Chapter 17: Regretful Memory and Piece of Nightmare

“Surprisingly, you both did a great job, congrats”

Mrs. Yuen, looking up to the two gentleman standing in the front of her. With wide smile and it’s almost like the smile going to change that woman faces. The two gentlemen standing still on the podium sighing with relief. Both looking at each other smiling, approve of one another's hard work.

“Here I thought you guys going to failed because your personality really won’t fits each other”

Daniel rolled his eyes as soon as he heard sarcastic remarks from his lecturer.

“You are the one who set us up together, so you were hoping we would fail from the start?”

The older woman just shrugged.

“Mentor jobs are to give students a problem which you guys should overcome, am right? Or am I right?”

This time both of the gentlemen rolled their eyes.

The class was full of students today, but all of them were sitting down with tight expressions. Today is presentation day, all of these students ought to give it their all and explain their coding to the entire class. No one dares to be playful during this exact moment, because their lecture score point really can determine whether they can pass this class or not.

All the childish acts are already thrown out the window, they don’t want to mess things up. All teams from the first to the third all failed miserably, but not for the fourth team, which consisted of Joshua and Daniel. The only team that is able pull the presentation smoothly, and with that success, it becomes a glimmer of hope for other teams.

All eyes locked on those two men, hoping they can be as good as them. But all the attention just makes both of them feel uncomfortable. Yuen's face emitting a light of satisfaction, she kept clapping and talking to other students on how she wanted the presentation to look.

In the end despite only spending a couple of minutes performing, when everything is done all power is well spent. Walking out down the hallway as if they just did a marathon. But they are not complaining about it, for the result is enough to make them feel relieved and content.

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Ordeal is such an understatement if comes to Mrs. Yuen class presentation. That was torture, pure torture, and it wasn’t even more than 10 minutes I spent with Daniel on the podium. But I feel like I lost 10 years of my life to just handling the presentation and to make sure nothing went wrong with the code.

Not to mention the three previous teams just gave the most terrible performance, not helping my anxiety to face the reality. But to my luck, Daniel is much calmer than I thought.

Wait.

He was not calm, he just didn't care.

But surprisingly his lack of care is the one that helps me cope with the pressure. On the side note, I’m glad she is accepting our project like that, and her question is not something that makes me want to jump off the building, all her questions are predictable.

“That was wild, wasn’t it?”

Daniel walked beside me in the hallway, passing the countless white pillars that separated us from the field and school building.

“Geez, tell me about it”

I run the back of my head and massage my shoulder, the more I put pressure on it, the more relieved I become. What luck to have such a killer and merciless lecturer.

“I’m glad we were able to satisfy her, I heard she is really hard to please…”

“Cut that crap, she took massive joy from torturing the student!”

Daniel immediately cut me mid-sentence, and started cursing Mrs. Yuen like no tomorrow will come.

“Well at least that is our last class with her, new semester will start after New Year’s”

Daniel shakes his head and sighs.

“As if that is our last day meet her, she is one of crucial lecturer here, she definitely takes up next semester class to”

I raised my eyebrow, well, I guess Mrs. Yuen will be my first and last class during my time here.

“Then… we are sitting duck…?”

The words trailed from my tongue, not sure that is the right words to explain our condition.

“I guess we are!”

Daniel replied with his smile and laugh, didn’t take me seriously for all that uncertainty.

We keep walking side by side, and I let my heels noise echoing everywhere, and sneak its way into my ear. I move my eyes sideways, and I catch a glimpse of Daniel bandage hands. When I help him treat the wound, it was terrible, his hand doesn’t look good, but the scary part is, there is more scar engraved on his arms. I keep thinking why I never figured it out or aware about it.

“How’s your hand?”

Daniel paused and looked at his bandage hand, and showed it to me.

“This? This is nothing I’ve told you right?”

I rolled my eyes with his smart ass remark.

“My apologize for asking your condition then”

Daniel immediately hugged my shoulder with his other arm, shaking me.

“Hey-hey! I’m sorry okay! Thanks for worrying me, but this is nothing, child play even”

He let go of me and we joked around like usual, as if the whole ordeal with the presentation and Daniel wound never happened.

While we mind our business together, my phone vibrates furiously. The moment I took it out and tried to open the call, I missed it. But I can read the caller name clearly.

Albern.

This devil can’t let me catch a breath whatsoever.

“Joshua… are you coming? What’s wrong?”

