Fadol

Chapter 1

Not many believe me, I shouldn't even expect them to do so. I don't know where nor how to start. All I know, is that I'm an innocent man. But I'll let you decide that for yourself.

If you had the secrets to the universe, what would you do? Would you give yourself glory or fame? Or would you give the riches to everyone else? Would you be selfish or selfless? This is what it all boiled down to. I don't know much but what I do know is that I lost something that I can never get back. Not because I am doubting myself. Not because I am a pessimist, but because it is simply too late.

You know when you're standing in the shower, letting the hot water steam across the skin on your face and you're just thinking? You aren't doing anything except standing in silence, listening to the water trickle down your body and into the drain. I don't know exactly what happened or why, all I know is that it happened.

You never realize how ignorant you truly are until  you are shown everything that you don't know. And then when you learn something new, you realize that there are billions of other things that you could learn. The smarter you get, the more you realize how ignorant you are. I was shown my ignorance one morning. It wasn't shown to me by a physicist or a chemist. It was shown to me by a six year old child. This child gave me something that I will always be thankful for until the day I die.

I usually take my showers in the morning due to my utter and complete laziness. As a kid, I would set my alarm to 7 o'clock every morning, no matter the day of the week. Eventually, my mind was programmed to shake awake at 7 o'clock. This completely ordinary Tuesday morning, turned out to be the most important Tuesday that I would ever live to see.

I woke up and took my usual shower with the water as hot as it would go. Due to the drop in temperature (it's winter) the water takes longer than usual to heat up. I stepped out of the shower and into the brisk air. I felt the goosebumps rise across the skin on my forearms and the hairs raise slightly. I dried myself off and went to my closet. I usually stick to my ordinary clothes to fit my ordinary life. I took a long sleeved white shirt off of one hanger and a pair of khakis off of the other. I dressed myself and proceeded to look in the mirror. My black hair drooped down and into my eyes. I pulled back my bangs with a quick stroke of a brush. I put on my socks and shoes (slip on black dress shoes) and walked out of the front door.

As I locked the door behind my I felt a vibration in my pocket; my phone. I glanced at the screen and read the caller ID to myself, "Brookes" (I have a habit of reading aloud). Brookes is probably the closest thing I have to a friend. She's always been there when I need her. Sometimes I can get pretty annoying (or so she tells me). I answer the phone and the line is quiet. I lightly said, "Hello?".

No answer

I said again, "Hello?" this time following it with, "is anyone there?"

No answer

I was about to hang up thinking that he butt dialed me but suddenly I recognize something. I'm not quite sure what it is at first. Then, it hits me. I could hear a faint creaking sound. The sound that I grew up hearing.

When I was a child, my parents would leave me at a playground to essentially fend for myself. But then again, that's probably the only reason why I'm not increasingly depressed. I'm used to being alone and having to entertain myself. I haven't had the need for a social life since, well, ever. The creaking noise that I heard was the wind blowing and making the rusty chains on the swing set move. The playground that I was left at wasn't the best, but it was all I had. I would sit up against a tree that was 10 feet or so from this swing set. Sometimes, I'd just look up and into the sky thinking about what it must be like to be someone greater.

I put the phone up to my ear and said, "Brookes, are you at the dumb old playground?"

No answer

I looked confusedly at the screen of the phone and hung up. I had just assumed that he had mistakenly called me, this was my first mistake.

I read the clock on the phone to be 8 AM. After closing the flip phone, I stuck  it in my back pocket and continued down the steps of the front door. I used to be extremely poor and thus, couldn't afford a car. Then, I realized that there is in fact little use for a car because of how far I travel. I usually never have to even leave town, and when I do, I just take a train.

Since I still had an hour and 30 minutes to be at work, I decided to check on Brookes, just to see if she's alright. I tend to obsess over my friends which usually scares them off. But then again, if you only had one friend you'd probably obsess over them too.

I wore a beanie to cover my ears in the bitter air. I also wore a scarf that hung around my neck, not too tight, but not too loose. I felt the wind brush across my skin and so I pulled up the collar of my jacket. My jacket was a black wool coat that had a big, thick collar. I stuck my hands in my pockets and felt my shoulders tense up, a symptom of my body trying to get warmer.

I looked to the right and left, getting my surroundings. My eyes rested on a stop sign. At the top of the stop sign, there was a green sign that said, "Fredrick". Fredrick is the last name of just about every person that has money in this town. I'm really the only person that isn't living in poverty besides the Fredricks. I've  actually done business with them a few times. They have a sort of awkwardness about them. It isn't obvious unless you're actually talking to them.

I continued on my way down Fredrick Street until I made a left on Belfry Avenue. This is the street that the playground is on. The playground is encumbered by evergreen trees so you can't quite see the playground until you come upon it. This is only one of the reasons why no one ever really went to the playground except me. It has always been sort of hidden from the eye. As I came around the bend of trees, I peered around them. I spotted a woman with dirty blonde hair that was simply staring at the ground. She had her hands in her pockets with the same tense shoulders that I had only moments before. Her hair flowed gracefully in the wind. Her head was angled toward the ground, like she was looking at something in particular. This was Brookes.

I walked up to Brookes, her back was to me. Once I was about an arm's length away from her, she spoke aloud. She said, "I didn't know what to say." I said, "Sorry, what?"

"When I called you, I didn't know how to tell you over the phone."

I looked to the ground and scrunched up my eyebrows in confusion.

"Tell me what?"

She turned around to look me in the eye. She had obviously been crying, her cheeks still wet with tears. Her cheeks had a bright red tint and her hands shook.

"I still don't quite understand it myself." She continued to fumble for her words. I told her to just relax and that it doesn't matter what it is, I'll be okay. I asked her to just tell me. She replied, "Words cannot describe. I need to show you." I took out my phone and checked the time. It's 9:30, time for work. I was about to ask if it could wait until after my shift, but then I realized that she is a bigger priority than a paycheck.

She grabbed my hand from out of my pocket and dragged me forwards. She dragged me into the trees for about 300 hundred feet. Several times, I asked where we were going only to be answered with silence. Eventually we came upon a sort of, well, I don't even really know how to describe it. It looked like a clear sheet of glass only it was moving and shifting, changing shapes all on its own. Sunlight passed through it making it glimmer ever so slightly. Brookes walked straight up to the...thing. She brought up her right hand from her side and forced her hand into it. I jumped out of fright and yelled, "Brookes!" I rushed up to her, grabbing her at the side. But to my surprise, she didn't move. She didn't flinch in pain. She didn't get sucked in. She didn't get hurt... at all. She just stood there. She looked me in the eye and said almost matter-of-factly, "Now do you see why I couldn't tell you over the phone."