We watched the boy gulp down the loaf in a matter of seconds, not surprising considering the speed with which he consumed it. Now he was hiccupping. Yakove ran to the kitchen and came back with a tumbler of water. He handed it to the hiccupping boy. Again he chugged down the whole tumbler of water and sighed in satisfaction.
"Thank you!", he said as he wiped his mouth with his palm and rubbed the wetness against his chest, leaving imprints on his striped yellow turtle-neck shirt. We heard him talk for the first time.
"Sure. Want more?" he asked taking the tumbler back.
"No, thank you!" he answered politely."But I want to know why I'm here. You guys don't look like you're part of this."
"You're right about that," I said.
"Why don't we just begin with a tour of this place?" Hosier suggested, giving him a friendly smile.
"I don't think that'd be necessary," Yakove chimed in with his usual aloofness, "since he'll probably be here until he passes away." He received angry glares from both of us.
"What?" he asked offended."Are you planning on sugarcoating the whole experience for him? Giving him tours and stuff! Pfft! As if he's a foreign visitor which he technically is but you know what I mean. He'll get used to here..." He kept talking just like that in a neutral tone. Before it could get worse, Hosier interrupted.
"I understand you brother. But this might help him release the tension in his head."
"Yeah," I nodded agreeing with him. I was still taken aback by his words but I recovered. Yakove now gave a deep sigh.
"Forgive me kid if I scared you. You've already been through a lot and-" Yakove was interrupted mid-sentence when the boy leaned forward from the ground onto his knees and hugged Yakove who was standing, around his waist. He was startled for a moment but then reciprocated in little; patting his shoulder with a tiny smile.
"It's alright. You don't have to apologize. I see you're a realist," the boy replied, releasing his grip.
"Tell me your name kid," Yakove said with a noticeable smile that I had never seen before.
"Tayden sir," he said."Tayden Richard Blue."
KAMU SEDANG MEMBACA
THESE RUINED FLOWERS
Fiksi Umum"Hell is gonna burn, whether we're at the top or bottom of it, so why don't we just make a break for it?", Joon asked frustrated seeing the sudden dawn of dispute in Hosier's face. "I hate to say it, but you're wrong Joon," Hosier replied. "There's...
