Chapter 1: The Last Trip

God's Pov

His eyes grew weary as he continued to passively observe his new classmates indulging in unnecessary chit-chat. The sore inclination in each one of them to willingly imprison themselves inside a vicious social circle. 

A circle sustained by self-created problems and ill-treatments capable of providing only repulsive immediate gratification.

But what fueled Max's contempt right now was neither his misanthropic attitude nor his disinclination towards interacting fruitlessly.

Our little bird had always known to flap his feathers and sore to the skies whenever he sought so.  

Days, weeks, months, and years had drilled this as nothing more than a normal routine. It was precisely because of that when he founds its flight being shunned by that very object of admiration i.e. his uncle who had permitted him to flap in the first place, it was inevitable for him to fall down the stairs.

In Max's eyes,  this school was simply a hubris of a place seeking to teach about liberty, freedom, and openness in a closed environment while depriving an individual of those very essences.

Since the early age of three, He had already started to show his interest in deduction, reasoning, and solving mysteries just like his predecessors and his uncle, who now remained his only living relative.

It wasn't that he despised social interactions but always made a point to only engage as much as necessary. In his dictionary that meant keeping people at arm's length except for investigative purposes. 

So it was nothing short of irony, to say the least, that fate had cursed him with distinctive silver hair and black eyes.  A sight that never failed to catch the very unnecessary attention that he sought to avoid at any cost.

Eventually, over time, he had come to terms with it and even gained fame as a minor detective when he managed to lend his wits in a couple of small cases in his locality.

His heart ached ever strongly to act on its desires to the fullest, yet he kept his feelings within check all in the utopian prospects of accompanying his uncle once he reaches the age of ten.

Alas! The endearing promise by his uncle turned white as the first lie from Lucifer's lips. Just within a year, he was reduced to a mere caged bird once again. 

Despite all this, no shred of ire found a place in Max's heart. All he felt was utter disgust at the very thought of being disappointed with his uncle's choice for the first time in his life. 

His position was akin to the vaseline-coated leaves seeking to breathe; he also could find no solace in the institute of dreams and distinction that many strived to access.

.....

After fifteen long minutes, the homeroom teacher finally entered the classroom, bringing an end to the seemingly endless session of relationship-building among the students. The teacher started explaining the course syllabus, tests, and schedule for the semester. 

While Max had never been fond of these info-dumping rants by teachers, he found a momentary sense of relief in this mundane routine. If enduring such unavoidable annoyance meant escaping the peculiar gazes directed at him, he would gladly suffer in this anguish for eternity.

Thankfully, the final bell rang soon enough, sparing Max from the monotonous lecture that threatened to drain the life out of him.

________________INFO_________________

For Junior Term in Wonavilla (William Wonavilla Hostel, Bedford)

6:00 am to 7:00 am - Dress-up Time

7:00 to 7:30- Breakfast

Monday to Friday

7:30 to 8:30 am- Club time (Optional)

9:00 am to 2:00 pm - Classes

(12:00 pm-12:30 pm- Lunch )

Monday to Sunday

3:15-3:45 pm- Tea time (Optional)

6:30 pm- Back to Dormitory

7:30 pm- 8:00 pm- Dinner time

8:00 pm to 9:00 pm- Study and homework

9:00 pm to 6:00 am - Bed

...................

Max was well aware that he would end up in an unnecessary confrontation if he doesn't leave soon. Keeping a sharp eye for the opportune moment, he dashed out of the classroom with his backpack. The urgency in his movements betrayed his underlying apprehensions.

He had barely proceeded in the passage but when he noticed the shadow on the ground behind a pillar indicating that someone was standing there, awaiting his presence.

"Come out already. You are certainly doing a very sloppy job of staking out." Max sighed. It wasn't as if he was out of options but the very fact that someone could go to this extent to just confront him told him that there was no avoiding it forever. 

Resigned to the inevitable, he steeled himself to deal with this pest right at that moment.

