Chapter three, Coincidence.

Whether it was a sad day or a happy one, a crystal clear sky or a blackened one, a forlorn heart or a joyful one. Always, there was a burden to be carried. A hope to be shattered. A death to be beheld and a tear to be shedded. Aimless wanderers hiding in suits couldn't hide from the sky's eyes, the sharp eyes that read every sign of emptiness, the eyes that knew what a heart carried, contempt for the wealthy, envy for the happy and fear of the burning leash that walked behind every empty suit, the empty minds, that's Ilusia.

In old crumbling house in the suburbs of Ilusia, an old man named Jackson in his sixties sat down on a wooden chair. With a pencil in his hands and under a faltering lamp light, he took a deep breath as he looked at his empty messy bed, the one that felt colder than an iceberg. It was time for him to write down what only the papers can withstand. His thoughts were like a self-destructive grenade that might rob him of this life, on the few papers he had gathered from his office in Milasic's industries. He began pouring down the flood of tense feelings and tangled thoughts letting them eventually draw an image of what his eyes saw the last few weeks.

"I realize I'm old. My eyes aren't as sharp as they were, even my legs can no longer carry me." He wrote down and stopped for a second, he sighed as if he felt burdened by the entire world, the pen in his hand felt heavy and the papers felt as thick as stone, but, with every word he wrote, he felt the pain degrading.

"Nights have been hard. Work has drained me. Willes isn't going easy on us anymore, although I'm old enough to be promoted, I have been casted aside in tons of paperwork" He continued, Willes Antherford was the owner of the Milasic industries, from the man's own view, Antherford treated them as a possession, as if they were cards in his hands. 

"The few hours I get to rest in have been painful lately. These nightmares, I've had them for almost a week now, as clear as a crystal, as lucid as daylight. I feel the urge to find an answer to that annoying feeling of disruption and obscurity." He continued explaining all these odd events hidden somewhere in that old man's mind.

"I remember it clearly. It was daytime, the dark clouds were already veiling the sky as usual. Milasic's titan was in the liberation square for a show as usual, the noise broke through the windows as spears in a Spartan war, it was finally lunch time and I decided to leave for the nearest bakery store for my favorite type of pie, the ones my wife used to make me. And then it happened, the dark clouds gathered and were sued together as a canvas, a pitch black one, in seconds, they became denser and thicker, and then a piercing sound broke through the sky, it was like a siren. Everyone panicked, the streets were filled with people from the titan's show, they stumbled over each other like ants, we, I felt insignificant, so tiny. The terror went on as a red light flashed almost blinding my vision, I felt too old and heavy to run, and then each time I'd wake up, a feeling of nausea and headache would accompany me the entire day, it was as real as my daily life, but I can't accept such nightmares to be real." He described his vision of the danger he saw, he felt as if he let go of a huge weight on his shoulders, yet, the fear wouldn't let go of him.

"That's right, black hats! I do remember these!" He recalled, "There was a number of men with black hats and suits, they were always there." He continued.

The old man rested his head on his palms, his words has filled three papers already, his heart feels lighter, his mind has let go of these nightly thoughts only to finally let his consciousness slip into tranquility after a long day of work, the moon had given him a chance to energize his old tired body for another day of repetitive paperwork that could last for a eternity.

It was a new day, a different one yet felt the same as the one before. The heavier Merit's heart feels, the slower her steps gets. All these illuminated houses in the middle of the night made her feel more lonesome, more estranged and more melancholic. Merit was drunk by poisonous thoughts, ones that she thought they would eventually devour her completely. She was aware she had something so small inside, but that thing fed on her anger, on her sorrow and loneliness, each day it grew stronger and bigger, but Merit still kept her innocence intact for the sake of her precious dreams, the ones she haven't lost yet.

She had already decided to visit Ross, an old acquaintance who Mr. Forger worked with. Merit could clearly remember where his workshop was, he had a vast place with tons of cameras and unusual machines she never understood their function. Merit remembered Mr. Forger's trip to the upper area and how she used to accompany him in delight, but she snapped right out of her daydreaming once she stumbled on memories of Eleanor Street, the one where Ross' workshop was.

Although it was almost ten o'clock in the morning, the street was calm, the workshop's sign was half broken and the light was stuttering, the wooden door was half open and there seemed to be no light inside, Merit slowly slipped in.

It wasn't dark; instead, the lights were all red. A strong scent of ink and smoke arose from the inside, Merit was familiar with the nature of the place, she took the stairs down, "Mr. Ross..?" She called for him, a sound of screeching and noise could be heard from where she was. She went down and finally found the old man.

A reddish room with hundreds of cameras hanging from the ceiling, each one is a different type. Inactive bots were placed over each other in front of a large screen, the old man had a bent back yet moved with elasticity and energy, he wore a gray overall and held some unusual metallic parts in his hands. Once he heard Merit's voice, he moved his head in amusement as he recognized that soft young voice. A warm smile was drawn on that wrinkled light brown face, a welcome echoed through the vast workshop's speakers, the ones Ross programmed himself long ago.

"My dear little Meredith!" He joyfully said as he dropped the metallic pieces in his hands, "How come you've forgotten about me all that long! Look at you! A beautiful lady now"

"Don't lie to me old man, I'm still nine years old and I look like a sad rat."

"You have your way with words young one, come, come inside, let's have a warm drink!"

