Chapter 1

The place where I was born was shrouded in perpetual darkness.

In my memory, it was filled with the musty smell of moldy walls, the rusty odor of iron gates, the stench of spoiled food, and the foul smell of urine.

There was a woman living with me.

She barely spoke and hardly ever acknowledged me.

Most of the time, we'd huddle in our respective corners, lost in our own thoughts.

The only time she came alive was when the iron gate creaked open.

Then, her eyes would light up with hope as she crawled towards the entrance.

She'd nuzzle the man's calves incessantly, after which he'd haul her away.

I had no idea what the outside world looked like.

I could only assume it was a far better place than our dismal abode.

Every time the man visited, a pleasant fragrance would linger in the air for ages, making me even more curious about the outside.

I thought if I crawled towards the man as the woman did, I'd finally get a chance to see what was beyond that gate.

But the woman lashed out at me violently.

Who would've thought that bare-foot kicks could hurt so much?

And that short flight of steps leading to the iron gate suddenly seemed an insurmountable distance.

I assumed my days would drag on like this indefinitely.

However, everything changed the day Simon Bright opened the small window on the roof.

*****‍

Once again, the woman was hauled away.

I cringed into the cold, damp corner, greedily breathing in the dwindling sweet scent.

A faint noise trickled down from above.

A mix of curiosity and unease welled up.

I burrowed deeper into the corner, hugging myself tight, eyes glued to where the sound was coming from.

Then, a beam of light seeped in, growing wider bit by bit.

It stabbed at my eyes.

I rubbed them, squinting through my fingers to get used to the brightness.

On impulse, I found the nerve to crawl onto the woman's iron cot.

Standing up, I stretched to get nearer to the light.

Out of the blue, a pair of shiny eyes popped up at the window. I was so startled that I flopped back onto the bed.

"Ah!" I yelped.

Those eyes got a fright, too.

Against the light, I couldn't make out the look in them; I just saw them dart away.

Then, that fluffy little head peeked back out at the window.

We just stared at each other for ages. Finally, a cute, high-pitched voice spoke up, "I'm Simon Bright. What's your name?"

I just stared into those eyes, not saying a word.

His eyes were really pretty, and his voice was nice, too.

A warm puff of air blew in through the window.

"Don't be scared. I live right next door—we can hang out together," Simon said, talking slow and soft so he wouldn't scare me.

I thought about it for a second, cocked my head to the side, and asked, "Is your place this dark, too?"

Simon shook his head and said, "My window's a lot bigger. There are trees outside, and when the wind blows, you can hear the leaves rustling."

I thought for a moment, then awkwardly tried to copy him, stumbling over the words, "Window... tree... leaves..."

Simon seemed to figure I was lost.

"Hang on a sec," he said and took off.

I just sat there, gawking at the lit-up little window.

What on earth was the outside like?

Before long, Simon came huffing back.

He chucked a green thing through the window.

It fluttered down in the light and landed at my feet.

"This here's a leaf, from a big tree," he explained, lying on his belly at the window.

He looked relieved to see me still there.

I picked up the leaf. It was still a bit warm.

Whether it was from the sun or Simon, I couldn't tell.

I sniffed it. It smelled dry and fresh, nothing like here.

"What's your name?" Simon asked again, his voice gentle and tentative.

"Name?" I repeated blankly.

"Simon! Come back for dinner!"

I heard a woman calling out to him from a distance; her voice was so warm, like a hug.

It made me think of that bowl of soup I'd clutch in my hands whenever I was sick as a kid.

I didn't even know people were supposed to have names. No one had ever called for me before.

But it looked like Simon was about to leave.

Clutching the leaf tightly, I called out to Simon, my voice urgent. "Leaf! My name is Leaf."

"Liv? Okay, Liv! Next time, I'll come hang out with you again!" Simon called out.

He waved goodbye in a rush, and then the heavy metal plate slammed shut over the window, blocking out the light.

The room slipped back into darkness.

Clutching the leaf, I curled up in the corner, just staring blankly for a long, long time.

I really wanted to see what was out there for myself.