When Adam saw the bag in the other boy’s hand, he ran straight toward him and snatched it away. Then he quickly opened it, pulling out a bundle of fruit and bread, and sat on the ground to eat ravenously, as if he hadn’t tasted food in days. The other boy and I just watched him in silence. In my whole life, I had never seen anyone eat like that. I remembered what my mother used to tell me when I was younger, "Don’t eat so fast, you’ll choke like that." Without thinking, I said quietly but clearly. "Eat slowly. If you eat that fast, you’ll die." He raised his head toward me, still chewing the bread in his mouth, then grabbed all the food and clutched it in his lap. His tone turned cautious as he spoke to the other boy. "Who’s this? And why did you bring her here?" The boy answered simply, gesturing toward me. "She’s my father’s friend’s daughter." Adam sighed in relief at that, then placed the food back on the ground and resumed eating just as greedily. We sat there watching in silence until he finished everything in the bag, then he exhaled deeply and wiped his mouth and stomach with his hand. The other boy spoke up eagerly. "Adam, are you going to show me that magic trick now?" Adam stood up sluggishly and replied. "Of course... but..." He turned to me and asked. "Do you really want me to show this in front of her?" The boy looked at me seriously. The latest_epɪ_sodes are on_the 𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹·𝗳𝗶𝗿𝗲·𝗻𝗲𝘁 "Diana, do you swear not to tell anyone what you’re about to see? Not my mother, not Mrs. Margaret your mother?" He smiled, then turned to Adam, excitement in his voice. Adam walked toward the factory wall, stood before his own shadow, and thenmerged into it. He completely vanished from sight. My eyes widened, and I stepped back, blinking several times, unable to believe what I was seeing. The boy beside me clapped like a child watching a circus act, shouting. Only a few seconds passed before Adam emerged from the shadow again. He was panting, his face pale, and one hand pressed against his stomach. The other boy rushed to him, placing his hands on Adam’s shoulders. "Can you teach me how to use that kind of magic?" Before Adam could respond, the boy pulled out ten bronze coins from his pocket and held them out. When Adam saw them, his eyes widened, and a grin spread across his face. He grabbed the coins immediately. Then, as he tucked them into his pocket, he said. "Bring me more of those sweet things next time, and I might think about it." "You mean the fruit?" "I’ll bring you more next time!" The boy picked up the bag from the ground, stuffed the torn cloaks back inside, then nodded toward me. "Come on, let’s get back before anyone notices we’re gone." I followed behind him, and after a while of silence, I asked as I glanced sideways at him. "How did you meet that boy?" "One time when I was out with my father, I saw him running from a distance. Some men were chasing him. He ran into a nearby alley, merged with the wall, and disappeared. I watched the place until his pursuers left, and then he came out of the wall again. When I saw that, I secretly followed him and found out he was hiding in that factory." "I stuck with him all day. At first, he tried to get rid of me, but he gave up after I handed him an apple I had with me. When he ate it, he let me stay. I had gotten lost, and he helped me find my father, who was looking for me too. Once he brought me back, he disappeared without saying a word. When I got home, my mother scolded me harshly and my father too and since that day, she never let me go out with him again." I went quiet for a moment, then asked. "What exactly did that boy just do?" He replied confidently. "Magic? Isn’t that just something from fairy tales?" "No, it’s real. You’re just locked away in that big cage of yours. I’ve seen my father and yours use similar powers several times, even though they tried to hide it from me." My expression darkened. I turned back to look at the crumbling buildings we had left behind and asked. "Why does that place look like that? Why is it so different from our neighborhood? And why does that boy look that way?" "Hey... slow down. I don’t know everything. All I know is that we live in an area reserved for police officers and officials or something like that, nothing more." "But... why can’t everyone live with us?" He paused briefly, then said. "Can’t we bring that boy to live with us?" He shook his head sadly. "I don’t think they’d accept him. And I doubt the guards would even let him in." "Why do you think that?" "Why do you think he ran away the moment he helped me find my father before anyone could see him?" I didn’t have an answer. He continued in a calm tone. "I’ll spare you the trouble of guessing. When I told my father about him and asked if we could help, he told me not to go near that boy or anyone like him again. When I asked why, he didn’t answer. But it’s clear that the people living here don’t care much for those outside." When we reached the wall, he crouched and crawled through the small opening, then turned to me and said. "Come on, quickly, before someone sees us." I crawled after him and slipped back inside. The first thing we did was take off the torn cloaks and put them together inside the black bag. The boy lowered his head and said quietly. "Sorry for saying all that out loud earlier." I was about to respond when we suddenly heard a woman’s voice calling from a distance. The boy threw the bag into the nearby bushes, then sat down quickly and started digging at the grass with his hands as if he were playing. It didn’t take long before Mrs. Nimal appeared. Her face was tense, full of both worry and anger. When she saw us, she ran straight toward us. When she reached us, she stood before the boy, grabbed his ear tightly, and said in a furious tone. "Where have you been, you little troublemaker?!" He cried out in pain and quickly pointed at me. "I was just here playing in the dirt with Diana... ask her!" She turned to me, her eyes full of suspicion. I stammered, then nodded. "Yes, we were just playing here." Her face softened into a small smile. She took a deep breath, then turned to the boy, speaking in a tone that mixed scolding and relief. "So you’ve finally started getting along with others?" She grabbed his arm and gently pulled him behind her, then turned to me with a warm smile. "I hope he didn’t bother you." "It’s fine, it was nice playing with him." Mrs. Nimal laughed lightly and said. "You’re such a sweet girl. No need to be polite. I know how hard it is to handle this little rascal." She tugged his ear again, and he muttered irritably under his breath. I smiled faintly and followed behind them. Yet even as we walked, I couldn’t stop thinking about what I’d seen outside. The image of Adam’s face lingered in my mind, and the smile slowly faded from mine.