The Untold Story of Granger

"Granger! What ever happen to us you must run and live!" His father words echoed in his mind before his father was shot by an arrow.

Granger was jolt awake when he was visited by those nightmare over and over again every night. But, he wouldn't dare to tell anyone about it. Its been a week since his hometown burned to ashes by the Southern Mountain's soldiers. Nothing left there, he's the only lone survivor there and he was saved by Tigreal who founded him hiding inside a well. When Tigreal pulled him out from the well, he was traumatized after he saw how dreadful it was the town he called home condition. All the bodies that was lying around the burned town Granger knew.

Even the newborns weren't spared. What's more sadder when the pregnant ladies had their stomach opened and the unborn came out from the mother's ripped stomach. Elder people were also killed there. Nothing left for the town. The children who he called his friends was killed too. Some of them lose their head and other limbs. Some of them were burned into ashes leaving no trace of their existance

Granger was really horrified until it made him puked to what he just see. A town that was blessed with beautiful scenery and kind people was crushed and wiped from earth completely. A town where Granger born can never be the same as it used to be.

As for Granger, he was sent to the Monastery of Light by Tigreal after he founded Granger in his destroyed town. It wasn't a surprise when another child arrived at the Monastery of Light. Many children lost their home and families during the war and Granger was one of them.

Most of the orphaned children befriend with each other as nothing ever happened to them. If you ask the children about their parents whereabouts, most of them likely to say that the war killed them and continue their life in that monastery. Of course, many children have to endure the pain losing their families and home, but they thought that it is better to keeping moving on everything bad happened to them.

Back to the present. After he awakened by his nightmare, he realize that it was already morning and most of his roommates already out form the room where he was sleeping. Granger took a morning bathe to clean himself from his dried sweat because last night was a hot night. A moment later, he get out from the bathroom and dried himself with a towel. Without waiting long for his hair to dry, he sheathed himself with his black blue shirt and black pants.

There were also roommates that was still sleeping on their bed but Granger didn't want to wake them up. Granger thinks that it wasn't his fault if his roommate was caught late to be in the dining hall by the wardens. After that he went to the dining hall to have some breakfast.

The dining hall was enlivened by the orphaned children there. Everyone seemed to be get along with each other.The laughter of orphaned children echoed the whole hall. Wardens were very happy to see the children got through their daily life in a new place. Most of the children already joined a group to play. Unlike Granger.

Granger didn't seemed to be interested having a friends he rarely shows any emotion from his cold eyes. For him being isolated by others was a great choice since nobody would bug his life and they will only triggered his nightmare if he was asked by them about his home town. The wardens were very worried about him but Granger didn't give a damn about it. How can someone possibly forgets about his family and friends while he's here having fun making new friends. It's like replacing his precious friend with another person like a material. He felt like if he did that, that's mean that he already forgets them and he could have better friend than them.

He was only seven but he understands how the world around him works. He's unlike other children who like to play all day long.

After Granger finished his breakfast, he will return to his bedroom to read some books. If his roommates in there, he would bring his book to the nearby park to read. He dislike noisy people like his roommates. Just as he thought, the last person in his bedroom got scold by the warden for being late.

"Why didn't you wake up early, William?" Asked the warden to Granger's roommate, William. "It was Granger's fault. He didn't wake me up..." Its not a big deal for Granger to hear someone blaming him about it. He's new there and William arrive early to the monastery and he knew someone will blamed on him for not waking them up.

"Granger?! Why you didn't wake him up?" Now the warden question moved to Granger. Granger with his stone face, he answered the warden's question. "If he knew that I didn't wake him up, doesn't that mean he's already awake by the time I got out from the room? There were few more people in there and you put the blame on me? How fascinating..." Granger didn't wait for a reply and start walking toward his bedroom. He could here the warden scold William even harder. The warden didn't said anything for Granger's actions. Yes, he was right and William is the wrong here.

He was quite annoyed by William action. Luckily he's a smart person that couldn't be fooled by other children. Without wasting any more of his time listening to the scolding, he enters his bedroom and just as his expected. His roommates was playing card with another roommates from other room. Its a disappointment for Granger because he thought he can spend his time reading in that room. it looks like the situation does not leave when he enters the room.

