Maple Leaf

At the back of an old school building, 4 people can be seen.

"Smack"

Whit a loud 'thud' a teenage boy sprawled in the ground.

'What the.!!'

The teenage boy thought while feeling dizzy, he reaches out to his nose.

'Damn, it hurts'

The pain, the blood, 'Is this real?' he thought to himself.

He suddenly stared blankly up ahead and notice that there were 3 men standing in front of him while cranking their knuckles.

"How about that punch? Do you think I have enough power to be a boxer or do you want to taste some more to find out my qualities?" the largest of the three said while smirking.

But like he didn't hear anything, the teenage boy on the ground just stared blankly at them, like an idiot seeing things unseen by everyone around him. The man being unresponsive with the provocations made the trio annoyed.

"This is boring"

"Let's go, looking at him annoys me to the core"

Clarence, the biggest of the trio looked at the teenage boy on the ground, confused. 'Did my punch being so powerful made some brain damage on him?' upon thinking about the consequence of what he's thinking is true, he suddenly felt a chill, 'oh no, it's not my fault being so powerful, it's just you're too weak' he though.

While musing with those thoughts, he walked to the teenage boy on the ground, and without saying anything, he pulls the teenage boy up and starts removing the dirt in his clothes like a father helping his son after tripping. The action startled his companion, they were flabbergasted with their "boss" action. They stood like a log not knowing what to do.

Upon checking the clothes if there were visible dirt or anything that might become an 'Evidence' against him, and making sure that the teenage boy is 'clean'. He patted the man's shoulder and said "Remove that blood, it might clog your nose and might cause you difficulty in breathing." Clarence then pointed at the teenage boy's bloody nose.

Upon hearing the words Clarence said, the duo behind him almost stumble thinking to themselves, 'You were the one who made his nose bleed.!! Just earlier you're bragging about how strong you were.' The duo was speechless but didn't utter anything they think, afraid that they might incur the wrath of their "Boss".

"Thanks, Clarence."

The teenage boy spoke suddenly, making the duo stunned once more 'He's bullying you yet you thank him for punching you, what the f*ck! If he punches you more, would you call him Grandpa?' They don't know what to think anymore, too many weird things are happening right now.

Clarence, upon hearing what the teenage boy said, was visibly stunned as well and thought 'What the f*ck' he cursed in his mind. He also doesn't know what's happening, but suddenly a thought flashed in his mind 'Maybe when he received my punch earlier some nerve exploded that made him an idiot?' he shivered at this thought. He himself didn't know that his thought process is somewhat incredible. Thinking that his punch can cause brain hemorrhage on a person that he frequently bullies. His mind of a 'genius' made him sweat profusely even though the weather is cloudy and the wind blows stronger than usual.

He responded with a nod and said without thinking "You're welcome."

The duo behind him didn't know what to say upon hearing their "Boss" response they can only cast a glimpse at each other with a collective agreement that their "Boss" is really one of a kind.

"Come on, let's go" Clarence turned and motioned to his two 'Idiot' of a friend to follow him.

The two responded with a nod and followed their "Boss". The trio left the man standing in a daze.

...

The teenage boy with a bloody nose was Terry.

He's been in a trance-like state when a sudden pain woke him up.

'Where am I?' he can only question himself.

He remembered that he 'fall' atop the Leaf Building. That's why he questioned himself why he's here standing at an old but familiar building.

'That's right, I heard a voice.'

He remembered what the voice said to him.

'Regrets? Faith?'

He tried to recall the things that happened before all of this and as an old habit, he reaches out for the ring in his necklace and felt happy when he found out that he still has the necklace. But suddenly, he noticed that besides the precious ring of his, another thing was attached in the necklace. When he looks at it closely, he noticed that it's a pendant that resembles the shape of a maple leaf. It had a dark brown shade of color, it looked like it about to rot but it was made too realistic that if you find it lying in a road, you might mistake it for a real leaf.

'Where did this come from?' he thought. But if he tried to think about it more carefully, he might feel the familiarity of the pendant's design. He would relate it to the logo of the famous Leaf Building.

'As long as this ring is with me, everything else is unimportant.'

