COLORS OF SIN CHAPTER 1
In the corner of a dark alley of a ruined area, I see a middle aged-man is holding one big chunk of roasted chicken in his left hand and a slice of apple tart in his right hand while sitting on the sidewalk. He stocked his mouth full before he was able to swallow it with his dirty hand. He choked several times but kept eating like there is no tomorrow. I'm wondering if perhaps that person hasn't eaten in several days. He seems like a jobless man, well, it has been really hard to find good-paying job lately. I can see on his wrinkled forehead, there is a birthmark, shaped as number 16.
In the corner of a dark alley of a ruined area, I see a middle aged-man is holding one big chunk of roasted chicken in his left hand and a slice of apple tart in his right hand while sitting on the sidewalk. He stocked his mouth full before he was able to swallow it with his dirty hand. He choked several times but kept eating like there is no tomorrow. I'm wondering if perhaps that person hasn't eaten in several days. He seems like a jobless man, well, it has been really hard to find good-paying job lately. I can see on his wrinkled forehead, there is a birthmark, shaped as number 16.
"What's wrong Ilios?"
Suddenly my attention shifts back to my friend, Rowan. We're actually in the middle of delivery duty. Once awhile, the headmaster asks us to go to market and bring several food supplies back to the orphanage. He is also kind enough to give us some pocket money, that we can use for our necessities or save it for future plans. The Headmaster is someone that I admire, who always pays attention to our developments and needs.
"Nothing... How many suppliers do we need to go still?"
"Only 1 left. Hurry, we can still go back before sunset!" said Rowan.
Rowan and I walk toward the left and pass that man. In a glimpse, I see a young man go near that old man from afar. Suddenly, I can hear a loud yell from behind. It attracts a lot of attention from people around the alley.
Hey old man, what is it in your hand?!" yelled the young man.
"Care your own business. Don't patronize me with your sweet talk! I'm just borrowing this from Mrs. Blouse store, I will pay this back after I get my first paycheck... when someone is willing to hire me." said the old man.
"Why do you give your life away?" Asked the Young man.
"What do you mean? I could find a way to repent my sin tomorrow, at least for today, I won't be starved to death."
The young man replies: "No, you will die today. By the name of justice and central government, sentence you for your sin."
It seems the young man is an official from central government, indicates with a silver pin around his collar. Before even being able to talk back, the old man suddenly feels intense pain in his chest. It's unbearable and makes the old man prone to pain. His birthmark which is on his forehead turn from 16 to 15, then from 15 to 14, it happens in a minute.
"You government dog! How dare you give me false judgment." The old man swear.
Well, it made perfect sense for the old man to be angry because as far as I know, the punishment for stealing something is not severe. As one of the commandments, no 5: Thou shalt not steal, the penalty is -7 point. As I've seen before, his birthmark is 16. So, the sin shouldn't take his life.
The young official replies: "Do you remember that you bump with a pregnant woman when you tried to escape the guard after stealing the goods? Because of you, she got a miscarriage. Also, don't forget how many people have been troubled by your actions that violate the rules! The shopkeeper from a store where you stole those foods got fired because of his inability to keep the goods."
The old man struggle on the ground, trying so hard to keep breathing. His birthmark has turned to 3.
"Fuck off! An official like.... you ... doesn't know ... anything about .....it..!" shouts the old man, using his last breath.
"My name is Belial. I'm here hoping no one ever dares to follow the path of this old man." warn that young official to each spectator.
No one dares to interrupt the official nor challenge his judgment. The birthmark of the old man is now turning into 0. He dies because of his lack of awareness. He never thought that one single action can bring a lot of sins. Honestly, this kind of event isn't unusual here. The official then leaves the scene. Some scavengers gather around the old man's body to check if there was anything valuable to take.
Cordville, a city inside Dallas district, is the area where only men live. People are threatened by radiation from nuclear waste that leads to loss of vision and even death. It is regarded as the poorest city in the district. People are forced to adapt to harsh environments or find a way to move to another city. Crimes occur every day here, be a part of our daily life. Robbery, pick-pocket, and gang fights are common. Of course, all of us are afraid of dying by the sins, yet there is no option left: "Do sins or starve to death. At least we won't die if we don't get caught."
