Wishful Dreaming

17

What they needed was some food, and preferably some drinkable water. When Mono could stand normally again without feeling as if his insides were trying to eat themselves, he and Seven began searching for something to eat. Maybe this forest had some mushrooms like the last place did. Though if it didn't, then they could hopefully find something else, as anything sounded good at this point.

Then they noticed a bush with bright red balls decorating it, or some sort of berries. Either way, it looked like food and Mono was tempted to eat it. Before he could take a step to it though, Seven put a hand in front of him and shook his head. "We don't know if it's not dangerous." Oh right, some food could kill people. Mono looked at the berries longingly, but nodded his head nonetheless, disappointed at the fact that he couldn't eat yet.

Then they saw a bird swoop down, and both boys froze before diving behind a tree, afraid that the bird saw them as prey. After a second of not being attacked, they looked out from behind the tree, and saw the bird picking off a couple of the small berries and eating it. Mono couldn't help but smile and watch the bird, because not only was the small yellow bird the cutest thing he's ever seen, but this also meant that the food was most likely not harmful.

Seven seemed to agree to Mono's thoughts, because as soon as the bird flew off again, Seven stepped back and gestured to the berries. Both boys carefully made their way over to the food, still wary of any other animals that may be here, and picked off two of the berries, one for each. Mono was the first to take a bite, eager for some sort of nutrients, and almost cried when he tasted how delicious it was. The fruit was sweet and also mildly sour, with a juicy inside, making it the most exciting food that Mono has ever had.

Seeing how much Mono was enjoying the berry, Seven took a nibble out of his, his eyes widening from the taste. Both of the children ended up eating about three berries, trying to hold down as much as they could without becoming too full. This was the first time they were able to eat in awhile, and it was the first time ever to eat something like this in such a big supply. They could get very used to this now that they thought about it.

After eating, they sat there next to the bush and let their small but full bellies settle. When was the last time they actually got to relax? That question came out of Mono's mouth, spurring an interesting conversation, one of the first real ones the two boys held. It seemed as if neither of them was able to recall a clear time like this with how far their memories went into the past. Mono, who's memories were still a hazy garbled mess in the corner of his brain, didn't talk about it too much, since there wasn't much for him to talk about. Seven reflected with a sense of appreciation, knowing that times such as these was not something to take for granted.

It was at this time that they realized they still knew very little of each other. Mono, being more curious and straightforward out of the two, was the one to ask almost each question. Seven would only ask something if Mono said something and he wanted to know more, which made the other boy nervous and try to answer the best he could. The questions that easily bounced between the two ranged from silly ones to answer, such as their favorite color, to ones that required more detailed explanations and thought. Those ones were harder to say out loud, as the two boys realized that they never thought about answering them.

In the end, they talked for probably hours, but this time the minutes didn't go by agonizingly slowly, but surprisingly quick. Mono learned that Seven loved the color yellow, since it reminded him of the sun, and that his worst fear is deep, dark water. Seven on the other hand found out that Mono loved nighttime mainly for the crickets and that he wore his paper bag because he felt that it would protect him from the world that always seemed out to get him. To say the least, Mono's wish to talk and know more about Seven was beyond fulfilled, and he was thrilled. They might have not shared everything or gone into too much detail about their lives, but they didn't need to yet, they had plenty of time to get to know each other.