Book of Names

It was a chilly night, for midsummer. Alan was cold.

The eight-year old shivered in the hole, crying. He never should have followed those boys out past the clearing, his mother told him never to go that far from town. But they promised they would show him something fun. They said they wanted to be his friends. He didn’t think they’d push him in.

Alan sniffled, curling tighter to try and stay warm. He wiped a small streak of blood from his skinned knee. “I want to go home...” he muttered, wiping his eyes.

“Well, I think maybe I can help.”

Alan looked up to see a face smiling down at him. The man reached down into the pit. “Let me give you a hand.”

Alan reached up, and the man pulled him out of the pit. He smiled at him again. The man’s smile was comforting. The man knelt down to look at Alan.

“You’re out late. Your mother and father are worried sick. How did you get down there?”

“They said they wanted to show me something...then they brought me here and pushed me in.”

The man nodded, understanding. “Bullies, eh? Don’t worry. Those kids will learn their lesson. And you will get back to your nice, warm bed.” He smiled again.

“How did you find me?” Alan asked.

“I looked.” The man said, ruffling Alan’s hair. “Why don’t we take care of that knee?”

Alan sniffled. “Ok.”

The man opened a bag he had on his back and took out some bandages and ointment. It stung a bit, but soon Alan’s knee was bandaged, and the boy felt a lot better.

“There we go,” the man put a hand on Alan’s shoulder. “You were very brave. Now come on. Let’s get you home.”

True to his word, soon Alan was in front of his house, his mother and father standing outside. He ran to them and they pulled him into their arms, crying and laughing with relief. Alan turned back to thank the man, but he was already walking away.

“Wait!” Alan shouted. “Thank you! You saved me!”

The man turned back to Alan, smiling that reassuring smile. “Of course. There’s no need to thank me for that. That’s just what I do.” He waved and walked away. The next morning Alan discovered the man hadn’t even stayed the night; he had left the town as soon as Alan had been reunited with his parents. From then on, the children in that town could often be seen pretending to be the stranger, rescuing their friends from all kinds of imaginary dangers. Alan himself grew emulating the man who saved him, helping everyone he could. When he reached adulthood, Alan too set out on his own, travelling in search of those he could save. But that is a different story. For now, the stranger headed south, to whatever awaited him next.