November, 2014.
It was the kind of winter morning that made the air feel a little quieter than usual—like the world was holding its breath. The small town wasn't the kind of place anyone would call special. Narrow lanes, old houses, the smell of dust and morning tea… life moved slowly here.
But for one boy, the world had never been slow.
Not inside his mind.
Walter, nine years old, sat near the window of his room, staring at the sky with the same wondering eyes he'd had since he could remember. Most people called him Walt, because he was still a kid and the short name suited him better. He wasn't extraordinary to look at—thin, slightly messy hair, soft features, and a calm expression that made people think he was quiet or shy. But anyone who spent even ten minutes with him knew he wasn't like other kids.
He was… different.
Not in a loud way.
In a quiet, thoughtful, almost unexplainable way.
His imagination worked faster than his hands, his curiosity louder than his voice. While kids his age fought over toys or cartoon channels, Walter sat alone drawing creatures that didn't exist, sketching strange symbols he didn't remember learning, and sometimes even writing notes about things he "felt" instead of things he understood.
He never told anyone this, but sometimes… he felt like there was something waiting for him. Something big. Something just outside the edge of his understanding.
But he was still a kid.
A normal nine-year-old.
At least, that's what everyone believed.
That morning, he was drawing again. A small creature—something between a lizard and a tiny dragon. Cute, round, innocent eyes, tiny wings that probably couldn't lift it more than a few inches. The creature looked alive on the paper, as if it were staring back at him.
"Why do you always draw weird animals?" his cousin asked from behind, chewing a biscuit noisily.
"They're not weird," Walter replied softly. "They're… companions."
"Companions? Like Pokémon?" his cousin snorted.
Walter smiled a little. "Maybe."
He didn't tell him that every time he drew this particular creature, he felt a strange familiarity—like he already knew it. Like he'd met it somewhere. In a dream or… somewhere else.
But he shrugged the feeling away. Kids imagine things. That's normal.
Right?
His life wasn't dramatic. School, home, homework, drawing—repeat.
But Walter wasn't lonely. He cared deeply about people around him—his family, his cousin, his little group of friends. He was calm, kind, and protective in a way kids rarely were.
Sometimes that was his strength.
And sometimes, people took advantage of it.
But even then, Walter never fought back.
He didn't feel the need to.
He felt like someday, somehow… he would be strong.
Just not today.
As the sun moved toward the afternoon, something unusual happened—though nobody except Walter noticed it.
The sky flickered.
Just for a second.
Like a tiny crack passed through it—light bending in a way that didn't look natural. Walter blinked, rubbed his eyes, and looked again… but now it was gone. Everything looked normal.
He didn't tell anyone.
He didn't even understand it himself.
But a strange chill ran through his body, making his heart beat a little faster.
Maybe it was nothing.
Or maybe it wasn't.
That evening, he sat on the rooftop watching the sunset. The air felt heavier than usual, as if something unseen had shifted. He didn't know why, but his thoughts kept circling the same question:
"Why do I feel like something is coming?"
There was no reason for him to feel that. Nothing exciting ever happened here. No comets, no disasters, no mysterious events. Just normal life.
Still… that strange flicker in the sky bothered him.
He touched his chest lightly.
His heartbeat was a little too fast.
His breathing a little too shaky.
Not fear…
More like anticipation.
It was 16 November—one day before his birthday.
He would turn ten tomorrow.
He didn't expect anything magical on his birthday.
But somewhere deep inside—a place he couldn't reach with words—he felt something pulling. Like a soft thread tugging at his thoughts, guiding him towards something he couldn't yet see.
Night came quietly.
His room darkened except for the small night lamp that painted the walls orange. He lay on his bed, pulling the blanket up, listening to the distant sound of kids playing outside.
He felt heavy.
Sleepy.
But not sleepy in a normal way.
His body felt… different.
Warm.
As if something inside him was waking up slowly.
He looked at his hands.
Nothing unusual.
But he felt a tiny vibration inside his bones. A pulse he'd never felt before. Gentle… but definitely real.
His chest tightened for a second—not painfully, but strangely.
Almost like a signal.
A reminder.
Tomorrow…
He would turn ten.
And something inside him knew that the moment the clock crossed midnight, something in him would shift.
Something subtle.
Something quiet.
Something impossible.
He didn't know what.
He didn't know why.
And he definitely didn't know that this small change would be the beginning of a path that stretched far beyond Earth… far beyond anything he could imagine.
For now, he was just a boy lying in a dimly lit room.
A boy who felt a strange warmth spreading through his body.
A boy unknowingly standing at the edge of a destiny that hadn't revealed even one percent of itself.
Tomorrow would be different.
And he didn't even know it.