Everyone should have a mask...

[Finished. <3]

Saif wandered alone, his brothers and mother nowhere to be seen. The crowd of masked people shoved and jostled him around until he had no idea where he was.

Frightened and lost, he just sat down on a nearby stairway and watched the throng, hoping he would recognize someone.

A strange man appeared in front of him, with a wide, happy grin and slit eyes like a keaton.

"Why, little boy. You have no mask." he cooed, leaning in close. Saif blinked at him in confusion.

"Everyone should have a mask." he said with a chuckle.

Rifling around in his pack, he produced a gnarled wooden mask and handed it to Saif. Saif looked at the thing, and then at the crowd. They were all wearing the bright colorful masks that represented their guardian gods.

"But...everyone is wearing the Giant Masks..."

The grinning man cracked open one narrow, beady eye and his smile faded. "Sometimes, we must accept the things we are given, no matter how unpleasent."

Saif stared down at the mask, not really understanding the man's words. But he nodded and put the mask on. The man grinned again. "Good boy."

He stood and dusted himself off, looking down at Saif once more. "That mask will terrify most, and they will shy away from you. But there wil be those that understand that it's just a mask, and they won't be afraid. Have fun, little monster." He patted Saif on the head and disappeared into the crowd.