"That was so cool!!"
Aksa took a small step back. His eyebrows crawled up his face as his head flinched slightly backward. While his lips struggled to find words to utter, his eyes glanced around in confusion, landing on the kids who looked at him with the same twinkle in their eyes.
"C-Cool?" With his eyebrows squishing together, Aksa looked at Sven, the boy hugging him. Sven was only 13 and one of the few who hadn't lost hope in life.
"Yes! When you cut the tree, you looked so cool! " Sven nodded swiftly, his head moving fast enough to look blurry.
"A-ah-huh? Was it?" Aksa blinked a few times before tilting his head to the side, hiding his face as he rubbed his hand against his neck.
"Yes. Really!" From among the other boys, a voice emerged. Luan, a boy who looked to be around fifteen, answered, slowly walking towards Aksa before patting his shoulder. "I thought that man was only trying to show off, but I didn't think you could actually do what he did…"
"And that look on his face when you did it," another one of the boys spoke up. Jai crossed his arms and lifted his chin, delivering a satisfied nod. "Thank you, brother!"
"I-I really didn't—do anything worth mentioning…" Aksa continued, lowering his head, slightly scratching the back of his head with one finger.
"Don't be shy about it, man!" Luan followed, moving his hands to lift Aksa's head. "You really made us proud!"
With a slight flush creeping across his cheeks and his ears turning red, Aksa looked at the bright smiles of the boys surrounding him.
"You can also hold yourself together amazingly, man," Jai then added, "if that guy targeted me like that, I would've lost my mind a while ago."
"I think that's just because he is shy," Luan answered him, slightly laughing as he continued, "he always tries to hide behind that stone face that he has and run away from confrontations."
*Ahem* Aksa quickly cleared his throat, trying to stir the conversation in a different direction. "A-Anyway. Aren't you guys tired? You don't seem like it at all."
"No, not at all…" Luan quickly replied, "I actually feel weirdly energetic."
"Yeah, right…" All the boys nodded in unison before looking at each other. "I've never felt like this before, especially after working"
"Huh… that's weird," Aksa muttered, his forehead wrinkling as a perplexed expression washed over his face. He then relaxed his body, shrugging his shoulders and curving his mouth slightly before adding, "Well, I'm tired, so I'm going to sleep"
"Boo! That's boring!" Sven called. he puffed his cheeks as he crossed his arms. "I don't want to sleep now!"
"Well, sometimes, boring things are the right things to do," Aksa patted his head. His mouth curved slightly, showing a warm smile as he crouched to match Sven's height. "We are going to wake up early tomorrow, so it's better to sleep early."
"But I don't feel tired," Sven added. His shoulders dropped as he looked at the floor.
"Even if you are not tired, it's better to rest," Aksa answered, "if you don't, you will have a hard time while working."
Sven looked at the other boys, who seemed to be agreeing with Aksa, before lowering his head while pouting. Although he was saddened by not being able to enjoy sometime together with the others, he understood the words of Aksa. After all, their lives were never meant to be enjoyed.
Aksa let out a slight chuckle as he looked at Sven before grabbing the lantern that Mark left. He then signaled for the others to gather around. He was the only one familiar with how that lantern worked, so he wanted everyone to be close to each other before turning it off.
They sat on the cold floor of the shed, chatting and laughing together as they munched on the loaf of bread given to them by Mark. Although anyone would argue that it was too little food given to a group of starving kids, they had already accepted that, after years of living this way, it was the only thing they had to subdue their hunger.
once they lied on the ground, Aksa reached for the rusty knob on the lantern before speaking up "okay then, good night everyone"
"Good night, brother," in unison, the boys all responded, their eyes embracing the darkness as the light faded into nothingness.
***
The light of the moon barely slipped through the windows covered with thick curtains. Creaks of wood echoed following the steps of a young boy walking through the corridors of a large house. The darkness of the night was eerie, as even in these hours, the house never became this silent. Although his eyes were barely open as he was still yawning, the boy could sense that something was wrong.
"Sister Eli…?"'
As he continued walking, he tried to call a familiar name. His maid, who would stick close to him at all times, now didn't even answer his call.
His heart began racing as sweat traveled down the bumps of his face. Although he had only woken up to go to the toilet, his mind was now drowning in thoughts as he stood still, terrified that something might have happened.
Suddenly, the picture of his father flashed before his eyes. He immediately started marching again, now faster and less steadily, hurrying towards his father's room.
A wheezing noise emerged from the hinges as he slowly pushed the door open, only to see the figure of his father lying motionless on his bed.
"Dad?…" his voice carried a sense of hesitation as he asked.
No answer. The blankets were barely moving, stiff like the figure of his father. The boy felt a shiver traveling through his body as he slowly stepped closer to his father.
Slowly, he reached out to his father's body with his hand.
"Cold…" the boy murmured, his breath stuck in his throat as he watched his father's body, awaiting any sign of movement, but to no avail.
"Dad?" He shook him hard, only to get no response. Although he seemed asleep, his eyes felt empty.
Uncontrollable tears began flooding his eyes. He fell to his knees, tightly clinging to his father's body as his breath hitched. Then, before he could call for help, a spark of fire flickered at the edges of his father's fingers.
In the blink of an eye, the fire spread, rapidly eating away the father's body. The walls around blurred, with the entire room shining brighter and brighter. The smell of burning flesh lingered as the smoke became thicker and thicker.
Then, the scenery around him changed. The boy's eyes widened as he looked at the tall walls of the main hall of the house. Everything around him was on fire. Walls, windows, furniture, it was like standing amidst hell. One of the chandeliers collapsed, falling close to the boy, whose vision began blurring.
As he began coughing, his eyes caught a glimpse of two figures standing before him and his father's body. Their golden eyes glowed, piercing through the thick smoke as they stared deep into the boy's soul as he struggled to form words. Then, everything turned into a blur.
For a brief moment, their visage changed. Their faces looked familiar—they looked exactly like Aksa.
Mark jolted upright as his eyes suddenly opened. His heart was racing, slamming hard against his ribcage as he repeatedly gasped for air. He slowly grabbed his head, reaching for his temples as he let out a sigh of relief.
"That annoying dream again…" Mark mumbled, his fingers were still shaking as he looked around him. The darkness of the night obscured the sweat-drenched face. The silence confirmed that he managed not to wake up Scott, although the wrestling of his coat against his body led him to believe otherwise.
With his forehead wrinkling as he rubbed it, Mark slowly stood up. After putting on his coat that he was using as a cover, mark reached for the lantern before stepping outside.
Once outside, he inhaled deeply, as if the darkness was suffocating him. Mark immediately began fiddling with the lantern, trying desperately to turn it on. After a few tries, a flame within flickered, shining brightly as it slowly grew larger.
Once the surrounding area was visible, he slowly ran his hand through his hair. Although he would like to believe that he had calmed down, Mark knew that wasn't the case. He could feel his hand trembling slightly as it brushed against his hair.
"I don't understand…" He muttered quietly, his voice nearly cracking with every word he spoke, "Why does that day keep replaying in my dreams—every single day… And why do I keep seeing that kid's face?"
The rain seemed to have stopped a few hours ago, leaving him to drown in his thoughts as he stood still amidst the breath-stealing silence. After a few moments, he closed his eyes, tightly pushing his eyelids together and shaking his head slightly before letting out a heavy sigh.
Before he could speak again, a loud noise cut through the silence. Mark's body tensed as his gaze quickly shifted.