A DIAL TO REMEMBER
ORIA
Note: This is based on a song [ and corresponding story ] my friend created. You should listen to his music; his works are great!
• ⊙ •
The man woke up in the desolate alley once again.
He never liked waking up in that same alley he practically lived in; it meant that he had to survive yet another day of starvation and emptiness. His economic position was no higher than the garbage surrounding him, and nobody had the generosity to give him even the leftovers of their dinner from the past night. He felt as if the world hated him--can't anyone give him what he needs to live? What had he done to suddenly live like this?
As those questions were asked in one part of his mind, another would be blaming the new government--the RdoHD. He just knew that something was suspicious about the new, "higher-ranking" folk, but it wasn't like he had any other evidence than his hollow guts. He had been starved for so long that sometimes he himself isn't certain if he was thinking right anymore. At least, his brain has been functioning nonetheless.
He slowly got up from his lying position, deciding not to stay down any longer. If there could be a kind person to give him food today, then he should take his chances. It's not like he had anything else left to lose.
His figure had awfully been reduced in the past months from the lack of food. He had lost so much weight that he looked nothing more than skin & bones under the ripped clothes he had worn for the longest time. All his possessions were taken away from him; he couldn't recall how, but he could remember people pulling him away from his own house and...
...a paper. A paper of...
...ownership, perhaps?
He couldn't recall that anyway, no matter how hard he tried. That didn't matter at the moment, however, because as a human, the first thing on your mind should be survival. For his case, it was food.
The man trodded on the streetside. His movements were so slow that he could be mistaken for a walking corpse. His sunken, hollow eyes looked at anyone and anything, unspokenly begging for anything to eat, but he'd been either waved off, insulted, or pushed back. He was already desperate for survival, and yet he was given no mercy.
How cruel.
He walked on despite the probability of rejection. He had another day before his possible death, and he wanted to die trying to the very least. It was all he ever lived for anyway--or at least that's what he remembered living for. One day he's not going to awaken in that same, desolate alley again, and he'll probably find more peace in his own death than this way of living. He loathed this New Metropolis after all, considering the circumstances he was suddenly put in.
"We will all transcend to a far better place," one of the RdoHD announced. "The New Metropolis offers more opportunities for those who wish to live peacefully than this primitive way of living. Let us apply this upgrade to your town..."
"...and you will certainly not regret this."
The scrawny man scoffed. "I call bullshit," he spoke to himself. "The New Metropolis, a better place? Utter bullshit. I was better off doing what I was already doing--selling materials and all that. If those RdoHD guys didn't come to picture, I would have--"
"Look out!" Yelled a woman's voice--interrupting his inner monologue--as she pushed through some people. Her warning to the man did nothing to her dismay, however, as he only managed to look up at her before she tripped, bumped and fell onto the man in question. Paperworks flew everywhere around them as dizziness attacked the poor man's head. His vision blurred, trying to register what happened.
The lady in red quickly got up, and gasped as she realized that she had practically knocked down such a poor man. "O-Oh my goodness, I'm truly sorry!" She apologetically said. "Oh, here, let me help you up."
She helped the man get up from his position while the man tried to recover from the impact. "Ow, shit." He hissed in pain, with his brain still adjusting to his position whilst identifying the face of the woman. "Thanks lady, but I think I'll be fine."
"You don't seem fine at all," she commented back. "Your body is detoriating, sir. I'll take you out to some food to help you survive a few more days."
Wow, such generosity, the man thought to himself, partially in sarcasm. "You sure you wanna treat me to dinner, sweet cheeks? Because everyone else rejected me as if I'm a waste of time and money. I don't blame them though, heh."
"I have some money to spare," replied the lady in red as she picked up her papers and placed them all in her file case. "Now, come on. I know a good place. Let me help you."
• • •
The next thing he knew, he was standing in front of a Chinese fast food chain. The large, glass windows displayed the inside of the restaurant, which was filled with people sitting on certain booths and chairs with corresponding tables. Above the entry door was a luminous sign that read, "Royal Cuisine."
"Wow, sounds kinda fancy." He commented with a chuckle. "Then again, I haven't eaten in months, much less gone to a restaurant."
The lady in red smiled to him as she opened the door. "Well, today's your lucky day, sir."
The poor man beside her widened his eyes in disbelief. "You're serious about what you said?" He asked, stupefied. "I really thought you were just joking."
She only chuckled as she ushered him inside while opening the doors. "I wasn't joking, good sir," she replied with a geniune smile. "Now, come in. Let's eat!"
• • •
The lady in red, who had revealed her name to be "Miss Autumn," had chosen a table for two somewhere that isn't too far from the exit. The table wasn't located around a crowd, though, so it was still quite accessible. She had ordered herself a bowl of wanton mami to the passing waiter, and for the ever-famished man, a big bowl of chao fan.