I stood there looking at the phone screen still, I can hear Daniel a few distant away. I look up at Daniel's worried face, and wave my hand toward him, making him less worried. I walked fast to catch up to him, I guess I got occupied with my thoughts longer than I expected.

“You alright?”

Daniel raised his eyebrow to me.

“Yeah… hey listen, I don’t think today I can stop at campus canteen, say sorry for me to other”

“Why? Is something coming up?”

I rub the back of my head. Truth to be told, it’s not like something coming up, I just so happened to make a promise with the devil, and now the devil himself demands my presence.

“Well, I kinda have to return some stuff to someone”

His eyes showed me confliction, like he is half trust and half not trusted me.

“But are you going to come back though?”

I shake my head.

“I’ll pass for today…”

I started walking in a different direction from him, but before long his voice called my name.

“Joshua… if there is anything that bother you, you can share it with us”

I smile at him, and proceed to walk searching the devil.

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The autumn leaves fly around in the sky and fall into the cold concrete. Their red and brown color fill up the entire scenery in the front of my eyes, they keep struggling, to live. The temperature keeps dropping each day, sometimes it’s not even predictable how cold they can be. Sitting here alone kind of tortured already, even with my hand stuck under his blazer on my lap. I really hope I can just give him the card and this blazer, so I can go home quickly.

The song that keeps playing inside my ear not even helping the fidgety feeling inside me. My feet keep tapping the ground, my eyes keep looking left and right, but the person that I have been waiting for, not even his nose can be found.

I closed my eyes and rested my back against the bench. This is no brainer, he keeps annoying me, I need to find a way to make him stop bothering me soon. I let myself immerse deep into my mind. Into the darkness.

And suddenly my body jumped out when something warm touched my cheek. My eyes looked directly at the man that was sitting beside the place I was sitting on. It’s hard to not recognize him with that teasing and mocking smile

He casually sat down there, leaning against the bench with his expensive clothes as usual. But wait, he wore something casual, usually his attire must be ready for business. His grey sweater takes a peek inside his long dark blue coat, I can see his white colored collar warped nicely around his neck. His legs crossed together, his right legs hanging on the others, exposing his long and strong leg that was covered by black long pants.

His hand holding onto a coffee can, I assume that thing must be the one touched me. My hand unconsciously touching my cheek, trying to figure everything’s out.

“I feel bad for you, so I buy you this...”

He tossed that can which I struggled to catch.

“Am I making you wait for a long time?”

His tall body stands up and walks closer to me, his big hand grabs both of my hands and brings it closer to his face. His mouth blows a warm breath against my skin, he keeps doing that without looking at me, and I don’t have courage to look at him either because my hearts keep pounding for no reason. I don’t know how long I keep standing and he keeps warming my hands, but I can’t take it anymore.

“Enough!”

I snatched away my hands in panic, which prompted him to laugh at my reaction.

“Get away from me!”

“What… I just trying to help you, feel your own hand, it's cold as a block”

I still didn’t look him straight in the eyes, but my eyes have a mind of their own by always taking a peek from time to time.

“Look at your cheek, do you want me to blow to your face too?”

He smiles as if he is telling me that he caught me, and I can’t run from him.

“No! Stay right there!”

But he kept walking closer anyway, and his face was just inches away from mine. We locked our position like that, but his body kept looming over me until I lost my balance.

“Whoa!”

In an instant his sturdy arm warped itself around my waist, preventing me from falling down. My breath hitched, my chest felt full, almost like something wanted to come out. My whole body feels funny if he is near me like this.

“Careful now…”

His raspy voice traveling out from his lips. It’s all way too familiar.

I scrambled from his embrace, body shaking for some reason.

“Get away! Get away from me!”

I make a cleaning motion, patting my body and my clothes as if he is a virus.

He raised his both hands together, and his face made a mocking smile, his both eyebrows raised at me. I’m really sick with his smile! It keeps haunting me! It’s not helping that my phone screen also has his face on it!

I hate him!

I hate him!

I want him out of my life!

I started opening my mouth and yapping at him, but his face unbothered, in fact his face showed boredom. He starts picking his earlobe with his finger, like my word means nothing at all.

“Albern! You are an annoying bastard!”

“Can you just stop giving trouble?”

“What did you think when you uploaded that picture the other day!”

“Your fans are gonna kill me if they are aware who I am!”

“Hey! Are you even listening?!”

My chest was puffing from all that outburst, but Albern stood not even fazing, he just raised his eyebrow at me.

“You done?”