His roommate, Hans and his friend just ignore Granger arrival by distributing the cards to his friends. Granger only shuts his lips, went to his locker and grab his books. Just before he leaves the bedroom he heard Hans' friend said something about Granger.

"What an arrogant boy! Who do he think he is in this monastery? He must be a pampered boy before he arrive here!" Hans quickly poked his friend's elbow."Shut your mouth! I may not know him but we all are victims of this war. Don't just judge him that way." After Saying that to his friend, they continue playing the cards like nothing happened in that room.

Granger didn't give a damn about it. He didn't care what people said about his attitude. He also didn't feel neither happy nor touched with what Hans said about him. For him, it doesn't sounded that he was defending Granger.

After leaving the boys hostel, he arrived at a pond with a gazebo there. It was really quiet and Granger like it that way. He take landed his butt on the bench inside the gazebo near a with clear views on the crystal clear pond and crack open a book. The quietness was only broken when small animals like sparrows perched on the gazebo's fence near Granger who was lost in his reading at that time.

When the sparrows started chirping, it felt really calm and Granger felt like he had no nightmare to be dealt anymore just by hearing nature's melodies. Somehow, his felt misty in his eyes when he read the protagonist in the book lost his only sister. The protagonist resembles Granger pretty much on how the protagonist lost his one and only family and his home.

Didn't want anybody to see Granger teary eyes, he quickly wiped it out with his right sleeve and continue reading the story to kill every hour he have until the bell rang for lunch. A moment later, just what he was waiting for, the bell rang through out the monastery.

Granger didn't wait until the bell stopped ringing. He closed his book and hold it tightly with his left arm. He walked as fast as he can to the dining hall to get his lunch and to get a seat because during lunch the dining hall would be flooded by hungry children especially those who didn't went for breakfast this morning.

The shelves of food tray was already outside from the kitchen as it was waiting for someone to take a food tray from it. Granger grabbed a food tray along with spoon and fork. He was quite lucky because there weren't much orphans in the line. It only took about a minute before his turn.

Today they were served with steak fajita salad. Those alluring smell of the steak would easily made someone stomach grumble. Aside the main food, the kitchen's chef also add them dried fruit like raisins and peaches as a side dish.

But Granger only looked at it as a food. To make your tummy full, to produce energy and he can continue anything that he desired after this. He ate his food in such etiquette not like the other kids, eat their food with the spit. Granger wasn't in rush so of course he didn't want to eat as fast as pig since it would dirtied his hand and he didn't like it very much.

To be honest, Granger was sitting alone in a big table during that lunch and breakfast this morning. Everyone tried to avoid him as best as possible because they wouldn't to be stared to death by Granger cold gaze. He has seen many deaths in his scarlet eyes and this caused him be emotionless. Of course that's what would the other orphan thinks.

Granger was too afraid to lose anymore friends and family. That is why he decided to let them isolating him and ignoring him completely. He didn't want his small heart to be pierced once again by the deaths of his beloved family and friends.

Finally Granger finished eating his lunch and quickly put his dirtied tray on a basket where dish washer will take it later. Granger washed his hand in the toilet as he didn't want to dirty his book with a hand stained by steak sauce.

A moment later, the hall slowly emptied by children who have finished lunch including Granger. He decided to return to the gazebo to read.

On his way to the gazebo, he heard an group of musician being was practicing inside the theater. The sound of a certain instrument managed to captured Granger attention. As he followed the path to the theater, the sound of this instrument getting closer and closer and finally Granger arrived at the theater where a group of musician was practicing for their next performance.

Granger was really attracted to the sound of a certain instrument. He hid himself behind the large blinds just to see what kind of instrument that played that heavenly sound. Finally get to know what was that instrument. It was a violin. The friction of the violin made Granger amazed by the sound and he was drugged by it until he couldn't left that place.

As he tried to take a peek who was this amazing person playing this beautiful melody, he saw a little girl maybe a year younger from him playing a violin. Starting from that day, Granger would use any chance to watch the musician training and their performance as well to watch the little girl playing his favorite instruments and listen to the friction of the violin.