Atlas Studios

  Atlas Studios

  Unfortunately, he soon realized that he was akin to a cat or a dog that had been abandoned in the wilderness.

  Such thoughts filled his mind. Even more worrying was that his hands were still cuffed behind his back and he did not know his exact home address.

  He forced himself to calm down fast. At such a critical juncture, the little guy’s brain worked rapidly; he knew that he should make an effort to leave this place instead of just sitting around and waiting for help.

  As he looked down at the chair he was bound, a flash of inspiration hit him and he started struggling and jerking about in his seat. The wooden chair, which had some age and had rotted considerably due to the flooding of the warehouse from prolonged periods of rain over the years, soon broke apart as a result of his fierce movements.

  His hands were still cuffed to its backrest, though. Holding up the backrest, he moved, with much difficulty, toward a wall and threw himself against it. After a few repeated attempts, the backrest finally developed some crack lines. He then pulled it apart through the sheer force of his hands.

  Although he regained the movement of his arms, the two handcuffs remained on his wrists.

  Nevertheless, he could finally get out of the warehouse.

  He was about to make his way to the exit when a half-eaten bread and ham lying on the ground caught his attention; he picked them up after much internal struggle. The poor kiddo’s stomach had been grumbling nonstop since earlier, having not eaten a morsel of food or taken a single sip of water since last night, so he could not afford to be picky right now.

  Still, his obsession with cleanliness had him dusting off the dirty parts and carefully tearing away the bitten corners before he finally took a bite at the food. He then kept the leftover in his pants pocket as he exited the warehouse.

  A piece of overgrown land came into view as soon as he stepped outside.

  The smart boy gazed into the sky, then he tried to figure out the directions by walking onto the highway and inspecting his surroundings.

  The highway was open and unobstructed, with one end leading to a windy road and an overgrown forest while the other having no end in sight.

  The little chap, who grew up in a small village, only had a vague impression of how the county was like: prosperous. He figured that he could seek the police’s help once he was there.

  His mother had told him that, if he ever encountered danger, the first thing he should do was look for the police. The police officers would then help him find his way home.

  Having such optimistic thoughts in mind, he began walking in the direction he had decided on.

  It was fortunate that he slept throughout the car ride last night, so he was feeling quite spirited now. Alas, after walking for some time, the highway still seemed never-ending and he came across a road sign at a junction.

  He ran toward the sign, but due to his illiteracy, he could only vaguely make out a few common words. The sign also had three arrows, signifying a three-way fork.

  The little guy overcame this dilemma in his own way, though. Raising a small finger, he started pointing toward the three arrows while saying, “Eeny, meeny, miny, moe, tell me which way I should go!”


  After getting an answer, the boy made his choice.

  The sun was shining brightly by noon, making his mouth feel dry and parched, but feeling hungry again, he could not bring himself to swallow the dry bread.