His eyes were ready, as ever, to analyze and break down any existence that would appear before him.  A habit, so involuntary to him, that it wouldn't be an overstatement to say it was his very soul.

"Look at you. So clueless, so peaceful and so arrogant over nothing. " 

Max had yet to see the figure's face, his stride, even a single peek, and yet a rush of adrenaline had already kicked in his body much before his eyes met the boy.

Covered in that same silver specks and black eyes now dreading an emotion that Max had to yet know: self-contempt, he raised his eyebrows as his iris met his own eyes. 

"You are either a really good impersonator or my doppelganger. "  There was a momentary whiplash of surprise on Max's face but his poker face was restored once again. Despite being at a total loss as to how to comprehend the extraordinary situation, he kept a strong grip on himself.

"And yet no matter how many possibilities you can think of dear me. In your heart that you refuse to let wander, there exists but one absolute truth. " The Elder-looking Max spoke ruefully, a painful smile tugging at his lips.

Max took a step back as he noticed blood flowing from the figure's hand but the figure grabbed his hand swiftly kneeling beside him with nothing in his eyes.

It would have made sense for the figure to try to maim him, lash at him, and even kill him.

Out of all the expected actions, the figure chose to kneel. 

The unexpected gesture left Max even more bewildered. His every fiber writhed in pain, not physical but borne out of utter confusion.

A mixture of emotions flooded the elder Max's face as he lowered his head. "Of course. You can't understand. What was I even thinking, coming so far now?"

Younger Max tilted his head, torn between the instinct to flee from this obvious red flag and a strange sense of camaraderie with the man who wore his face. Unlike his past encounters with mysteries, where an uncontrollable urge to unravel their secrets consumed his thoughts, he felt none of that now.

Perhaps it was because of this realization or maybe due to the fact that he himself could see the man before him, without a second thought, he also knelt down, placing himself shoulder to shoulder with his mirror-faced counterpart.

"I have no idea as to who you are, what you plan, and what you want," Max spoke as he took a deep breath staring intently into the eyes of the figure. "The very fact that your own actions are dubious to you, is enough for me to think that you haven't exactly turned into an empty shell. "

Elder Max raised his head, more blood flowing from his hands, drenching the younger Max's clothes. The pulse in his hand weakened, and his body felt as if it could slip away at any moment. "Ahh! You are so preachy. I was supposed to tell you a couple of things, and yet here I am being taught by a toddler version of me," he chuckled.

Elder Max chortled. "Do you see my eyes?  Can you see even a flicker of light? Of course, you don't. A man may overcome despair but no man can overcome when your existence itself was bound to be despair. "

Max grabbed his hand pressing it firmly ."Until this moment, my despair was dear to me. But the moment I saw yours, I felt stupefied to even think of it like despair. "

Max continued firmly "I am not hollow enough to ask you to redeem yourself by simply changing your perspective. But you still hold sanity. Enough sanity to come back and be happy just by merely seeing a glimpse of your younger self having fun."

Elder Max's eyes brimmed with tears as he hugged him. "But doesn't it scare you? That you may come to be me. No, the very fact that you will be me. "

A small smile laced younger Max's lips, "Not in the least. After all, I don't see a man who is doomed to end. All I see is a blank slate waiting to be filled with a new kind of vividness again. Aren't I right, dearie me?"

Elder Max's eyes stood still as he watched the fire ablaze in his younger self. He smiled "Ha! I suppose it was my bad only to ever expect surrender from myself."

But the very moment, the smile reached Elder Max's eyes, his eyes froze back to blankness again, the very same blankness that had etched the figure at the beginning.

"Me.." Younger Max tried to speak yet no words came out of his mouth as the figure disintegrated before his eyes to ashes, taking with it this very memory as well, leaving only a whisk of thought in the subconscious. 

"Huh! What was I doing here?" The energy returned to Max's eyes as he looked around puzzled. After a moment, he hitched his shoulders as the last trace of memory left his consciousnesses and continued towards his dormitory, oblivious to the predestined fate ahead.

........