Ch.1 A dream or driven mad

*Creak*

An obvious worn metallic screeched on a children's playground.

"I will become the greatest hero!"

An outburst soon swallowed the rusty squeak as a kid stood in the seat of the swing.

"Right Cache?"

In front of the kid is his playmate Cache who was sitting in the sandy ground.

"Hmm?"

"Ah! yeah sure"

Cache who was busy looking at twigs on the ground answered with lack of attention.

"Guess this one might do"

These two seemingly 10 years old children appears to be on the peak of their childhood's vast imagination, as they swung sticks in the air as if to fight off an incoming hosts of evil.

This scene played for about an hour after an adult came in front of the playground's decrepit entrance.

"Cache! the sun's almost gone!"

"Time to go home!"

"Tomorrow's the first day of school if you forgot!"

A feeling of dread and emptiness soon came unto Denam as he saw off his friend.

"Bye Denam"

"Let's meet at school tomorrow!"

"Hmm sure"

Prolonging his way to his mother, Cache slowed down his footsteps as he waved goodbye to his friend, which was replied with less enthusiasm than he normally got.

"Hero! A hero!"

With his friend gone, Denam started pacing back and forth with the tip of his thumb being bitten subconsciously, blood dripping out, zealously saying the word 'Hero'.

*Swish*

A few minutes later Denam started swinging a twig again, but this time with more fervor and frantic.

______________________

*Thud*

With a sudden shut of the door, my mother quickly grab a hold of my wrist and slammed me against the wall. It hurts, it truly did, but I kept my yelp to the back of my throat.

"What the fuck did I tell you about that place and the weirdo?"

"Hmmm!?"

Disgusting, so much filth spittle to my face after this woman brought her face to mine's. Just a minute ago she looked amiable as she greeted old Cault leaning on his reclining chair. Honestly mother, couldn't you see the old man taking a nap in his canopy? Poor folk almost fell due to your husky voice, prolly thought a stray dog got into his yard again. What a fucking phony.

*Pak*

"Dontcha go looking at me like that you fuck and answer me!"

"Hey!"

Ouch! A scalding pain rang through my left cheek, dammit I fell into thought again and forgot this bitch was in front of me. Guess I'll calm her down for now.

"I'm sorry mom I won't do it again"

"I don't need no apologies I want an answer!"

Her hair became messy as she madly scratched her blonde hair in frustration. You'll

lose hair if you keep doing that when you always scold me you know? Just to give you a hint, not a single day does she not give me the torture.

"Mom! tomorrow's school so I have to pack things up"

I saw her hand raised up in the ceiling like a baseball player, but instead of holding a ball to throw, hers was clenched tight, so I gave her an ultimatum.

"Tsk! go cool of your face and get ready for tomorrow"

She begrudgingly stormed up the stairs and into her room when she saw the mark of her slap earlier and was reminded that school was tomorrow.

"And I shall I do just that mother"

A mocking sarcastic remark came out my mouth, of course I made sure she was first inside her room when I said that.

A last laugh because I hated the feeling of tasting a pathetic defeat.

______________________

'Run boy run! this world is not meant for yo-!'

*Tot*

With a tap of my finger, the ring tone I set on my phone stopped playing. By the way I place my phone near my pillow. Mother said putting it nearby is bad for my health, but oh boy, mother you should stop reading nonsense on faceb*ok ya know?

"Hup"

Energetically getting up from bed, I immediately stood in front of my mirror.

My short brown-haired was mess but I ignored that and immediately started posing like Napoleon who was on his horse and was about to cross the Alps.

"Looking good as always my hero"

After admiring myself, I quickly showered and put on casual clothes since it's just the first day, I immediately grab a hold of my bag filled with nonsense of what students need.

'Hmm is the dictionary there?'

I double checked my belongings. Truth be told, I wasn't much of a boy scout then, but you could say I was traumatized a year ago when the teacher suddenly gave an activity that required a goddamn bible and some shit I forgot, but anyways, I was a new student that had none, and so I had to go around the whole classroom asking if they could share a seat together to read the holy text or whatever, that took me like ten embarrassing minutes of rejections until I found the class' quiet kid Denam.

Anyways I should stop recalling embarrassing times.

I was going to the kitchen but the bag is

too heavy, I had to slouche just to barely carry it on my back, goddamit I had to go one step at a time on the stairs, what a great way to start an exciting adventure.

I fixed myself up some toasted bread and milk. As for the woman, she's busy laughing her ass off in front of her phone.

Well better that than her hands slapping my face. I finished breakfast, took a dollar from a table in the living room and I finally took off.