Merit followed Ross into a small room in the basement which was in fact a kitchen, the lights were yellow and her eyes finally felt good. The kitchen was in a mess, Ross was a lonely man, his wife died ten years ago in a protest against Antherford's decision to ban workers from creating robots outside the factories, Ross never fell in love again with a woman, in fact, the entire workshop has pictures of her all over the walls and tables. He valued the precious face of his beloved one and preserved it for his heart before his eyes.

Ross made Merit a warm chocolate milk drink, her grumpy face smiled and laughed excitedly as a child her age would. As she took few sips from the drink she would feel that she's drinking memories and feelings, the sweet taste and the warmth isolated the feelings of disturbance and fear she had the other day, Ross truly helped her.

"It tastes so sweet! I loved it" Merit smiled and thanked him as she sat on a tall chair with her tiny legs hanged in the air, "You know I'll always make you one when you come, now tell me, are you just visiting your old man? Or it there's a trouble behind that smiley face?" Ross asked, he changed his tone into a serious one, he was determined to know how Merit's life was at that point.

"Well, I do have a trouble ..." She sighed, she held her bag and took out the camera she had, put it on the table and looked right into Ross' eyes.

"Look, look at the photos inside it! I never took them..Mr. Ross..these photos make me feel like I am in danger, can you please help me know when and who took them?"

Ross' examined it for a few seconds, but as he tries to turn it on he failed, he sighed and looked back at Merit. "It needs a battery; you didn't have a battery before, Merit."

"What? How?! I just looked at the photos myself, in fact, I used it this morning, I-"

"Look, see for yourself" Ross interrupted her as he opened the battery's location to find it empty, Merit's eyes widened and her hands became sweaty, she was in a shock, the unexplained event occurred once more, things too complicated for her little mind to understand.

"That camera is stolen, isn't it?" Ross said, scolding her in a strict manner as if he was her father.

"I have a house of cameras yet you steal such a garbage one.. I'm disappointed." He continued. "It needs a special type of batteries, ones you can find in my son's shop in Steamhall, are you willing to go? Or should we drop this absurd subject already?" He said.

"If that's it, I'll go, and I'll show you."

"As stubborn as Forger..I'm not saying I don't believe you, but isn't so far-fetched to believe that a camera took photos by its own?"

"I know! But it happened and I'm not lying!" Merit replied in a convincing tone, she was determined to erase that suspicious look in Ross' eyes, it was already decided, she's leaving for Steamhall again.

The drink grew colder, Merit smile faded away, her tiny hands reached for the camera and grabbed it steadily. "Wait here old man, I'll be back by tomorrow." She said, she jumped off the chair and wore her bag, and she quickly decided to leave the kitchen, Ross stopped her and called her into the reddish room before she leaves.

"Take this; I want my little precious girl to be safe." He said, he fetched for something in a drawer beneath the cameras and bots, he then reached out for Merit's hand, opened it and handed it to her.

"This is Elvey, he'll be your companion, take care of him, and you Elvey, take care of her."

Ross tapped on Merit's shoulder in affection as Merit opened her hand to find a small robot figure with a small eye starring at her, Merit opened her mouth and looked at Ross, "Is that a real one..?" She asked excitedly, quickly having her disturbed emotions turn into a positive ones, "Yes, Elvey will be your eyes, hide him in your bag while you're in the upper area, He's very useful. And ..Talkative!"

Elvey was as small as the size of Merit's hand. He had a shiny brown eye and glimmered in silver, he was an intelligent being who was sold long ago for people in the streets normally, but Milasic stopped trading them and soon took them off the market and went as far as arresting all those who manufactured them. Merit looked at him and knew already she has a new friend, a one that looked at her with purity human eyes rarely had towards her, it was time to leave.

"I'll be back tomorrow, thanks for the drink and Elvey! I'll pay you back one day!"

"No need to. You already did."

It was twelve o'clock in the afternoon already, In Milasic industries sales department by the liberation square, Jackson sat down drowning in his desk waiting for the lunch break, when realized it was time, he dropped his pen and grabbed his bag, he has already decided what he will do in the next forty minutes.

He found comfort in writing; it held back the pain of loss and the continuous feeling of detachment. He had his diary and some money in his bag, enough for him to go grab a pie and a drink. His bag was small enough that he carried it beneath his arm just like most old men do, he wouldn't deny his age anymore and accepted how he instinctively acted in situations. He walked four minutes to the bakery, with each step, he would slowly drown into daydreaming and lucid memories would appear in each corner in the street, it hurts, but it also made him remember what he used to be and what he stood for, what he wished for and what he achieved. Pain was inevitable in his situation.

But in one of the corners of the street by the bakery, a sinister look was given to him by a man, a one he could recognize completely, a one with a black hat and a black coat with a silver eagle broche on his shoulder.

The crowded street veiled him away from Jackson, but Jack's heart felt heavy. Could he be hallucinating? Is it one of his old mind games? He stood still starring at the crowded street, and as he did, a light hand grabbed that bag right from beneath his arm, to his surprise; he turned around, "Thief!" He shouted, but that person already slipped into the crowds and disappeared, no one patted an eye, he left broken-hearted, his day was over before it started, and his leisure was stolen from him, his serenity escaped far away along with that thief.

The thief was a happy one, grabbing the bag in the middle of a hidden alley and opening it, "Look, he has some money for a ticket"

Searching through the bag, the thief found the diary and decided to keep it for later, "Let's go, Elvey, let's get the battery."

"Everything is decided. Everything is planned. Their eyes are on you, nowhere to run" laughed the black hat agent observing the scene, coincidence?