[Jevan perspective]

I was watching the orange haired boy dragging little Jevan behind him, while Valeric was exchanging words with that scary woman at the entrance. I still have no idea why little Jevan keeps trying to run away. These people don't seem that bad so far, and the place looks far better than that abandoned house. But I don't think I can understand the way he thinks.

We stopped in front of one of the rooms in the hallway. The orange haired boy pushed the door and went inside, and little Jevan and I followed him. It was a small room. Directly in front of us there were two bunk beds. On one of them two kids were asleep, and the other was empty. Beside the bed was a small wooden desk with a candle scattering a bit of light across the walls.

On the desk sat a boy about nine years old. His skin was extremely pale, like a corpse. His black hair fell over his eyes almost completely hiding them.

As soon as we entered, Marco let go of little Jevan's hand, but the boy sitting there raised his head toward us, his eyes glinting under the strands of hair.

Then little Jevan ran to the window, opened it, and jumped out. I slipped through the wall and followed him.

I asked as I ran beside him:

"Why are you running, champ, like you've seen a ghost?"

He replied without looking at me:

"Didn't you see those hideous creatures swirling around that boy?"

"No need for a silly excuse like that. Don't worry, I won't force you to go back."

"No, I'm not lying, I swear I saw monsters floating around him!"

I studied his features. He didn't look like he was joking. Good grief, either he's seeing what I can't, or he's imagining things. Maybe those creatures really are there. Maybe that boy himself made him see them. He could have some kind of power connected to that.

But before I could dig deeper into my analysis, Valeric had already caught up. He grabbed little Jevan's shoulder from behind and pulled him hard.

Little Jevan shouted as he tried to break free:

"Let me go! I won't stay next to that monster!"

"Monster?"

"That little monster in that room!"

Valeric sighed.

"Looks like you've met Kiran."

He didn't ask anything else, just dragged little Jevan back to the building.

…

Inside the building little Jevan sat on a chair in front of that scary woman. It looked like her office. She had a smile that was supposed to be friendly, but it made me, little Jevan, and even Valeric standing behind her uncomfortable.

"So, why did you try to steal bread from that bakery?"

Steal bread? What is she talking about? I looked at Valeric and found him avoiding little Jevan's eyes. The kid's own face went pale and his fingers trembled on the edge of the chair. Did I miss something?

He swallowed.

"How did you know?"

She smiled triumphantly.

"I'm a witch. I can see bad boys and curse them."

I stifled a laugh. What nonsense is this? But little Jevan seemed to believe her.

"Did you curse me?!"

She nodded.

"Yes, and within a week if you don't break that curse you'll turn into a frog."

His face turned even paler.

"How do I break the curse?"

"You have to work with us here. If I see you're no longer a bad boy, I'll lift the curse."

He answered quickly, directly:

"Agreed."

Valeric and I stared at her and at him in equal shock. The amount of nonsense just said wouldn't fool a five year old, but amazingly it worked.

The woman, named Yara, finally allowed little Jevan to leave. He came out of her office like someone walking out of an execution chamber. His face was extremely pale and his eyes wide. He was walking next to me but his mind seemed elsewhere.

"Tell me you don't believe that nonsense."

He let out a short empty laugh.

"Who am I? Of course not…"

"So will you leave?"

He answered while looking at the ground:

"I think I like this place. I don't have to worry about food here."

"And how do you know that when you haven't even been here fifteen minutes?"

"How much is that?"

"Stop changing the subject."

"Look, I don't believe her, but it's not impossible. I'm talking with a ghost right now who has a bunch of strange powers. Maybe there's a witch who can turn people into frogs by cursing them."

Technically he might be right. I mean, I'm literally a time traveler talking to the owner of my current body as a ghost. Anything is possible here. Still, it was obvious that woman wasn't a witch but rather skilled at scaring kids and exploiting their fears. But I didn't try to convince him. I was going to try to persuade him to stay here anyway. That woman saved me the trouble.

Marco, the orange haired boy, caught up to us. He was running on his toes, his face glowing with excitement. This time little Jevan stopped and waited for him instead of trying to run away.

Little Jevan approached him slowly, trying to sound normal.

"Hey you… can you show me around the place?"

Marco laughed out loud.

"Have you changed your mind now?"

Little Jevan gave a small forced smile.

"Oh yes. I think I've started to like this place."

Marco quickly extended his hand.

"Welcome with us, I'm Marco!"

Little Jevan hesitated for a moment before extending his own hand and shaking it.

"And I'm Jevan."

Marco replied, the broad smile still on his face:

"Welcome Jevan to the Street Sons gang."

Just a moment. What did Marco just say about the gang's name? Street Sons? I immediately remembered Vensen's words when he told me he had been Jevan's companion in the Street Sons gang. I didn't expect it to be the same gang. Am I changing the future now, or are my current actions the reason for my present future?

Honestly, if I weren't here I don't think young Jevan would have joined this gang. And why doesn't this gang even look like a gang? As the man with the mechanical arm said, this place is more like an orphanage.

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