "I'm okay! But I sure am hungry! Do we have any food?" his stomach let out a loud gurgling.

"Hah, okay. Let's get you fixed up with something." His dad chuckled. He turned away from his son to head down stairs. Now that his back was to his son, his smile, turned into a perplexed expression, one mostly of concern.

How do you become unconscious for nearly a week and just spring back as if nothing happened? I mean, that's Alex of course. Still...

Another day or so went by. Long enough for Darcy to ensure that Alex was indeed well enough and back on his feet.

The two were standing at the edge of the forest. Alex was kicking the ground as his father stood before him with his large pack on his back and his sword and shield beside him.

"Do you have to go daddy?" Alex muttered.

"Yes, my little one." He said. Placing his hand on Alex's messy head. "I need to go look for some information."

"Where are you going?" Alex asked?

Darcy removed his hand and looked to the forest. "Beyond this forest is what many call The Great Library."

"A library? Is that...a place where you sleep?" Alex had heard this word before but was struggling to remember what it was or its significance.

"Haha, I suppose some people might fall asleep there." His father turned and raised a finger as he began speaking. "But usually it's a place of research for scholars. Many books are kept in a library and the Great Library is said to have all the books in the world." Darcy boasted as if he was the one who made that possible.

Alex looked up to the sky "The whole world? That must be a very big building!" He exclaimed. His father chuckled.

"Yes, it's pretty large indeed." He waited for Alex's eyes to return his. "Now I shouldn't be gone more than a week. There is plenty of food in the house. Make sure to tend to the crops and water them every day." Darcy started explaining.

"Unless it rains!" Alex inserted as his hand shot up in the air.

Darcy let out a small laugh. "Yes, unless it rains." He gave Alex one more hug and started walking into the woods.

"Be careful!" Alex shouted, putting his hands on the side of his mouth hoping to amplify his words.

His father waved his hand in the air as a sign of acknowledgement and he disappeared into the thickness of the woods.

This wasn't the first time Darcy had to leave Alex at home in order to go to town. Alex never questioned why his father would leave him behind, but he assumed that it was due to the potential danger of the world outside their little cove.

Nothing all the exciting happened over the next couple of days. Alex spent his days taking care of the plants, cleaning the house, and finding ways to let his imagination stretch. He danced around the fields pretending to be a knight one day.

The next an evil dark lord shooting fireballs from his hand as he terrorized a city.

At night he'd lay on the tall grass and look at the endless stars in the sky. There was nothing to prevent their shine from reaching his eyes and the sky was so full of sparkling shimmering galaxies and stars.