Through The Eyes Of A Child

This is the second in a series of stories, set in the game world of Banished. Read Part I.

It is a lot of fun being 8 years old. Acelyn says I'm old enough to help around the house but I have more fun playing outside with my friends. So many interesting things to see here! When I wake up in the morning, I can't wait to run outside and greet everyone. But first, I have to eat and bathe myself in the stream nearby. Brrr! Why is the water so cold always? I ask Acelyn everyday and she gives me the same reply. Wait and see. Well I don't have time to think about this, my friends are calling me already.

We are five of us, 3 girls and 2 boys. I am their leader, just like Acelyn is for the grownups. I make sure we don't forget the rules and run away into the forests. The trees are so tall and big, sometimes no light falls on the forest floor and it is very dark there. I wish I could explore on my own but I am the leader, everyone depends on me. They're always calling me "Berry, come here", "Berry over here"...

There is always work to be done, we still don't have houses and it gets really cold in the nights. Winter will come soon and Acelyn promised that it would snow. Snow! I have never seen it and neither has anyone else but I can't wait to touch it. We didn't have snow on Mars, we didn't even see the sky that often. But here it is different. There are no locked doors and I go where I want to. If I'm hungry, I just go to the cart and eat food. There is always water in the river, I like to sit on the banks and watch the fish play.

I still remember the day we came here. I watched as the ship slowly dropped onto Earth. All the kids had been told to stay in their rooms but I sneaked onto the bridge when no one was looking. The Earth looks so beautiful and open from space. After we landed, we went to the Science Towers. It is ugly to look at and even uglier from the inside. Thankfully, we didn't stay long. Acelyn hurried us into a boat and we sailed away until we finally reached here.

Everyday, the grownups have meetings and decide what to do. I don't think they do much but Acelyn seems happy afterwards, so I guess they do something. Just yesterday, they decided that we should start searching for food. We also need wood, I heard one of them say we will freeze without firewood. Today, all I can hear is trees being cut down *chop* *chop* and then *craack* *crash*. Some of the others gather stones and iron, for building the houses, I wish they would hurry up!

When I grow up, I will be the leader, just like Acelyn.

Read Part III.

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