𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑪𝒓𝒂𝒛𝒆𝒅 | 𝑭𝒓𝒐𝒏𝒕𝑴𝒂𝒏

23| 𝑨 𝒃𝒐𝒕𝒕𝒍𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒂𝒔𝒕

My heart melts at his thoughtfulness. I just adore him.

I ponder a bit over my answer. „What is the first thing you would return to after this game?" I asked him.

„My family. Back to my wife and kid." His answer surprised me, but also doesn't. I may not know the details of his life, but that doesn't mean he didn't has a life.

I'm determined to know the details, so I will forever remember them if the owner isn't able to remember them anymore.

„Tell me about them." If people never get tired talking about something, it's about their life and themselves. I want his head to be rushed with activity and emotions, in order to keep him awake.

A ghost of a smile graced his face, the sad and haunting ghost of the past, mixed with the endless hope to see that ghost become reality again. He took his time as his face was drunken with reminiscent.

„My boy, just a year old. He just learned to walk and speak his first words, and I was a fool to think I needed money when I was already rich with everyday smiles from him. Every morning, and just.. every second." He croaked out slowly and quietly, his dark eyes lingering on my empty bedsheets, as if it displayed his son and family like a movie.

I just listened silently, my eyes on him. Yet sometimes, they dart around our dark hall that was only illuminated by the candles from our dinner. I looked toward Sage, seeing her just as miserable, laying on her bed and the knife clutched in her hands.

I look toward fart-smeller, seeing him wide awake sitting in his bed, playing with the knife. I know he's listening, and I just eye him with a very unfriendly gaze. I shortly look back toward Ali.

„Does he have the same appearance like you?" I asked softly, wanting to know everything about him.

He made an unsure noise, but still wore his smile. „Not really. He does have my black hair and tanned skin, but his eyes and face, he got that from my wife." His gaze seemed to soften. „Green eyes and thin lips, and I never saw a more beautiful boy than mine."

I smiled as well, vividly picturing his boy with his big baby green eyes, illuminated by his tanned skin tone, long lashes and just a wide and joyous smile.

I never thought about having children myself, I rather thought about adopting. I don't want to set more innocent humans into this world, I rather want to give the poor souls that were thrown in it, only to experience black way before they know white, another and brighter chance of living.

I want to teach them white, and from then on, I want them to only see white and grey as long as I have a say in it.

I don't want to give this world more children, but I want to give love to children who dream of it every night and day.

„And my wife," Ali continued, and I let my eyes softly resting on him. „She.. she is everything." He whispered, sounding so full in love and adoration that no amount of volumes could get even close to the highs his love goes.

„She is my rock through everything. She is the abyss I fall into, and she would make sure I would never feel the harsh impact of the ground. She would grow a bed of clouds where the once hard ground was. She's my family, and," A pained sound escaped him, and I doubt it's because of the glass shard hurting his body.

„It breaks me that I let her down, that I have to." He sniffed, and I take his hand in my own. I can't comfort him with words, I don't want to feed him lies that'll spark a false sense of hope.

So I avoid comforting him with reassurance toward his future.

„Were you good to them?" I asked, and I received a tearful nod from him.