Little One

 A young girl sat inside her tent.

Outside, the world was cold and empty—but inside, a small bonfire flickered gently, warming the space. In her hands, she held something rare: a sausage, hard to come by in this wasteland.

The world had always been like this, as far as she knew.

Ruins, strange creatures, poison gas, and unexplainable phenomena—none of it frightened her anymore. It was simply… normal.

She took a bite.

Then paused.

Something felt… off.

The camp was too quiet.

Then she noticed him—a man passing by her tent.

She smiled, as if it were the most natural thing in the world, and waved.

“Hey! It’s cold outside. Wanna come in?”

The man stopped. He stood there for a moment, silent, almost confused. Then, without a word, he stepped inside.

He sat across from her.

She held out the sausage with a bright smile.

“Want half?”

He nodded and took a bite.

“Where are you going?” she asked. “Are you alone?”

He nodded again, still silent, his eyes wandering around the tent.

She chuckled softly.

“Relax, it’s not a trap. The world just needs more kindness.”

She took another bite, then asked,

“Where did you come from?”

Instead of answering, the man looked at her and asked,

“You are not afraid of me?”

She blinked.

“Should I be? Are you dangerous?”

He said nothing, only staring into her eyes.

Then he spoke.

“You have a brave soul, little one.”

He reached down and touched the ground.

A flower bloomed instantly beneath his fingers.

With another touch, it withered—decaying into ash.

The girl smiled.

“Who are you?” she asked. “Should I run?”

But she took another bite anyway.

“My name is Tabiki,” she added casually. “Human, of course. As you can see. Who are you?”

The man looked into her eyes for a long time.

“I have many names,” he said at last. “My true name cannot be spoken in any human tongue.”

A sudden breeze brushed past her.

She heard things she had never known before—the rustling of a forest, waves crashing somewhere far away… things she had never seen, yet somehow understood.

She knew.

His name could not be spoken.

“Some humans,” he continued, “call me… Ancient One.”

Tabiki nodded, finishing the last bite of her sausage.

“Oh… sorry. I ate it all,” she said lightly.

“Are you a god?”

For the first time, the Ancient One smiled.

It was small. Almost uncertain. As if he didn’t know he could.

“You are truly not afraid of me, aren’t you?” he asked again.

“Why should I be?” Tabiki replied, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand.

“You seem nice.”

He inhaled slowly.

“It is the nature of things,” he said. “People fear fire. Volcanoes. Floods. They move away… even without knowing why.”

Tabiki tilted her head.

Then suddenly—

“Ahh!! That’s why it’s so quiet tonight!”

She looked around, as if she had just solved a small mystery.

Silence returned.

Then she spoke again.

“Are you really that old?” she asked. “Is that why they call you Ancient One? Can you tell me… what the world was like before the wasteland?”

The man said nothing.

Instead, he extended his hand.

For the first time, Tabiki felt something unfamiliar—a chill running down her spine.

Is this fear? she wondered.

But curiosity won.

She took his hand.

—

In an instant—

Darkness.

Light.

Animals.

Humans.

Caves.

Villages.

Towns.

Kingdoms.

Empires.

War.

Death.

Collapse.

And then—

Rebirth.

Again.

And again.

And again.

Endless cycles of rise and fall, repeating over and over until—

Wasteland.

—

In less than a second, she was back in her tent.

Tabiki collapsed.

She couldn’t breathe.

Couldn’t think.

And then she threw up.

—

The Ancient One stood in silence.

As he turned to leave, Tabiki forced herself up, her body trembling.

“Will I… see you again?” she asked weakly.

He looked back.

And smiled.

A gentle smile—like a father’s.

Warm. Soft. Safe.

For a brief moment, it felt like everything would be okay.

Then it was gone.

“No,” he said.

“You will not. But I will remember you… in my eternity, little one.”

“Wait—”

But before she could finish, he stepped outside…

…and disappeared.

—

Tabiki sat there, alone.

It felt like a storm had just passed.

She looked down at the mess in front of her. Her body trembled again, a cold shiver running through her spine.

Then, slowly, she chuckled.

“…I just wasted my last sausage.”

Outside, voices began to return.

Footsteps. Movement. Life.

People came back, as if nothing had happened.

Everything returned to normal.

Everything…

except Tabiki.

The little one.