A New Friend

"Oi!"

A loud noise made Elsteba wake with a start. Heart pounding, she looked for the source of the noise. At first, all she could see was the landscape from before, if not brighter due to the fact that it was morning. Then, however, her eyes fell upon the small figure standing almost directly behind her.

It looked to be a small boy - he couldn't have been older than twelve years old. And yet, he was different, somehow. He was more worn and rugged. He was unmistakeably Caucasian, but his skin was tanned enough to almost look Hispanic. His muscles were - well, not necessarily bigger, but their tone was amazing. He looked like he had never seen the leisure of a day's laziness in his life.

"Excuse me?!? Can you get off my harvest?"

The voice made her jump a little. It was deeper and more formed than it should have been, like that of a teenager that was well on the upswing of his puberty curve. She looked down on the earth she had rested on, and saw that it was indeed covered with green blades of grass.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know this belonged to anybody..." she managed to stammer out, making her way to the patch of trail-hardened dirt the boy was also standing on.

The boy, however, didn't seem to be listening. Once Elsteba had moved, he quickly enveloped the patch of grass and, with the hands of a master, began straightening and repairing the bent and matted blades. In fact, it seemed as if he had completely forgotten she was even there for all the attention he gave her.

She decided to take the opportunity and stretch her sleep-sodden limbs. As comfortable as the soil was, she could see now why man had created beds - the soil didn't exactly conform to your body as you slept. And now she had a huge knot in her back which she was fervently trying to get at.

Suddenly a powerful hand maneuvered its way onto her back. It gave a few prods and squeezes, then ended with a mighty blow which toppled her. It all happened so fast she was on the ground before she could get her thoughts straightened out. She turned around, and the boy was walking back down the hill. She jumped up and ran over to his side.

"What was that about?" she demanded. She didn't appreciate unfamiliar people touching her.

"I know how it feels to lie in dirt all night, " he shrugged, as if what happened was just another part of life.

"Well I - oh. " This was an answer she didn't expect.