When I heard his words, I immediately wanted to open my mouth. He looked at his expensive watch on his arm, and his hand suddenly grabbed mine and my body tugged to his direction. My legs forcefully have to follow his lead, despite my full power to keep myself in one place, he is dragging me with ease.

My body kept getting dragged and dragged until we arrived at the car parking lot. And suddenly his body stopped which made me bump into his hard back.

“You asshole!”

He didn’t listen to me, he was just busy with his thing.

When I realized my surroundings, we were standing near an expensive sports car that I assume must be his.

His tall body opened the passenger car and his hand waved toward the seat.

“Get in”

I look at him in disbelief, my stomach starts to turn again whenever I hear his voice, it feels disturbing. Before long I throw his blazer and his canteen card to his chest with his catch both with one hand with such ease.

“Take it! Don’t bother me! I have to go somewhere”

I lied but he looked at me with confusion and taunting eyes.

“Oh, really? I believe you can’t”

“You don't have the right to tell that to me!”

I raised my voice.

His lips puckered a little bit and his head nodding in agreement, I do not like where this is going.

“Right… but you see, a couple weeks ago, someone just ruined my suit. Hmm, don’t you think that person has to take… some kind of responsibility?”

His eyes taunting me, and his smile getting wider and mocking me harsh. I gritted my teeth knowing him purposely using that excuse to make me follow his order. The worst part is he is right, I can’t do anything about it but follow his order.

With anger still burning inside me I followed him and got inside his car, but before he closed the door, his face looming over me.

“People said cats are easy to take care of and obedient… I guess you just not trained well”

That mocking tone made my blood boil, but without waiting for my reply he threw the card and the blazer on my lap and closed the door.

He appears on the driver seat and immediately turns on the car engine, the back light starts to lighten up inside. And the car moving fast passed the other car, passing the empty parking lot and going out from the campus gate to the busy road.

“I’m sad that you forgot our promised for this Friday”

I’m not forgetting that today is Friday and you annoyingly plastered me with your request, but I’m trying to forget about it with no luck. Do you think I want to sit down together with you than sit down with other on cafeteria, despite how I do not like their annoyance, they are much better than you.

“Yeah, I never made promised”

“Ouch”

His face turned, as if he was hurt by my words.

My phone vibrates and I see the message notification from Maya. She sends me a picture of everyone at the cafeteria, Chad and Maya make a silly face, and Daniel just smiles a little, but there is someone new, it’s Sharon, she smiling softly toward the camera. That table is going to be more crowded than I’m anticipating.

“I’m surprised you still use that wallpaper for your lock screen”

My face grew hot and burning with his remark, I felt much embarrassment.

“I…! I…! It’s…! It’s not like you allow me to change it either way!”

I want to punch and strangle myself on how different and how broken I sound like.

Albern lips turn upside down, and his eyebrow raised, eyes still focused on the road.

“Right… but I never said you can’t change it…”

This time he is facing me and wink at me with his clear brown eyes.

I bit my lips, afraid of what will come out from it, I’m afraid I will just cremate myself deeper. To make myself look like a fool in front of him is the last thing I want to happen. So, I keep my mouth shut, even the silent deafening, I keep it like that.

But after a while, it does get painful, I keep taking a peek at Albern, he just smiles nonstop. I don’t think I can keep going on like this.

So I stupidly opened my mouth, which I regretted even doing immediately.

“By doing this today, you promised to never bother me again right?”

Albern looked at me, and came back to the road with his right hand gripping the steering wheel, with a smile on his face he reassured me.

“Yeah, of course, I promised”

I sigh with relief, touching my chest. At least I can endure this for today and after that I’m set free.

“But you must promise me something too…”

His words trailing long, my heart starts pacing quickly, afraid of what will come out from his mouth.

“You must having fun, and smile more”

He looked me right in the eyes, with a soft smile I had never seen before. My poor hearts pacing even much quicker, I feel like my own heart wants to jump out from my chest, and my stomach feels uncomfortable. The more I see his face after knowing that smile, the more something happens with my chest. I don’t like this.

I hate this!

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The sky's still blue and the clouds are still flying lazily around the sky, hypnotizing all the people who see them. The cold wind didn’t do much for people running around, but people here are still smiling like nothing is better than these days. Today, nature just comes together and hugs every individual on the planet.

As the weather becomes cheerful as well as the human, the concrete mixed with the sturdy block constantly stepped on by countless peoples, it is pale white like a snow with a hint of dust that makes it look old and becomes a legacy of times.