"It's a city that no one wishes to live in". Ilios said to himself.
"What's wrong Ilios?"
Suddenly my attention shifts back to my friend, Rowan. We're actually in the middle of delivery duty. Once awhile, the headmaster asks us to go to market and bring several food supplies back to the orphanage. He is also kind enough to give us some pocket money, that we can use for our necessities or save it for future plans. The Headmaster is someone that I admire, who always pays attention to our developments and needs.
"Nothing... How many suppliers do we need to go still?"
"Only 1 left. Hurry, we can still go back before sunset!" said Rowan.
Rowan and I walk toward the left and pass that man. In a glimpse, I see a young man go near that old man from afar. Suddenly, I can hear a loud yell from behind. It attracts a lot of attention from people around the alley.
"Hey old man, what is it in your hand?!" yelled the young man.
"Care your own business. Don't patronize me with your sweet talk! I'm just borrowing this from Mrs. Blouse store, I will pay this back after I get my first paycheck... when someone is willing to hire me." said the old man.
"Why do you give your life away?" Asked the Young man.
"What do you mean? I could find a way to repent my sin tomorrow, at least for today, I won't be starved to death."
The young man replies: "No, you will die today. By the name of justice and central government, sentence you for your sin."
It seems the young man is an official from central government, indicates with a silver pin around his collar. Before even being able to talk back, the old man suddenly feels intense pain in his chest. It's unbearable and makes the old man prone to pain. His birthmark which is on his forehead turn from 16 to 15, then from 15 to 14, it happens in a minute.
"You government dog! How dare you give me false judgment." The old man swear.
Well, it made perfect sense for the old man to be angry because as far as I know, the punishment for stealing something is not severe. As one of the commandments, no 5: Thou shalt not steal, the penalty is -7 point. As I've seen before, his birthmark is 16. So, the sin shouldn't take his life.
The young official replies: "Do you remember that you bump with a pregnant woman when you tried to escape the guard after stealing the goods? Because of you, she got a miscarriage. Also, don't forget how many people have been troubled by your actions that violate the rules! The shopkeeper from a store where you stole those foods got fired because of his inability to keep the goods."
The old man struggle on the ground, trying so hard to keep breathing. His birthmark has turned to 3.
"Fuck off! An official like.... you ... doesn't know ... anything about .....it..!" shouts the old man, using his last breath.
"My name is Belial. I'm here hoping no one ever dares to follow the path of this old man." warn that young official to each spectator.
No one dares to interrupt the official nor challenge his judgment. The birthmark of the old man is now turning into 0. He dies because of his lack of awareness. He never thought that one single action can bring a lot of sins. Honestly, this kind of event isn't unusual here. The official then leaves the scene. Some scavengers gather around the old man's body to check if there was anything valuable to take.
Cordville, a city inside Dallas district, is the area where only men live. People are threatened by radiation from nuclear waste that leads to loss of vision and even death. It is regarded as the poorest city in the district. People are forced to adapt to harsh environments or find a way to move to another city. Crimes occur every day here, be a part of our daily life. Robbery, pick-pocket, and gang fights are common. Of course, all of us are afraid of dying by the sins, yet there is no option left: "Do sins or starve to death. At least we won't die if we don't get caught."
"It's a city that no one wishes to live in". Ilios said to himself.
After finishing our delivery duty, we get back into our separate rooms. My room is on the east part of the orphanage, near the headmaster's room. It is already quite late and I'm tired. Rowan and I have walked more than 10 km carrying quite heavy luggage from the market to the orphanage. From that job, we get 3 points to add to our birthmark. When I enter my room, I see Benedict welcome me back. I put my luggage on the table and lay down on the bed. That cheerful guy is my roommate, he is a bit chubby and older than me about 3 years. He always acts friendly to everyone and is somewhat popular because he can solve several problems only with his brain.
"Ilios, what do you think about this?" Said Benedict while showing a pair of brown leather gloves that looks expensive.
"... rr.. All right? Why?"
"Do you think Timothy will like it? I saw him still using worn-out gloves that he bought 3 years ago." Asked Benedict.
"It looks like someone is in love. What are you worrying about? I doubt He will reject any gift from you."
"Do you think so?"
