Chapter 3: Gaiety of The Past

Galia, Winddrift

Nereus Entaros

The first paragraph of the book

And finally, the final record. Took me a long way here, I gotta say, it was a hell of a journey. But, this is it, my last tale to be ever written down. Yet, it is also one I hold dearest in my heart. All of my tears of joy and woes, cries of anger and love, and even pains of guilt and shame are all written here. Because after all, that's life isn't it? 

Now to start off, let us go back, far back to when I can say without a doubt that 'I was happy'. When the world played me not so harshly. When life was more about joy rather than pain.

It was an ordinary day of a boy stuck in his classroom, waiting for the bell to ring. The world was vast, he knew that truth well. There was so much for him to see yet he had to go to the same place every day for something he didn't even care about. The boy was born curious and adventurous, eager to seek as much as there was for him to know.

With that nature, however, other kids saw him as weird and overly energetic, that he asked too many questions and should've shut up already. Those reasons and the fact that he had those golden blazing eyes along with his dark blue hair (so dark that most people confused it with black) made other kids call him "Gold Eyed Freak". And to no surprise, he had no friends. The closest he got to making one were few that would even consider talking to him. Though their actions were purely out of pity, he still remembers them fondly. 

Two boys named Luce and Derick and a girl named Belle would help him in any group activity. That's the deepest their relationships would go, and in addition, talking with those who interacted with you out of pity wouldn't be so fun, would it? With no one to talk to, the boy started to turn silent. School life which was once splashed with colors was then painted black and white in his eyes—tasteless and bland.

Once the bell rang, the colorless picture came alive once again. The boy hastily packed all his belongings, his eyes sparked in golden hues, yearning to leave that small box that was caging him. After school, his life was a different story, filled with people, nature, and colors. Those splashes of distinct pallets painted his vision, and that was when he truly felt alive. The best part was that he finally got to see someone who truly cared about him and wanted to play with him. His brother, my brother, Aeneas.

His bored face and chaotic hair that he didn't want to comb because of his lazy ass stood out at the school gate. A teenager four years older than me (I was eight by the way). He has the same features as me but was less concerned about it since he only wanted to sleep through the day anyway. People rather avoid him out of fear than ignorance as he was rather … a violent person when provoked, like if you pissed him off, there's a high chance that your nose is either broken or your skull is dented. Not that most times he ran into troubles but often it ran to him. To me, he was the most fun person to hang out with. I saw him as a daring big bro with quick wit but his most prominent skill would be fighting; ferocious like a beast even without any practice.

As we joined each other's journey back home, he asked.

"Ay, how's today little guy?"

"Same as every day, nothing special."

"Boring?"

"Pretty much. They avoid me like usual. How's yours?"

"I just slept through it so I can't say much." 

"Huh, I think you're hibernating at this point."

He giggled in a short, immediate sigh.

"*ha* Well, if the teacher would do something interesting with the class then I wouldn't be such a sloth."

Then the two spotted a group of 5 teenagers aged around fifteen, casually walking towards the brothers, blocking their path with one who seemed like their leader, who walked up and stood right in front of them. Aeneas looked at them in silence for a while before speaking up.