The Nameless Boy/Plot

Plot
One night, after hearing noises outside, The Nameless Boy sees what he believes to be Joaan, his companion wolf. In truth, Joaan has succumbed to an injury to the leg and the wolf that returned to him was none other than a transformed immortal. Unaware of the real Joaan's death, he excitedly hugs Joaan telling it how happy he is to see it after two months and how he knew it wouldn't forget about him. The Boy notices how unusually quiet Joaan is and carries it inside. He tries to feed it food but is unsuccessful.

The next morning, after trying (and failing) once again to feed Joaan, the boy and the wolf go out to gather wood. Besides the boy, there are no people to be found and the only thing outside is houses that have long since fallen into ruin. The boy cuts and gathers the wood from a nearby house, telling Joaan it's like borrowing from other people. But he expresses guilt, saying he knows, deep down, that if the others were to come back they would probably be angry at him. He understands though that if he doesn't do this, he will die. He holds hope that the other people of his village will come back even though they've been gone for five years.

The boy mentions that the villagers left in search of a paradise with food and people. In that paradise, there are many types of fish and "things they call 'fruit.'" He tells Joaan how much he would have liked to go with them and recalls trying to sneak out and follow them, but Joaan stopped him by biting his leg. As a result, the other villagers told him he should stay back and take care of his grandparents, but that they would be back with souvenirs when they found the place.

After gathering wood, they head back to the house and the boy hears a noise coming from inside. Before opening the door, he silently hopes and pleads that the noise he hears is from one of the villagers. However, he soon finds out that the noise was actually the result of a fish on the end of the fishing line attached to his home. The boy retrieves the fish and, to save fuel, they decide to eat it raw. Noticing that Joaan is refusing to eat for the third time, the boy wonders if the wolf has forgotten how. He shows it how to eat and the wolf immediately mimics the boy's actions.

Later that night, the boy draws pictures of the other villagers on the wall. He explains to Joaan that he is doing this so he doesn't forget about the people that lived there. He then tells Joaan that he is thinking of leaving because he wants to see the world and experience new things, even the bad things that will undoubtedly happen. The boy spends all of the next days preparing for the journey and, once he is finally done, they head south. After hours of walking, they come across a marker that tells them to continue heading forward and they decide to rest for the night.

While eating dinner, the boy says he can't wait to eat something else besides fish and that he would love to try eating things like fruits and vegetables. The two continue on their journey, finding more and more markers. After about five days, the boy finds a bush that he says proves they are getting closer to the mountains and, just as they are about to continue, the boy slips and falls into the water, injuring his left leg. They decide to stop for the day so the boy can tend to his injury. He tries to reassure himself that it is just a flesh wound and that he can keep going.

As the days pass, it is obvious the boy is losing strength, as he cannot continue walking for long periods of time, and his injury is starting to swell. He continues to try and convince himself that turning back now would be foolish and that surely they don't have much farther to go. Just as he says this, the boy spots a marker with a crossed-out arrow, telling them that going forward will not lead to paradise. To the left, the boy sees broken down wagons and multiple headstones. The boy, trying to remain optimistic, tells Joaan that everyone got this far, which means paradise can't be far away now. Breaking down into tears, the boy asks Joaan if they can make it to the mountains but, when the wolf doesn't respond, he becomes frustrated wondering why it doesn't answer him. He continues crying even harder, knowing that Joaan can't respond and that he's been talking to himself the whole time. He apologizes and decides that going home would be the best thing to do.

Once home, the boy cries himself to sleep and awakes the next morning with a fever. He makes Joaan food and checks on his wound, which is now infected. He tells himself that his wound is healing and that once it heals, they will try to find the mountains again. However, the boy's fever is even worse the next day and he has no strength to get out of bed. Later that night, he struggles to get to his chair, saying "If I'm sleeping when they all come back, that would be embarrassing, right?" He asks Joaan to never forget about him and quietly lays back in his chair.

After the immortal leaves the next scene shows the boy leave his home and it's snowing outside and he sees Joaan and the other villagers, happy that he won't be alone anymore they all head out and eventually find other people, implying the boy has passed on to the next world.