"Do you know that even you might be the smartest guy in this orphanage, but you become a fool about this thing. It's a public secret that Timothy has tried to get close to you for months." Assure me.
"Really?"
"He even asked the staff to change his schedule to align with yours. Have you suspected why you always run into him lately? Well, now you know that your feelings are mutual. Why don't you ask him out officially?"
"Mm... I bet ... I might?"
"Ah... youth, how jealous I am."
"What do you mean? You also have Rowan, don't you?" Tease Benedict.
"Rowan? .... No! He is just my best friend, someone who is like an older brother to me."
"Are you sure? Because almost everyone in this orphanage thinks that both of you are dating and hiding it from us."
"What! Don't be silly, are you sure everyone thinks like that?" Worry me. This even got me back on my feet.
" You realize that Rowan is indeed a charming guy, right? He never accepts any proposal from a bunch of guys, in the other side, I know that you also never accept anyone's proposal. Moreover, I never see you get close to someone else than Rowan. So, I think people begin to wonder if both of you are in a secret relationship."
" That's because I never like anyone. More importantly, We are just best buddies. Do you think Rowan might have heard this silly rumor about us?"
"Couldn't tell. The probability is high, but since you also just heard it now, he probably hasn't heard it too."
"Yeah, I hope so. It will be weird for me to suddenly bring this rumor up. I will act like I haven't heard any of it toward Rowan. But I will make sure everyone else won't continue to misunderstand us."
"Well, if that's your decision." Said Benedict.
Ilios is 16 years old and although he is a healthy young boy, he doesn't have any boyfriend for his entire life. It isn’t because he can’t get a boyfriend. To be frank, He is pretty handsome and quite popular. He just doesn’t feel the urge to be in a relationship with someone, and he never feels butterflies in the stomach. When he was 15, he admired a boy from next door. But, it’s more like adoration and it’s faded away over time. Boys at his age have already experienced so many lovey-dovey things, and this thought troubles him. Ilios wonder why he is the only one who can’t feel any interest in any boys around him. Maybe because he is too picky? Well, He hope someday he could find someone that he can be fallen in love with, just like everybody else.
The next morning, I tried to wake up early since I have promised to accompany Rowan to the city center so he can sell whatever he found from his so-called “treasure hunt” in previous weeks. As his best friend in the dorm, I won't reject Rowan's offer. But I always wonder why Rowan wants to risk his life to get a few junks that barely have any value even for Jack&Jill, an auction store that accepts any kind of things from past civilizations. I realize that Rowan is a little bit different from any other boys I know, aside from being kind and friendly, he always wonders about everything, often asks ridiculous questions about the history of Elyphian and Mortan. He also has a different approach to "our way" of surviving after The Great War. Nevertheless, his androgynous face, wit, and physical strength are top-notch in our orphanage, so people respect and adore him. In short, he is like a leader and role model here.
Rowan is running through the hall with his long legs and came into Ilios room. His blue eyes looked bigger and more enthusiastic this morning. His sleek short brown hair looks untidy and a bit wet.
“Ilios, Look what I found today from my treasure hunt. I got a jackpot! You should be envious of me.” Rowan said.
“Hmm… what? Show me…” I respond while thinking that he is only bluffing again.
He then shows me a pile of junk that comes from his shabby bag on top of my clean bed. I dust it off and shake it to the ground right away.
“Hey, what are you doing Ilios! You could break it.” He speaks to me angrily.
He looked down and bailing, trying to reach something from that pile of junk. I watched him take out three boxes and one cylinder of theirs. He explained to me that it’s some kind of material that is used by females to make her face prettier. If I am not wrong, it’s called makeup, and only rich people from higher classes, especially females, use it.
After The Great War, the central government divides us, Mortan, into three districts, one is for the male population (Dallas district), then there is female population (Madeline district) and the last one is for the higher class (Gwendolyn district). We live separated by sex since then and do what we’re assigned to, a field/heavy worker for males and light/housework for females. Interaction between the sexes are limited and have a ruler of their own. We live surrounded by high walls, and only several people from Gwendolyn district can use their pass to go outside the wall.