People walking and running here and there, totally aware how nature brings them a favor to enjoy it even more. Music can vaguely be heard from the background, some people walking with families, their loved one, or even a bunch of friends hanging around.

People can hear laughing, screaming and crying from here and there. And people can see how colorful the buildings are and how weird yet lovely their shapes are. Small explosion sounds can be heard from the sky along with the small confetti, and weird animals and peoples walking around with smiles. A parade where people on the sideline didn't stop taking picture

A colorful and funny shaped balloon can be seen flying around, some hanging loose from kids and adult hands, and some flying aimlessly in the sky along with cries from some kids in the distance.

Joshua just stood there like stupid person who obviously doesn’t fit in with this kind of places.

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Standing in the middle of places like this is totally not the best feeling for me, I can feel their happiness from all around the place and direction. But for some reason their smile feels like they are rubbing sandpaper on my wound. This thousand smiles, none actually throwing at me, none actually laughing and sharing their happiness with me.

In the end I’m just an observer and stranger.

In the middle of this hectic environment I can see a tall man jog toward my direction, I can see his body figure even in this distance, that shirt warped around him not doing anything but validating that man has hard muscle beneath.

His both hands holding on something, two cup with something inside, a constant smoke can be seen out from the cup.

“Here I bought us something warm”

I raised my eyebrow while taking one cup from him.

“You do realize that you just bought me a can of coffee before we come here”

He shrugged at me while taking a sip from his cup, and he proceeded to tease me.

“The warmer you become the better”

I rolled my eyes and hung my head for his constant teasing.

“Then why are we here? Why am I here?”

“Well it’s a good day, weather it’s good and this theme park is quite famous so why not? Also the ride rumored to be fun”

I eyed him for a while before I took a sip from my cup, but his lips were leaning closer to my ear.

“Unless… you want somewhere much private… I can do that too”

I choke on my own saliva with hot chocolate mixture. My throat immediately feels burning and shortly after I start coughing. My eyes send a killer instinct toward him while the back of my hands is busy wiping my dirty mouth.

His lips sipping another liquid, while his eyes never leave me.

This devil is having too much fun.

His other hand moved swiftly, before I knew a white napkin wiped my mouth clean.

“Careful now…”

The weird thing is my eyes locked to him, and I can feel his finger that is covered with the fabric pinch my lips lightly, but I didn’t do anything to stop him, until.

“I prefer you choke with something else…”

With that, his mocking and teasing smile comes back, my hands make a knuckle and launch it immediately to his stomach. But instead it makes him hurt, my hands shaking and my entire arms hurt.

“Must be hurt huh?”

“You are the worst!”

I start walking out from him to hide my embarrassment. I never felt this humiliated before, but every time he is there, they always think that befall me.

I can hear his laugh from behind me following a foot step.

This day can’t get any worse.

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“Hey wait for me”

For someone with a small build like Joshua, he walks surprisingly fast. I keep calling his name, but not once he turns back and faces me. I must be honest, teasing him has become my hobby now, it’s so much fun that now almost becomes my daily routine. Honestly, if this becomes a habit I’m not even slightly minding it.

Every time he feels embarrassed that ear starts to turn color. Red and pinkish like, the prettiest color I ever laid my eyes into. I still remember the day I saw that color, the day I met him for the first time, when he scrambled to collect his book, the entire time his ear changed color, I wanted to touch it so bad.

I never knew him, but the first time my eyes ever laid on him, that moment he piqued my interest. Trapping him with the whole dirty suit thing is the smartest thing to do and I’m glad I can keep using that as a weapon against him.

Why?

Because I lied when we were in the car, my finger crossed at his promise.

I really like the way he is always cautious, but always fails every single time with me.

He is stupid if he ever think I will let him go, with this so much fun he provided? He can keep dreaming, but his entire being is still in my palm. He keeps walking and obviously doesn’t want to listen to me. You can keep running away, but I’ll make sure you come back at me Joshua, even if I have to make you do so while crawling.

“I’m sorry okay, I didn’t mean to rub it against you … but I will be kidding if it wasn’t… hilarious”

His body turns so fast toward me, I can see his jaw clenched, and he is gritting his teeth hard.

What cute scenery, Joshua, you should look at yourself in the mirror more often.

“Listen… I’m sorry for taking this way too far, but let’s enjoy our time, we are already here. So? What do you say?”

He sighs, he looks pathetic when he loses hope like that, but the more I want to bully him.

The more I want to make him cry.

The louder the better.

You only have yourself to blame Joshua.

