The forest was silent.
Tez walked behind Rishi Anand without saying a word. The narrow path twisted between tall sal and peepal trees. Sunlight passed through the leaves and painted moving patterns on the ground.
The air was fresh.
Birds sang from high branches, and monkeys jumped from tree to tree.
It was hard to believe that only a day ago, Tez had watched his village burn.
His body moved forward.
His heart remained in Suryanagari.
After several hours of walking, Rishi Anand stopped beside a clear stream.
"We will rest here."
Tez quietly sat on a large stone.
For a long time, he stared at the flowing water.
The stream reminded him of the river near his home.
He remembered floating little lamps with Mira during the harvest festival.
He remembered his mother washing clothes while singing old folk songs.
He remembered his father teaching him how to catch fish with nothing more than patience.
Those memories hurt more than his burned hands.
Rishi Anand returned carrying a few wild fruits and a small clay pot filled with water.
"Eat."
"I'm not hungry."
"I know."
The sage placed the fruit beside him anyway.
"But your body still needs strength."
Tez looked at the fruit but did not touch it.
"Does the pain ever go away?"
Rishi Anand sat beside him.
"No."
Tez lowered his head.
"Then how do people keep living?"
The old sage smiled gently.
"They do not live because the pain disappears."
"They live because they slowly discover a reason stronger than the pain."
Tez remained silent.
He did not yet understand.
---
As they continued walking, they reached a narrow wooden bridge crossing a fast-moving river.
The bridge looked old.
Several wooden planks were missing.
Tez hesitated.
"It doesn't look safe."
Rishi Anand stepped onto the bridge calmly.
"It has carried many travellers."
"It will carry us too."
Halfway across, Tez looked down.
The water rushed below with great force.
For a moment, fear froze his feet.
"Don't look at the river," the sage called.
"Look where you wish to go."
Tez lifted his eyes.
Slowly...
One careful step at a time...
He reached the other side.
Rishi Anand smiled.
"Life is often like that bridge."
"If you keep staring at what frightens you, you forget to move forward."
---
By afternoon, the forest became thicker.
The sounds of birds slowly disappeared.
Instead, strange calls echoed from deep among the trees.
Tez instinctively picked up a long wooden stick lying beside the path.
Rishi Anand noticed.
"You think that stick will protect you?"
Tez looked embarrassed.
"It makes me feel safer."
"Feeling safe and being safe are not always the same."
Suddenly, bushes rustled nearby.
Tez quickly stood in front of the sage.
A large wild boar stepped onto the path.
Its sharp tusks shone in the sunlight.
It snorted loudly and scratched the ground with its feet.
Tez tightened his grip on the stick.
His heart raced.
The boar lowered its head.
Ready to charge.
"Don't move," Rishi Anand said calmly.
"But—"
"Trust me."
The boar took another step.
Tez could hear his own heartbeat.
Then something unexpected happened.
Rishi Anand slowly bent down.
He picked up a handful of fresh berries growing beside the path and gently rolled them towards the animal.
The boar stopped.
It sniffed the berries.
A few moments later, it began eating.
After finishing, it quietly disappeared into the forest.
Tez stared in disbelief.
"You weren't afraid?"
"I respected its fear."
"I don't understand."
"The boar thought we wished to harm it."
"But we didn't."
"Most fights begin because fear speaks before understanding."
Tez looked at the empty path where the animal had disappeared.
His father had always solved village arguments with calm words instead of anger.
Perhaps strength truly had many forms.
---
As evening approached, they reached a small clearing surrounded by ancient trees.
At its centre stood a tiny stone shrine.
Time had covered its walls with moss.
Wild flowers grew between the cracks.
Someone still cared for the place.
Fresh water rested in a clay bowl before the shrine.
Oil burned quietly inside a small lamp.
"Who lives here?" Tez asked.
"No one."
"Then who lights the lamp?"
Rishi Anand smiled.
"Sometimes travellers do."
He carefully added fresh oil to the lamp.
"The light must never die."
Tez watched silently.
The simple act reminded him of the temple flame in Suryanagari.
The flame that had gone out on the night of the attack.
Without thinking, he whispered,
"I couldn't save our temple."
Rishi Anand looked at the burning lamp.
"A temple is made of stone."
"The true light lives inside people."
"They burned your village."
"They destroyed buildings."
"But they could not destroy kindness."
"They could not destroy truth."
"And they cannot destroy the light your parents placed inside you."
Tez looked into the small flame.
For the first time since leaving Suryanagari...
He felt a little warmth that did not come from fire.
---
That night they slept beneath the open sky.
Tez lay awake looking at the countless stars.
"Rishi Anand..."
"Yes?"
"My father said someone would ask for the leather pouch one day."
"Was he talking about you?"
The old sage looked towards the stars for a long moment before answering.
"No."
"Then who?"
Rishi Anand's face became serious.
"I do not know."
"But I know one thing."
"What?"
"The person who seeks that pouch..."
"...will change your life forever."
A cool wind moved through the trees.
Far away, hidden in the darkness beyond the forest, two shadowy riders watched the faint glow of their campfire.
One of them pointed towards the clearing.
"The boy is alive."
The other nodded.
"Then the hunt has only begun."