Rowan said that the small boxes consist of powder to make our face looks fresher and hide any pimple, while the cylinder one used on lips to give some color to our face. These things are strange for us, male, who works in the field and doesn’t have any reason to apply this to our face. But, this makeup can be sold for a lot of money in Madeline district for sure.
“How about the expiration date? I think it can't be used anymore if it's from old civilization”.
“Oh well this is kinda new since I found it somewhere unusual, I think I still can sell it pretty high to Jack&Jill.” He said.
More explanation about Jack and jill, it is an auction shop in Houzz where the owner might buy everything from you at a fair price. The store also sells a lot of limited and high-quality items, including perfume, silk, and jewelry. It is run by a happy couple, Jack and Jill. Jill comes from an influential family who have both power and money, while Jack is coming from Cordville. Both of them are quite famous because of their romance. Their love story about how Jack proposes and persuades Steins family to accept him as a member of the family is told from mouth to mouth by drunkards in a lot of bars at Houzz city center. It takes a lot of courage and guts to face Steins' family refusal. They don't want to acknowledge someone from Cordville to be a part of their family. Jack almost lost his life, fighting for his love.
"Let’s go, I will treat you to some nice meal and drink too. I’ve always wanted to visit one of the bars in the city center. But it’s too sad to go alone, so I’m bringing you with me.” Rowan said.
Several questions are still bugging my mind, for e.g: How Rowan knows all the information about the make-up thingy or how the boxes look kinda new, not like the usual garbage that he showed to me before. But Rowan's invitation is hard to resist, so I will brush aside my thought, wore my best clothes, and went with him. No sane man will refuse this offer, looking at how expensive to afford beers and meals from a nice bar in the city.
It’s 4 hours cart ride from Cordville to Houzz. I wore my best clothes, a checkered long blue shirt & black docker pant along with my favorite black shoes. Rowan borrows a brown jacket and black t-shirts because his clothes are dirty. He also brings some big backpacks along. On the cart, there are only me, Rowan, and two other strangers on board. The weather is pretty chill and since I don't have many things to do, I start a conversation.
Hey Rowan, where did you find that things?” asked me.
Rowan is taken aback by my question. He paused, looking a bit worried, and answer my question carefully. He said that he is found it in the further area where he usually tries his luck to find some treasure around a big pile of junks on a dead land but didn’t get any result until today. He assumes these things don't come from the past civilization, but someone from a richer city, or perhaps Gwendolyn hides it there. No wonder it looks kinda new.
"It seems there is a brawl that took place before I arrived... so maybe some person lose or hide it so they can retrieve it later." Tim assume.
The further area, called district 31, is a vicious place where many bad sinners and criminals are hiding with no rule of what is right and what is wrong. So, not anyone is brave enough to go there. All the sinners who live there aren't afraid nor abide by the central government and keep making more sins. If they get caught by some officers, most of them will get the death penalty. But somehow, the central government has given up to control that area. Only people like Rowan who is physically fit-yet crazy enough to wander around there can go back and forth.
I have gone there once, and it still left me with a bitter feeling because of what have happened there. I lost one of my friends, Oslo, who died when we tried to go there looking for treasure. Instead, we got caught by bandits so Rowan needed to save us. Unfortunately, only me who succeed to escape from there, while Oslo.... probably died because of our foolishness, thinking that we could be like Rowan, who is a licensed traveler.
Story note: Back then Ilios was still green, he underestimate how hideous the outer area is. He used to think that he is a good fighter, a good runner, and smart enough for treasure hunting. It turns out that you need more than that to be able to survive in district 31. Moreover, it’s not that easy to find any treasure worth the risk of being dead. Ilios underestimate it and persuade his friend, Oslo, to do some treasure hunting. This leads to some bitter incidents.
"Then, is it called stealing? You know... you can get your birthmark reduced?"
“Well, not, since it was left in district 31.... anyone who finds it can be the owner. Moreover, no one knows besides you, so don't worry." Rowan argues.
"By the way, do you have anyone that you’re interested in from our orphanage? You look very close with your roommate lately….with Ben... Bene...” Rowan tries to change the subject.
"Huh? Do you mean Benedict? Well, he is very friendly so we get along as roommates. But I don't like him that way, moreover, he is also like someone else from the orphanage.” Ilios explains.