“Fine, I guess”

His voice danced melodically into my ear. Listening to him always makes me very excited. He has such a childlike sound yet very strict in nature, I never heard that kind of voice before. Usually if someone has a childlike voice, it annoys me terribly.

But Joshua's voice is different, there is maturity in there, there is some kind of strictness.

And the day spent just like that, with me and Joshua trying almost every ride in this theme park.

I rarely see his smile, no, I have never seen him smile.

But today I can see his smiling lips turn into slight smiles. The more I see it, the harder my desire is to see it fully drawn on his face, so I keep bringing him from another ride to another ride.

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Both Joshua and Albern tried all the rides that were available in the theme park, both humans for some reason did not really recognize how they were accompanying each other's hearts during all the excitement and the event that happened.

The boys experience the dizziness with the cup rotation, feeling adrenaline rush with the roller coaster. Joshua does not even like roller coasters to begin with, but somehow the big boy succeeds in convincing him to ride one, perhaps convinced is a big word, what the man did is no more than trickery. In the whole ride Joshua kept holding on to the older man's hand, closing his eyes.

The carousel color popped up and glittering, the child and adult laughing here and there, oddly enough this time Joshua did not really mind it, in fact, he did not recognize these feelings at all. The color of the sky starts fading and becomes darkened orange by each second. And by each second both Albern and Joshua share memories in these places.

And when Joshua sees Albern smile at him, for some reason he can feel that smile is given to him.

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We experience a lot here, but I keep regretting my own decision to believe Albern words and keep riding the least comfortable ride. I can’t even fathom how I actually think that I might throw myself into this whole problem.

We keep walking until we are standing at the front of some kind of building with funny shapes. A big name hanging on the top of the big door and hallway. It read:

‘Mirror Castle’

My skin starts to crawl and cold sweat starts to travel down to my spine.

This place where a thousand upon thousand mirrors were placed. The more I think about it, the more my thoughts send shivers into my whole being. I feel uneasy, I want to go away to the opposite area. That dark hallway makes me nauseated, I start to feel uneasy.

“Let’s go inside, we try the mirror castle, I heard it’s a fun place, you can see your funny reflection”

Albern's voice sent me into fear for my whole body within a second and it stiffened right away.

“Come on! Let’s go! This is going to be so much fun!”

His hand dragged me closer to the entrance, the closer we become the more I can’t breathe properly, and the more I want to scream and run, nothing coming out from my throat.

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I see his eyes linger to the Mirror castle entrance. Does he like that kind of fun house? I can’t really read his emotion, that face and eyes seem empty, and something else also there but I can’t really pinpoint what it is.

So we went inside, my finger warped on his arms, not letting go, I kept asking him questions and trying to tease him, but only enough, he did not show any sign of fight or reply to me with his feisty remark.

It’s completely silent.

“Joshua…?”

When I turn my head, I see no one is there, my finger no longer holding into him, there is nobody with me.

I lost him.

I started calling his name, but I got no response.

The more I call him, the more I can hear my voice echoing, and the more worried I become.

I lost him.

He is gone.

I start panicking and yelling his name, and start to increase pacing with my leg. I keep calling and calling hope he can hear me and come back to me.

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I lost.

Albern is gone from me, he was there at the front of me, but his finger slipped and I can find him. I want to try to call him, but I can’t let out any voices.

I keep walking forward, see my reflection walking together with me.

The deeper I walk the more I can’t breathe, and the more my head spins.

I try to lick my lips, but it immediately dries up quickly.

After a while, I feel like I lost all of my strength even if I walk only a few steps away. I meet a dead end.

“Ah… there you are… I’ve been searching for you”

The moment my ear listened to that voice, I recognized it and my body started shaking. The familiar voice comes from behind me, and I don’t have courage to look at that source.

“Don’t go now… it’s been a while”

My body shaking the more I hear that voice, my eyes start tearing up. Once in my life, I start calling someone's name inside my head, I keep chanting his name, hoping for a miracle he finds me.

Albern.

I want to go out, Albern.

“I miss you…”

My whole body is stiff, I can’t even move my finger. The person standing on the other side looking right at me. I see the shadow and reflection inside the mirror, but something different, something lot different and unusual with that reflection.

It starts smiling, gets darker, and something happened, that reflection showering in red liquid and laughing toward me. I start running frantically searching for a way out. Even harder than before, I start to hear that voice again-again and it’s getting louder. My whole chest felt like someone set fire inside it, and my eyes felt hot and I felt something falling down to my cheek.

