Days went by with no food or water. Adam walked in a straight path, and whenever he spotted footprints, he'd deliberately go the opposite way. He was exhausted, starving, and parched, but he couldn't find anything to eat or drink.
He took some leaves from the surrounding trees and shredded them into thin fibers. He twisted them together, making a small rope. Then, he got a large leaf, wrapped it around his waist, and tied it with the rope to cover his lower body.
His routine stayed the same all those days: he moved during daylight, and when he noticed the sun beginning to set, he'd gather wood.
He'd prepare a spot to stay, set up his wood, light his fire, and then stay awake through the entire night.
Even though he had been walking for many days, he never encountered any of the predators common to that area—or any others, for that matter. The only things he came across were a few oddly shaped insects.
Some of them had six legs, like a scorpion's, with four fangs, five eyes, and a long, soft tail that ended in a fin.
Others had four green wings on their backs, four legs, and a hard, sharp tail.
He had a couple of run-ins with them; he got stung twice. The first time was by the one with the soft tail—it wrapped its tail around his leg, holding on tight, then extended a stinger from its belly and jabbed it into his foot. It was venomous. His foot turned purple, and a severe pain shot up his leg.
The other one was mosquito-like. It flew at him after he accidentally knocked down its nest. Its sting left him feeling intensely nauseous.
His healing ability took a long time to fix him up because he was completely drained.
His power could heal anything, but it slowly drained him in the process. Moving became harder and heavier than before.
***
And more days passed, taking him far from the hunting grounds of those predators.
Adam couldn't take it anymore; he had to find something to eat and drink. His body felt heavy, drenched in sweat.
He leaned on trees and his walking stick—his third one, since the other two had snapped.
He was tired of walking on an empty stomach, with exhaustion piling on with each passing day. He didn't think twice before deciding to break his routine and rest in the daylight.
He scanned the area for a spot away from the insects to get some rest. He spotted a rock a short distance away and decided that would be his place.
He walked towards it, leaning heavily on his stick, and finally reached the rock before sinking down.
Whooosh… Whooosh…
Adam's head snapped up at the sound. It was coming from ahead of him. He hurried towards it, pushing through the strange trees and plants.
That sound was familiar to him—a sound he had been searching for ever since he had fallen onto this strange planet.
His third walking stick snapped, but he didn't even notice. He kept hurrying toward the sound, which grew louder with every step.
Only a little was left now—just a few bushes separating him from what he'd been searching for.
A bright light flashed as he pushed through the final shrubs, forcing him to shut his eyes. He finally emerged from the forest, and before him was a river of crystal-clear water. It was like any river on Earth, but breathtakingly beautiful, reflecting the light in a kaleidoscope of colors.
Adam approached the river. His foot stepped on something hard and slightly sharp.
He looked down—the riverbank was covered in translucent stones of various sizes. They gleamed softly, and he could see more of them lining the riverbed.
He rushed to the water's edge and dropped to his knees. He stared at the pure, shimmering water, made brilliant by the crystalline stones.
A few seconds passed as he just looked at the water. He was desperately thirsty, but he didn't put his hands in.
He leaned forward and took a deep breath. At first, he was just smelling the scent of the water. Then, he dipped a single finger in, brought it to his mouth, and tasted it.
'M... water!'
He lowered his head to the water and began to drink. When he choked or needed to breathe, he'd pull back slightly, a weary smile appearing on his face, before leaning in again to continue drinking.
After he finished, he sat resting on the crystalline stones, regaining his strength. In his hand, he held one of the stones, marveling at its shape and how it caught the light.
"It reflects light just like a diamond! Could it be... real diamond?"
"With so many of them!"
Adam said this, shifting his gaze from the stone in his hand to the riverbank, which was covered in a staggering number of the translucent stones.
They covered every inch of the shore, giving the river a beautiful, shimmering color.
"There'd be wars and battles fought just to control this!"
Adam took off his elegant outfit made of leaves and handmade rope, laid it on the riverbank, and weighed it down with a few of the translucent stones.
He walked toward the river, standing completely naked at the water's edge.
He inhaled and exhaled deeply, over and over. For nearly a minute, he repeated this breathing pattern, then slowly placed his right foot, followed by his left, into the water, finally walking in.
The water came up to his shoulders. He began washing his body and his hair—the two-toned white and black—with the water. He remained standing, not submerging his head, but simply enjoying the cool river water.
The sound of his empty stomach growling interrupted him. He was starving. He had drunk a lot of water hoping to curb his hunger a little, but it was no use.
After finishing his bath, he got out and retrieved his clothes. He wrapped the large leaf around his waist and tied it with the rope.
Crack!
Adam spun around quickly toward the sound. It was the noise of something breaking, and it wasn't far from him.
He slowly approached the source of the sound, which was coming from behind some bushes. The distance between Adam and the bushes gradually shrank.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Crack!
A loud rustling of branches snapping and the crash through shrub leaves. Whatever was making the sound was trying to get away.
But Adam gave chase. He ran after the noise—the sound of rustling leaves, moving bushes, and snapping twigs. He couldn't catch it, but he was right on its tail.
All he could think was that the creature hadn't attacked him outright, so it was probably weak.
But it had been watching from a distance, which meant one thing: maybe it was a scout, and it had gone to report back to its group.
The sound of rustling bushes stopped, but Adam knew where the thing had gone—straight ahead. He just needed to run a little faster, and he'd have it.
Adam burst through the bushes. He found himself in a clearing, an area empty of shrubs between the trees.
But he saw no creature. Had it gotten away? It couldn't be that fast.
Adam scanned the ground around him, looking for traces left by the fleeing creature. Sure enough, he found footprints. But when he looked closer, he saw something he never expected.
"Footprints... human footprints."