Chapter 27

Uriel and Olia Isema are sitting across from each other at the dining area, sipping on their hot chocolate and espresso.

"Do you want to go to the city, my dear?" The old woman asked without hesitation. "Well, it's called an urbanized place there. The technologies are more advanced and the civilizations are more profound than an-"

"I understand what a city means, grandma," He cut in, assuring her. "I didn't forget the basic knowledge. Just the memories I had, that's all."

"Oh, I thought you're quite clueless about everything else than what you've already seen here. I was treating you like a newborn baby all this time."

Uriel let out a dry, awkward chuckle to somehow lighten up the heavy atmosphere around them.

After so, Uriel agreed to go with her to the city since it might benefit him too.

He's quite sure enough that his memories are over there and not in a small rural area here.

Though he wouldn't know exactly where to start, the leads are most likely to show up in a matter of time.

They talked about when to go and how they'll prepare for it.

"Well, now that it's settled, do you have any more questions?" The old woman asked him, sipping on the last drops of her espresso.

The boy hesitated for a bit, unsure where to start.

He could immediately open up about her knowledge about his identity before memory loss right then and there, but the straightforwardness feels a bit uncomfortable to him yet.

This wasn't the timing he was looking for, so he thought he'd let the chance pass for now.

"N-None, I don't have anything to ask anymore."

The old woman slowly tapped her fingernails on the wooden table, as if she's waiting for a certain question to suddenly shoot off.

"Aren't you going to ask about the family picture you saw earlier upstairs?"

Uriel looked at her with a slightly off surprise and silently waited for her to speak up about it. He admitted to himself that he got curious about it, regardless of her knowledge about him.

"I told you before, didn't I?" She continued. "There was a group of boys that dreamt of being famous idols, but failed to do so in the end. I was living in the city when I encountered them a few years back. I didn't have the slightest problem there until a family showed up. It was the couple and the kid you saw from the framed picture. They resided with me for a single night after having errors with their reservation at a hotel when they were going to an amusement park that was distant from their house. I let them in with all hospitality since I've been used to being someone else's shelter in times of trouble."

The old woman stopped for a bit, leaving the boy hanging and waiting for what happened next.

"What problem did they cause you?"

"After their enjoyment at that amusement park, the kid was left with me in the middle of the night while his parents were away. I couldn't imagine what they'll be up to, so I followed them only to find out that they checked in at a nearby motel, probably to have a quick sex. I returned to my home and got obliged taking care of the kid until he started acting strange. When the parents came back, they saw him in a miserable state with an unexplained aching stomach. I never fed him anything odd or whatever, so it was quite strange when he suddenly acted up that way. And so, I was accused by his irresponsible parents and got demanded for it. After the whole thing, I left my house in the city and came back to this property of mine. I never imagined that showing kindness and hospitality to someone else would give me a tragic outcome such as that. It was very sudden and maddening."