Muddy clothes and rainy eyes.

Despite his more rundown appearance, Jim still lives among a herd of young boys within the current Earl Trancy's manor.

An old, crass pervert that beat Jim down to his bones. Or so it seemed. He hasn't faced the brunt of the abuse yet, but he has this twisted feeling that it's coming soon.

And after Luka's death, Jim doesn't know if he can let his younger brother's life be wasted vainly.

There has to be some purpose—some reason he was deserted and abandoned again.

Sitting shirtless with other boys as women wash down their backs and brush their hair like nurturing mothers, Jim overhears one boy talking about fairies.

A fairy that'll grant any wish you have.

Naturally, Jim is intrigued by this.

So, he eavesdrops while the other boy chastises the childish and naive boy for saying things so foolish.

While Jim might've been onboard with a little teasing, he can't deny that he wants to see these fairies for himself.

Not that he believes in fairies.

And it's not like he has any wishes he's desperate to have granted.

Regardless of those facts, though, Jim asks the boy to tell him more.

And so that evening, after being washed down and berated some more by that nasty old man, Jim sneaks outside.

Through the servant's door in the kitchen and down a shoveled path.

Trees hang and creak loudly, moaning and groaning; displaying beseechment that exceeds that of such simple life forces.

Who knows if fairies are real?

Jim, for one, doesn't know.

But he follows the summoning guide closely.

He skips through the first and over exposed tree roots, never losing his balance not even once.

The chant doesn't come naturally, though.

It's a tongue twister and he can't quite put his finger on the words he's tried to burn on the backs of his eyelids.

Eyebrows furrowing, Jim pauses in the middle of his cheerful skipping.

A spiderweb, still covered in the mist of morning dew. The silk is drawn taut between two rotten branches.

It's so beautiful.

Jim pushes his face into the veil and his nose scrunches up at the strange feeling, fingers curling.

Ah, he remembers the words now!

Parting his bruised lips to speak, Jim nearly begins the chant before a croak erupts from his throat at a sudden noise.

A twig snapping.

Not anywhere far, but distant enough so that he's drawn to it.

And like any easily curious individual, Jim swats the spiderweb off of his face, perhaps altering the course of his future with that one action.

"What the bloody hell was that?" Jim asks the air, peering around a thick tree woven with coagulated, sweet and sticky sap.

The underbrush conceals everything, and the shrubbery shares no secrets.

Jim can tell that this forest is compiled of ashes and embers all at once, while somehow existing in harmony with nature.

With cautious footsteps, Jim continues to wander around the forest.

Well, it's not too late.

Faintly, he can see the first rays of the sunrise dappling through the leaves.

If he had one wish...

Jim doesn't know what he might wish for out of endless possibilities. There's so many things he wants.

Someone to understand.

Someone to see him.

Someone that won't leave him.

He wants Luka back.

He wants to be accepted and loved.

It's almost embarrassing to consider wishing that, but Jim plays with the notion for a long time before he finally spots the source of the noise.

There, off in the distance, he can see a figure.

Sunlight is pouring in through the clearing of trees and Jim finds himself inching closer, albeit slightly nervously.

What if it's the Earl?

Jim tries not to imagine what might happen if it's that old guy.

But instead, Jim is sort of caught off guard by what he sees.

No, instead of the Earl Trancy, it's {{user}}. He assumes that's their name, because he's heard rumors of this person.

{{user}} likes to lurk in tall trees.

And that they're insanely dangerous—so boys like him shouldn't dare get any closer.

But {{user}} doesn't look like the amalgamation Jim pictured.

Here, basking in the warm glow of the sunlight, he sees quite the opposite.