"Oh, I see… I have never seen you so close with anyone before besides me after what happened to Os...… so! I am glad you made a new friend.” Rowan looks satisfied and somewhat happy with my answer. It seems he almost mentions Oslo's name, but stop since he doesn't want to make me feel bad.
“Ilios, you know that you're the closest friend I have, right? And I know you’re a trustworthy person” Rowan said to me quietly.
“Yes, you can trust me.”
“Well… umm… I just told you this because it’s you, no one else. To be honest, I didn’t show you something that I found along with that makeup. I found something…… something more valuable than that……. something that can change my life……” his talk becomes too quiet and it’s hard for me to listen to what he said with some wind noise outside the cart, so I bring myself closer to him. He notices my approach: “Later… you will eventually know when we arrive at Jack & Jill, it’s saver there.”
I’m really curious about what Rowan has found from district 31. I kinda pressured him to spill the beans, but he still won’t show it to me. He looks cautious in a way that I feel he has found something that is so valuable and may bring us a problem if people around us know that we bring it in his bag. Many robbery cases happened every day and we don’t want to become one of the victims. This is probably a reason why he changed the topic.
"Have you heard about a rumor that spread recently? About the sighting of a female individual?" Asked Rowan.
"Ah... I've heard about it... but I think it's just another false rumor... like usual. There is no reason for anyone, especially females, to travel to Cordville. And Madeline district is too far away from here."
"You’re right! But, are you not curious to see a female first hand? Not from magazines or some printed papers, but seeing it with your own eyes?" Asked Him again.
"Of course.... females are said to be beautiful, fragile and graceful, different than us, male. There is an urban legend about a young talented man who worked as a machinery. With his great invention, his skill even is heard by people from the Gwendolyn district. One day this man is astonished by the beauty of a female and fell in love with her. He met her when he was trying to find the best material to create a power source."
"Bewitched is more correct! The female witch used her spell to steal the heart of such a talented man, the eyes of that poor man are blinded by desire. At least it's how the story is told from what I've remembered." Rowan argues.
".... Their horrendous adultery were talked till today, as the couple has done unforgivable sin by loving each other, who supposedly shouldn't be united. Just thinking how many sins that they've done, I can't even count it! I wonder how could they still live shamelessly after doing that sins." Continue Rowan.
"Umm, yea ... I think your version might be the correct one..."
"There is a version of the story that told this couple even bear unimaginable sins, as the female is pregnant. It means she gave birth to an Elyphian who can use magic. That Elyphian baby might bring chaos to Mortan." He said.
"Commandments No. 2: Thou shalt not have sex with the opposite sex. I think the couple ends up dying together crucified by their sins, like the old man several days ago." continue Rowan.
"Anyway, I don't care about what happened to the couple. They got what they are deserved for and there is no loss to lose a deflect. Why would they be against human nature?" Said him.
"Honestly speaking, I think that might be heresy from the central government, saying that Elyphian cast a spell that cursed us with our numbered birthmarks. It feels surreal to think that elyphian might put their seeds to Mortan's future generation, seeking revenge and revival of Elyphians. There is no proof about that claim, we only accept as it is from what we've been told." said me.
I am a bit frightened by what I've said. My opinion might seem a bit too radical, I don't want Rowan to think of me as a weirdo". Rowan seems a bit surprised with my statement... he looks up to me thoroughly and begins to talk.
"That statement, well... I should agree. We're indeed just accepted as it is from what we've been told. Maybe it isn't Elyphian who curse us with the birthmarks. The central government itself may instill the birthmarks to fellow mortals so that they can control us easily. And for other matters, there is no need for government to create some useless commandments. I mean how could they think that any male will get attracted to a female? Their annoying laugh and weak body are painful and unattractive. No man with a sane mind could ever be interested in that. The lore about that machinery guy is also doubtful." Said Rowan.
"Well, you might be right ...." although I don't agree with what Rowan has said, I don't want to debate it. I try to end the conversation short. Honestly, I think that a female figure looks quite charming. There is this something inside me that "move" and spark my curiosity. The difference is so prominent that it brings out its attraction.