The poor man shook his head for the enth time in disbelief. "I still can't believe that you're actually giving me food," he said with a sad smile. "Not unless if you're looking for something in return, of course. That, I can understand, but sadly I have nothing to give you."
"I'm not doing this to have anything in return," Autumn replied. "In fact, I might actually consider taking you home with me."
He snorted at the statement. "I wouldn't do that with a poor man I just met, sweet cheeks. It's probably more... 'socially acceptable' if you leave me after all this."
"...I suppose I'll contemplate on that."
The waiter had finally arrived with their ordered food (well, Autumn chose for the man). Autumn's bowl was filled with steaming hot soup, added with delightful noodles, some cabbage, and two pieces of dimsum known as "siomai." The man's bowl, however, was filled with lots of fried rice, with bits of meat here and there, along with some spices and vegetables. The man almost wanted to deny the delicious food given to him, but his stomach grumbled in response to the desire to eat. The lady in red merely chuckled at this as she said to him, "You really should eat."
The man shrugged, then licked his lips as he took the utensils and finally chowed down on his meal. The lady before him only watched in amazement as she slurped her noodles, wondering about when he could have possibly last eaten this well. From his initially famished figure, it's probable that it's been a long time since... She sadly thought. It's a miracle that he survived a long period of starvation, then.
Autumn was only halfway done with her mami when the male before her finished his chao fan. He leaned his back on his chair's backrest with a loud burp, satisfied with his meal. "That was really some really good food!" He stated with glee. "If I only had the money, I'd go here everyday!"
There was an amused chuckle and a satisfied sigh. It seems that the fallen branch has found its nutrients to become a tree once again, with the help of the kind gust of wind.
Autumn softly smiled at the man as she put down her spoon onto the bowl and pushed the said bowl to him. "If you'd like some more, take this," she said generously. "I'm pretty sure that a bowl of chao fan isn't enough for how long you've starved."
This surprised the man once again, but her generous smile gave him no chance to argue. He smiled back at her--quite like a thankful grin--and finished the last of her mami gratefully. When the meal was done, he was more than pleased.
"I think I can last a week or so from that much food," he said to Autumn as he released yet another burp. "Thank you once again, really. You're too kind."
Autumn picked up her bag and file case as she stood from her seat. "It was nothing. You deserved that meal after having been empty for so long--it's a miracle that you're even alive to this very point."
The unlikely pair walked out of the restaurant together as they planned to go their separate ways. "Well, I guess I'm just gonna hope that I'll bump into you again," joked the now not-so famished male as he looked around the city. "It's not everyday I meet kind souls like you, Miss Autumn."
"Please, Autumn is just fine, sir," The lady in red responded. "Well, I do hope that we do meet again, too. Maybe by then, I will actually decide to take you home with me."
"Heh," sarcastically chuckled the man. "I won't be too sure, but I'll hold you on to that promise."
"Okay," replied Autumn. "But before I go, may I know your name?"
The simple question that asked his name has somehow brought life to his dying soul. She was already too kind to have fed him earlier, and now she'd like to know his name?
It was a good decision to have taken his chances today, it seems.
It had been a long time since he had said his own name, but in this situation, he himself was surprised that it rolled naturally on his tongue. "Isaac," he answered, almost hesitantly yet certainly. "My name's Isaac."
A knowing smile found its way on Autumn's lips as she looked at Isaac one last time. "Alright, Mister Isaac," She began, slowly stepping away from him to leave for her next destination. "The next time we meet, I will get you a good place to call home."
After that, she was waving him goodbye, with her silhouette slowly disappearing into the sea of people before him. Isaac waved back until she disappeared, then chuckled once again as he said to himself, "Well. Looks like I finally have something to really keep living for."
He walked away from the front of the restaurant, and trodded his way back to the alleyway where he knew he had lived in for years. He wasn't disappointed emptiness once again this time, no. He was actually greeted with quite a surprise this day, and he was hoping that he would receive even just the same in the next few days. A kind soul like Autumn was truly hard to find nowadays; especially with his situation in this New Metropolis. When all the rest decided to shun him away to death, Autumn decided to pick him up, feed him, and even give him a new home if she could. These things left a smile on Isaac's face, to which he hadn't had in years. It was a refreshing experience to be blessed with someone's kindness after years of receiving nothing but its opposite, after all.
Finally, he has another dial to remember should he awaken once again.
• ⊙ •
My sincerest apologies for having taken so long! This snippet had required more thinking than I figured, but I'm so glad I managed to write this down for the song. The soundtrack in itself had already inspired me before; but when my friend relayed to me the story within it, however, I was even more inspired, therefore leading me to write this down. I even thought about the names for the characters whom I might write more about soon. ;)
Anyway, I hope this was worth the wait! This particular snippet was fun to write, and I hope to get the chance to write more about my friend's music & story soon. I might even work on a standalone novel instead--you never know.
See you in the next snippet! =D