Albern!

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I keep searching for him to no avail. Keep calling and try to seek every corner

I really start to get worried if something happened to him.

I start to regret my decision to drag him here.

And suddenly I see a shadow running toward my direction, my eyes widen and I follow my instinct to run toward it and catch it immediately. His breath is not stable and his face looks like he just saw a ghost. There is no vibrant aura drawn on that face, only pale and tear trails on his cheek.

His face didn’t change, only a stream of tears came out from his eyes.

No! Not like this!

I want to make you cry but not like this!

Don’t cry! The more I see that clear water flowing out from his beautiful eyes, the more I feel like my heart is getting stabbed.

Please I beg you stop crying.

“Joshua! Are you okay? Where have you been? Did something happen?”

His whole body went weak, I caught him immediately. His hand crawled, as if he was trying to grab on something. My first instinct is to hug his small frame, and I can feel his tears wetting my neck.

“It’s okay… Joshua, I’m here”

“Don’t cry… I’m here”

I cup his face, his eyes not focusing anywhere, as if his soul has gone somewhere. He keeps wiping his tears that feel nonstop, which bring me agony. My teeth hissing every time I wipe his tear but the new one starts flowing again.

“Joshua… don’t cry… I’m here”

His lips were bleeding due to his teeth sinking hard into it.

“Joshua, it’s okay, I’m here so everything is going to be okay. Remember? If something bad happens I will make it good?”

His eyes start to gain its light, his tears start to slow down.

His dry lips open up but a very weak voice comes out from it.

“Out…”

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The sun is halfway set, and now the sky color has already turned dark orange, birds flying everywhere to come back to their nest, the lamp street starting to lighten up one by one. Stars start to come one by one in the sky, the blue clear sky starting to turn murky and turn dark.

From up here both men can see the city start to lighten up and adapt with the night time that engulfes the sky. Both sitting silently across one another, let the motion bring them both up the sky. After the whole incident at the mirror castle, Albern decided to bring the boy to sit and calm himself inside the Ferris wheel. The boy has been silent for the whole 5 minutes, there is no word nor any movement from his body, that boy only staring to the empty space through the window and his eyes not showing any light.

“Are you okay now?”

Albern starts the conversation seeking a reason, when he sees what happened, for some reason his heart wrenching in pain, when he sees Joshua shed a single tear, he feels like he wants to destroy whatever that makes Joshua shed that tear. Albern felt big discomfort when he saw how the boy acted, he was crying, but no sound was out, and his whole body was shaking, as if he was trying to hold something back.

“The sun is nice…”

The Albern startled when he heard a small voice from a small body frame across him, Joshua seems slightly recovered. The worry and discomfort from Albern starting fading away.

“It’s nice to be this high sometimes, you can see everything clearly from up here…”

“I’m glad you recovered… you want to talk about it?”

Joshua shook his head, showing no interest to talk anything about what was happening. Albern only lets out loud sighs, understands but still feels worried for the younger boy, and his eyes still can’t shake his worry while staring at him.

“You feel troubled and think I'm a nuisance aren’t you?”

“There is no such thing!”

Albern immediately cut the younger voice.

“Just be honest…”

And within a second Albern jumped to the cross side, his both hands holding the younger boy's shoulder.

“No! Listen to me…”

The boy facing the older man in the front of him, his face showed nothing, no emotion.

“No, you are not… it’s all fun… I was really happy to be able to spend all of my time with you. What happened back there… I’m just worried about you…it never crossed my mind about you being nuisance or troublesome. I bring you here, for you and I to have a good time… I just feel bad if you end up not having any fun at all…”

Albern keeps his eyes on the boy, does not let his will to be waver and does not want to make the boy thinking the worst of him, after all, he wants to see his smile not the opposite.

“I’m so sorry for dragging you to that place…”

Joshua stops the man and ensures him something.

“No… it’s not your fault…”

“I just… do not like that place…”

Both of them are still in the same position, still looking at each other, and they both feel like the world and time freeze at the moment.

“Thank you… for comforting me”

Albern listens and absorbs that word from the younger boy's lips.

“I told you, I’ll make your day good if you ever have a bad day”

Both of them looking outside, see the first snow finally fall, the bell start ringing from the distant. The land starts to cover in white blanket, hide the pain, hide the sins. Everything starts anew.

“Albern…”

The man looked up to the source of the voice.

“May I rest on your shoulder?”

Without hesitation Albern embraces Joshua's small frame, and tears start flowing once again.