Not long after, our cart arrives at Clyde station, located near the entrance to Houzz. Houzz is a capital city, a house of many fancy buildings with sparkling neon lights, government buildings, elite housing, bars, casinos, and nightclubs that are surrounded by tall black walls guarded 24/7 by the central government. Steins family is one of the most influential families in Houzz. No one can enter Houzz without a permit. First, we need to report our arrival to the local authority and fill in some registration papers. As a 3rd class citizens, many get rejected to enter the city because officers treat some low class like a criminal and assume that they don't belong to Houzz. We realize that it’s much easier if we spend some extra money to bribe some officers here, so we could enter the city without hassle. The world is already corrupt anyway.
It took us about 30 minutes to finish our report and get our permit. We moved into the checking area, the last stop before we finally enter the city. There is a long line already, so we need to wait until it’s our turn. The officer will check our luggage, bag and validate our identity. I saw Rowan trying to hide something in his body before we pass through the gate. One of the officers who look curious with a sleepy face opened the conversation with me.
“Do you come here for your honeymoon?” The tall officer asked, moving his finger pointed from me to Rowan.
“What? no! We need to visit one of our friends who work inside the city.” I respond to him right away. Luckily, Rowan doesn’t hear his blabbering. There is plenty of couples around who tried to spend their weekend having fun in the city, so maybe that officer mistook Rowan and me as one of the couples.
“Well, I hope you two will have a good time in the city. My advice is to stay away from gambling and night club if you don’t seek some trouble from the most frightening people here. ” He spoke without listening to my words.
Through the gate, Rowan and I go to Jack and Jill's auction shop right away. It looks like a small dark-colored shop at a dead end with minimum exposure or lighting, pinched between other two tall buildings. From the outside, it looks pretty ruin and old, the windows are bunged up of thick dust and the wall paint is chipped. But you will be surprised when you enter this shop, it’s brand new inside. The interior is minimalist yet looks modern, it’s bright with comfortable room temperature and sweet aromatics fragrant. It isn’t super big but looks quite spacious and tidy where several display cabinets lining along the wall.
“How can I help you?” a familiar voice comes behind the desk, where someone with white long sleeves shirts and a gray vest is sitting there. His slender body leaning on a wooden chair, facing towards our direction with his two eyes under thick eyeglasses. His eyes look a bit dejected and it's clear to see his eyes bags behind that thick glasses.
It’s Jack who run one of Steins' family businesses (this store) for years with his husband, Jill, the youngest brother of Steins family. Yes, that powerful Steins family, the one who has the power to control this city.
“Hey Jack, Long time no see! How is Jill’s condition these past days? I heard he was sick?” Rowan said.
“.... Hopefully good, I think, I believe he can move around happily doing what he wants now.
What kind of items do you bring this time, Rowan?” Asked Jack trying to change the topic
Jack is looking toward Rowan’s grey bag with a curious look. Rowan then pulled up several pieces of makeup that he found before and give them to Jack for examination.
"Interesting... never thought that you might give me something valuable than all that rubbish you've given to me," said Jack
After a while, Jack moves back behind the cashier and take a huge sum of money, enough to have a nice dinner in the bar and buy other luxury things.“Take it, and leave…. I give some extra money as a bonus, for a little bit of luck, since I’ve been struck with bad luck nowadays.” Jack said.
“Wait, I don’t need this, you can take this money back… actually what I need is something else. I want you to provide me with a nice outfit you can find in this city. The outfit that usually worn by official or nobles.“ Rowan Said. “Hmm... I didn’t ask you where do you get that makeup since it isn’t my business. But let me ask this, why do you need that kind of outfit?” Jack becomes curious.
After hesitating a bit, looking around, and becoming more cautious, Rowan then put his hand into his pocket. He pulled out a gold-colored pin from the brown jacket he wore, no... more likely a real gold.
“This, I think you already know what it is”. Rowan said while showing it to him.
“Interesting….. How do you get that? No one from cordville could ever hold that valuable pin. People could kill each other for that. If my guess is correct, it’s a pin that is being used by the official, it has several functions aside as a badge to show authority. I believe it is used by officials to judge people's sin, moreover, it's a permit to access certain restricted areas here. I don’t even know what does it look like, only heard some rumors about it from Jill and his family, that talk highly about that place. Now I know why you need some nice outfits... Of course, you need to look alike any other official, for the guard to pass you through the gate.” Jack said.