"!!!" He suddenly felt something familiar yet unfamiliar, he looks at his hands, precisely his fingers. He was shocked to the core because there were 10 little fingers instead of 9. What's more, it seems that his hands look thinner and younger. 'What the f*ck is happening!' he exclaimed to himself.

He tried to calm himself down but he can't. 'Shouldn't I be dead? If not, I should be in the hospital.' Many questions filled his mind but he can't find the answer at the same time, nor he can't ask someone for answers. He felt familiar with all this, he felt young but weak. He's thinking, 'Is this what they call rebirth?' but suddenly a word pop up in his mind 'Re-do'. He's still confused but he can't do anything about it, he can only try to calm down and arrange his thoughts.

A few minutes passed, he finally managed to compose himself. But still, questions linger in his mind. He reaches to his pocket to find a cigarette but to no avail. He only found some coin and a cellphone.

When he looked at the familiar phone, memories flooded in his mind. He remembered this phone, his very first phone. He remembered how much his mother save just to buy him this phone, he remembered how he nagged his mother to buy him this phone. Thinking about it all, he remembered, he remembered one of his biggest regret in life. As he thought about it, he suddenly felt sad, he suddenly felt crying. Emotions that he almost forgot came flooding in.

"Bring an umbrella, it might rain later"

"Hay, Little Terry, you must respect others, be good and you will be blessed"

"Son, I prepared breakfast, eat before you go to school"

"Cough, cough, I'm ok son, I'm only tired, let me rest a little and I'll be OK?"

"Cough, Son, sorry, I can't take care of you any further, remember to be good all the time alright? Remember all the things I said. Always remember to….."

Memories of her mother, how she cared for him, how she nagged at him, and moments he holds dear resurfaced in his mind. His mom refused to be hospitalized because they can't afford to pay the bills. His mom who cares for him even though she's unwell. He remembered those last words of his mom who died from an unknown disease.

He regretted that he's Immature when he shouldn't be, he regretted that he didn't take care of her when she needed him the most, he regretted that he's a selfish person to the core, many of his regrets emerged from the depths of his soul.

As he stood there in recollection, tears started to fall, at the same time, it's like heaven itself reminisce with him, it started to rain.

Not caring about anything, he stood in the midst of the heavy rain. He raised his head and look at the sky, 'Is this what you want? Do you want me to correct all my mistakes? Do you want me to fix my shortcomings?' he thought.

"Bang"

It's like heaven knew his thoughts and responded with a clap of loud thunder.

He smiles and reaches his hand to his necklace, this time, however, he's reaching for the maple leaf pendant and not for his precious ring. Clutching the pendant he mumbled "I don't know where you came from, I don't know what you are, but I know that you're the reason I'm here right now. I guess I can say that I owe you a life." At some point, the pendant he's clutching started to gain a bit of color, one wouldn't notice it if you don't scrutinize it carefully.

He suddenly remembered the punch earlier, he remembered the man who punched him as his bully. Clarence, the notorious bully inside and outside of his school. If it was his old self, he might be scared out of his wits every time Clarence and the two idiots come for him. But now that he's the "New" version, he won't be a coward like he used to be. But thinking about what happened earlier, he can't help but think, 'If he didn't punch me earlier, will I be the "Me" standing here? Well, regardless, I guess I owe him big time.' with this realization, he guessed that he really deserved the "Thanks" he blurted out subconsciously after the punch earlier.

If any person knew what he was thinking, they would think that he is crazy about owing someone that punched him hard in the face.

Without him realizing, the rain stop and a little bit of sunshine can be glimpsed on the horizon.

He stretches his hand upward and clamped his fingers with each other. 'I feel complete right now' he thought while casting a glimpse at his own fingers. 'I guess 'Little Nine' won't be known in this life.' He smirked at this thought.

He decided to head home with anticipation. 'This time, I'll do everything I can to make things right' he said to himself while walking.

A teenage boy with a smile in his face, walking alone in a wet and worn-out school uniform. But if you look closely, you might find it odd. The boy walks with full of confidence like everything is under his control. A trait that can only be seen in a person who experiences all sorts of hardships in life.

That day, after the rain, the sun shines as he smiles.