{When I was little, I suffered from extreme boredom.}
The little boy laid flat on his bed staring at his ceiling.
Open books were littered all over the place.
"Ahhh, I read them all…" He spoke out to the empty room.
"Dad is never at home, neither is mom." He just laid there thinking.
—--3 HOURS later—--
He was still laying there, wide awake.
{Days like this were normal for me, this day was actually good since my dad had brought books back.
Well they didn't take long to read.}
Marcus opened the door and left the room, eventually making his way to the front door.
{The worst part is, I'm not even locked out or anything.
Just a 9 year old that couldn't make friends.}
He exited the house and walked over to a tree, he squatted there and watched the ants climb up the tree.
"One, two, three, four" Marcus counted the ants.
{The problem didn't lie in them.
I just got bored at the daily interactions}
"10,000.
That's enough ant counting for today."
He walked to the front door and just sat back down on the wooden porch.
"It's about the '16th hour' as they call it over here.
Over at the other sectors they call it 4pm.
Dad is coming back today, I'm guessing he'll be here by 6pm.
I hope he takes me to the empire once more" He wished.
{My dad usually came back once a month and my mom was always with him}
Hours passed, it was the next day.
His parents didn't return that day.
— THE NEXT MORNING —
{That day I felt like I needed to do something lest I perish to boredom.
I opened the door to a surprise.}
As Marcus opened the door two people stood there, it was a man and a young boy about his age.
"We didn't even knock yet." The man said softly as he smiled.
[Slam!] [Lock!] Marcus wasted no breath slamming the door.
[Thump! Thump!!] His heart beat rapidly as goosebumps started to form on his arms.
"Are those the slave traders dad always told me about?
Dad always told me to lock the door if something like this happened." The little boy thought as he put his ear against the door.
"Hahaha.
You're as smart as Kenneth told me." The chuckles of the man echoed through the door.
"You…know my dad?" Marcus was slowly calming down.
His breathing was regulating.
"Of course I do, he even sent me here" The man's voice said.
{I might've been a little smart, but the moment he said that my thought process stopped.
I wanted to know what my dad was doing at that time}
[Unlocking noises]
"Such an innocent kid" The man smiled.
Marcus opened the door slightly and peeped through the space.
"Don't worry we aren't coming in and I'm only going to take a moment of your time." The man said softly.
Marcus finally saw the man clearly, he was tall and muscular with a smile on his face.
If there was anything that struck him it was his grey hair.
He looked at the boy beside him. He had the same hair colour and they looked alike.
"Is that his son?"
Though the boy was always looking away avoiding direct eye contact.
Marcus stepped out of the door, he wasn't in panic any longer.
"May I ask for your name sir?" Marcus asked politely.
"Such a smart little kid.
He sounds educated but his father said he's self taught" The man was marbled by his demeanor and choice of words.
"It's Lorent, I'm a friend of your father's." Lorent answered.
"..." Marcus stared at the boy standing beside him.
"I see you've taken a liking to this little one; His name's Leo.
He's partly the reason I'm here.
You see your…"
{My father wasn't going to be coming home anytime soon.
Mr Lorent met him at the capital and my father told him I had problems interacting with other kids.
Strangely enough his son did too, so they decided to introduce us to one another}
"Like hell that'll work" Marcus thought.
He didn't say it but it showed on his face.
"I'll leave my boy over here with you, he should know the way home by himself.
Do be nice to each other" Lorent pat Leo on the back and left.
Leo just stood there.
"Want to come inside?" Marcus offered Leo.
(Nod) Leo gave a little nod and followed Marcus inside.
{I remember the look on Leo's face, his eyes swelled like he thirsted for something — it wasn't water.}
Leo sat at the edge of the room while Marcus threw a ball up then caught it; repeatedly.
"I knew this wouldn't work" Marcus got bored.
"Hey, can you talk?" Marcus asked.
"I- y-es I can" Leo muttered.
{Back then he was anxious, he couldn't even speak to anyone except his dad, mom and little brother.
And I was bored and didn't feel like interacting anymore.}
Leo picked up a book in the room and read it.
It had words he couldn't comprehend, but he wanted to know the contents.
With know hesitation, he walked over to Marcus and tapped his shoulder.
"What?" Marcus asked unenthusiastically.
Leo tapped to a line in a page.
"How do you pronounce this?" Leo asked with a worried look.
"Exuberant." Marcus answered.
Leo eased up a little bit.
"What does it mean?" Leo asked.
"It means…" Marcus answered.
-
"What about this…and this…and this" Leo asked a barrage of questions.
{We became friends that day.
I fed his curiosity, and answering his questions kept my boredom at bay.
Though he became a little bit dependent on me.}
-
Some time had passed now, it had been almost a year now since they became friends.
They walked through Mjiormire together.
"Leo, over here." Marcus pointed to a street.
"Huh, but isn't that a street?" Leo began trembling a little.
"Come on, let's go!" Marcus urged Leo.
-
THREE YEARS LATER
{Leo came to me with a boy younger than us, his name is Moore.
I was shocked Leo actually talked to someone else first, he's getting less anxious, my effort is starting to pay off.
Contrary to my initial expectations Moore was actually very fun to hang out with.}
-
THREE YEARS LATER
{My mom is home all day now, and dad frequents the house more often.}
Marcus came back home from his ventures with his friends.
His father sat outside the door reading a newspaper.
"You've changed, you're now more like your mates.
I used to be worried about you.
Come with me let's head out.'" His father said calmly.
{That was the first time we went to the true boundary together.
We went there multiple times not crossing it just watching.
I always wondered what laid behind the unconstructed wall.
But that didn't matter to me as much as hanging out with my dad}
-
"So why?" A more recent memory flashed before Marcus's eyes.
***
{I was barely awake.
I couldn't remember anything else, but I remember this vividly.}
Curth walked up to the mangled body of Kenneth.
"I know ya' awake, mutt.
What option do ya' choose" Curth crouched down and asked him.
"(Third!)" Kenneth didn't even hesitate with his weak voice.
Not even a second passed.
***
Now in Leo's arms, Marcus's sight was blurring.
{I can't see, my vision is fading.
[Thump…Thump…] I can feel my heart beat become slower.
Less and less blood circulated around my body; not that there was much of a body left.
Even now I still wonder, why did you do it.
I thought I was a good son.
So why did you abandon me…} His inner voice was trembling.
"Daa….ad…" Marcus struggled to utter the words.
He shed his last tear.
His arms fell flaccid.
Marcus Von Steiner had passed on.