A group of women carrying baskets stopped speaking when he passed them. Two stared openly at his face, while the third whispered something that made the others laugh.
"Bok, is that really you?" one of them asked.
"Did you steal someone else's skin?"
"Perhaps he finally washed himself properly," another replied.
Their laughter followed him down the road.
Some villagers complimented him. Others mocked him.
A few claimed he looked sick and advised him to visit the village healer. One old woman grabbed his chin without warning and turned his face from side to side before declaring that he had either been blessed by a forest spirit or cursed by one.
Bok pulled himself free and hurried away.
The attention made him increasingly uncomfortable. In a place like this, where everyone worked under the sun for most of their lives, having tanned skin was normal, but being fair despite all this was abnormal, so Bok naturally drew a lot of attention.