“Correct, if not, they will probably assume me to steal the pin and won't let me in. That’s the reason why I only show it to you because you’re the only one I can trust. I think you do not have any desire to move out. You are pretty settled with things here, living with Jill and such, running this store...” Rowan said.
“….. hmm... Got it…. Give me 1-2 hours to prepare everything. I need to ask Jill to bring several outfits here from his family wardrobe, I get exactly what you need.” Jack said.
"Then... We're going back later. I need to fill my stomach in the bar next street. We'll come again later." answered Rowan.
Rowan asked me to follow him to the bar, just like he promised, he will treat me to a nice meal and drink today. It could be a great memorable day, but, little did I know, it’s a tragic farewell party for Rowan and me.
We arrived soon after, the bar looks glamorous, sparkling, and very cold. Rowan tells me to order whatever I want, but when I look into the price on the menu, I automatically pick the less expensive one…. At least it isn’t water, which is free here by the way. It’s a surprise because it’s pretty expensive to buy water in Cordville. One more thing that is quite different from Cordville, that I don't find one dead body in the ground who has their “Sins” turn into 0 because of poverty. Yes, poverty .... because people end up falling into sin for stealing food to survive. People seem busier here, most of them are rushing and don’t have time to care about strangers on the road.
We don't need to wait for long until our meals are served. On my plate there are 5 slices of beef, grilled to perfection and the aromatic parsley butter sauce smells good. On the side, the mashed creamy potatoes along with some mushroom and salads as dressing styled beautifully. There are also big glasses of fine wheat beer that accompany the meal. It looks expensive and I haven't had this kind of meal for years... the last one I remember is when our head of orphanage treated me to a fancy restaurant for my 12th birthday. Before eating, of course, Rowan and I do not forget to pray first. The opportunity to be able to eat luxury food like this is fairly rare, of course, the food also tastes wonderful. I try to eat slowly while enjoying each bite, one by one. The meat sauce and what incredible texture wraps my mouth. How lucky of those who can eat food like this every day.
"Thank you for the meals Rowan, I don't think I deserve something like this just for accompanying you. You've been a great brother to me... always."
“Ilios, you know ... you look different from the others, even from when you first came to the orphanage, you look so fragile. Somehow you've made me want to watch for you.' Rowan said.
"Really?" I asked
"Yes, you might not remember .... because a few days after you arrived at the orphanage, there was an accident. You began to open up and try to blend with other kids after the incident. You used to be so stiff, cautious, and had difficulty mingling with others. Headmaster also said that you lose most of your memory because of that incident." Said him
"Hmm .. what I can remember about the past is that I was left by my parents when I was 6 years old. The headmaster told me that my parent would come to take back on me after their problem is solved, and the condition had improved. But that's just bullshit, I'm still here! Doubt that headmaster is still in contact with my original parents...."
"Well, you never knew about the future... Ah, speaking about the headmaster... I was thinking of stealing the expensive suit that he kept well in his wardrobe. You also saw that clothes when you're told to clean up the dormitory's room, right? The clothes seem quite valuable for him, which makes me feel bad for stealing them. So I give it up, after all, I owe a debt to him. " Rowan said.
"Ah... the clothes... after you receive the clothes from Jack, are you leaving?" I asked while continuing the topic.
"Yes, and probably never coming back again ... I never thought I could get this chance. I mean ... how could we... from Cordville, dream of moving to the inner district or perhaps to Gwendolyn district someday? If possible, I would love to bring you with me."
"Well, you don't need to feel bad about me. You got it with your effort. So what's your plan after you're there?" I asked.
"I need to adapt fast, copying their lifestyle and try to blend in. I need to find any job as fast as I could... save some money, establish my place there.. and of course, if I find a way to get you there, I will notify you. So don't move from the dormitory for the time being, OK? Inform me if you have plans to move. " Rowan said
How? Think me in heart, yet before I’m able to ask Rowan gave me some weird small things, easily hold by hand.
“Use this, it’s transmitters from the long-lost technology I found in my hunting.... using solar energy to function... I have one in my pocket, and so do you now. When I got a decent place, I will try to inform you about my whereabouts inside.”
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