Timeline of Errors

Part 11 - Moving Forward

The two of us got off at a small residential area near the marketplace. After he returned Salamence to his Pokeball, he took me through a few turns along some small alleys. Soon enough, he stopped in front of a building built out of unpainted red bricks. It was two stories tall, but the walls were rather dirty and moldy. There was a black flight of metal stairs leading straight to the second floor, right on the right side of the building. As my gaze moved upwards, I spotted laundries hanging from each of the windows in the second floor: white sheets, a few black jeans, some soft pink curtains, yellow blankets, light brown sweaters, and many more. Laughs and chatters of children can be heard from above, along with a woman voice shouting at them.

"Oy! Don't get too close to the balcony!" the voice yelled.

The children, however, did not seem to care at all and kept laughing.

So, this is where he lives? I thought as I kept following him from behind, in a shared house?

"Just a moment," he said as he took out a bunch of keys from his pocket, "you can go in if you like, but there's nothing much to see,"

"O-okay..." I said, nodding.

As soon as the door was unlocked, he flung it open, revealing a 10x10 metres simple room. The tiles had small cracks and flaws on it, yet one look at it and I know that it's very clean. A wardrobe and a small bed sat on the right side of the room, while a small wooden desk and a white wheeled chair rested on the other side. There was a small clothes line with one black towel hanging on it near the door, along with a basket filled with clothes stuffed into it. A small stove, a fridge, and an enclosed bin sat side by side across the door. Right next to it was a door with a mat in front of it, presumably the bathroom.

"What?" he asked.

"N-nothing, I just thought the place's really neat," I said quickly.

"Thanks," he said as he opened his fridge, "I'm gonna cook a quick dinner, then we can talk. You can sit behind the desk if you want,"

H-huh?

"Well-" I said and glanced at my clothes, which was covered in sewer water, dirt, and slimes, "actually, can I borrow your bathroom? Probably best that I get changed first before sitting down,"

"Suit yourself," he said and took out a carton of eggs, "feel free to use my stuff if you want to take a shower,"

...

Is this for real? I thought.

What's with this 180 degree change of attitude?!!

"Alright. I bought a box of pasta earlier - we can share it if you like," I said as I put my bag down by the door.

I took out the takeout box I got earlier, which fortunately did not get wet when I fell into the drainage, and put it on the table.

"Cheers," he said as he grabbed the seasoning containers on the top of his fridge.

~~~

When I walked out of the shower, the fragrant smell of fried rice wafted in the air. I looked to my right and saw a pile of fried rice set down on a plate next to the pasta takeout box.

"That smells nice," I commented.

"Thanks," said a familiar voice on my left. I turned around and noticed that he had changed his clothes. With a plate of food on hand, he said, "Sit down anywhere,"

"Thanks," I muttered and walked over to the food, "so... you cook everyday now?"

"Pretty much, trying to save money," he said and sat down on the bed across me.