abcnovels
Chapter 480: The Humble Beginnings
Chapter 480: The Humble Beginnings
Chapter 480: The Humble Beginnings
-----
Dan was unaware of a future way worse than he could had ever expected. He was already living however he could, and his heart, perhaps damaged, still held a great innocence. Despite all the hardships he suffered, he still had some motive to keep living, despite all the abuse, he wanted to keep dreaming.
One day as h e wandered the streets around where he lived, he met a young girl named Anna. This girl was blon de. With emerald eye s and long eyelashes. She looked like a princess right out of a fairy tale book, and her green dress and beauty made her stand out way too much in these streets.
At first, Dan thought about stealing her belongings, but quickly pitied her. Perhaps it was her pretty face, perhaps it was her inno cent looks, but he desired to instead bring her outside of this place, the dark streets where she didn't belonged.
"You don't belong here, don't you? Are you lost?" he asked.
"I… I am looking for my dog! He wandered off when I wasn't looking…" she sighed.
"You're completely alone?"
"No, I was with someone else- Ah, I am sorry for being so rude, my name is Anna, and yours?"
"I am Dan…"
"Dan, dear, could you help me fi nd my dog? I prom ise you to give you a good prize. I am completely lost between these busy streets." She sighed.
Dan blushed a bit, she was wa y too amicable! Anyone else could easily take advantage of her… he felt the instinctual desire of protecting her and helping her out.
He decided to help her out as the two wandered the streets of the ancient Paris, and quickly came into contact with one of Dan's acquaintances, a band of thieves led by a tall and fat man named Drugo.
"Oi, Dan, whatchu doin around here?"
"Huh?"
"Who's that?"
Dan gritted his teeth as he saw these people, they would most likely try to do something to her if they were to see such a pre tty and defenseless girl in the streets like this, even more if she looked to belong to a rich family most likely.
"We have to go!" he cried, as he held her hands tightly.
"W-What's happening? Those gentlemen were greeting you, Dan!" she said.
"No, they're bad people… Anna." He sighed.
"Bad… people?" she wondered.
In that time she really didn't knew what he meant.
The two wandered the streets cautiously, but they couldn't find her dog, which she said was of a small breed and white-colored.
At the end, Dan brought her to the main citadel, where she finally found her butler and maid who had come with her, who were wor ried sick out of her after she disappeared out of nowhere.
"I am sorry that we couldn't find your dog, Anna, take care." He said.
"Lady Anna please don't speak with that poor little kid, he might have infections… D-Did you touched him?!"
"No, he's a friend! He protected me from bad people." She said.
"Bad people you say? He looks oddly suspicious. Are you sure he didn't stole anything from you?" wondered the butler.
"No! Dante is a good friend…" she said.
The two servants looked at the boy, as he was suddenly invited to her house out of nowhere!
After that, Dan got to know where she lived, a large territory, covered in beautiful flower gardens, a complete contract from the nasty ugliness of the streets.
He got to meet and live a new life there for just a few hours, he was even given a bath and new clothes out of co urtesy from her, and Anna was a g entle little girl. Although her servants disapproved of this relationsh ip, Dan grew fond of her, and ended coming to visit her several times through the week, until it became almost every one or two days…
At the end, he was given several works by the servants as a cleaner, chef assistant from the kitchen, and even as a gardener helped.
Dan got to know a completely different life, a peaceful life with the lovely Anna.
He grew closer and closer to her as the two lived experiences together, he learned about what love truly was, and how tender it could be. He learned about being gentle-hearted, and a good person too.
Anna was like a light in between all the darkness that Dan had known, all the abuses, all the tortures, all the torments, within his life, Anna was the only thing, the only treasure in all of it.
She illuminated his path as he lived through all these months, his mother began to wonder where her useless won wandered off so much, and slowly grew hateful after learning that he escaped from the red-light district into the fancy city from an informant, Dan's own friends from there.
"Dan… Have you ever wondered if there's something more in the sky?" Anna once asked this question to him, as the two looked over the starry night.
"Something more? Like stars?" he wondered.
"No… Like… something more. There has to be something farther up, right? What about other worlds? I have been reading this book lately… it has given me so many ideas and made me wonder so many things…"
"I see… Julio Verne again?" sighed Dan, seeing the book that she held dear.
He had yet to learn how to read, but Anna had read some of her favorite paragraphs to him sometimes. The worlds this author imagined brought him so many things to imagine and create on his own… it was something wondrous and beautiful.
Anna had changed his perspective a lot through these last two years, he had become someone brighter and that liked to investigate and find new things. The adventuring soul of the young Anna had infected him completely, and she had become his inspiration as well.
"I will one day write a book for you…" he said.
-----