Wondering | Act I: There is No End

Walking down the streets where the day was about to fade was us two.

We had passed the neighborhood of ash and we're returning back into civilization.

It seemed strange though... that I found these places abnormal.

How bad did those kids hit me with their words, humor, and their lifestyles?

"It's strange seeing these streets like this." Lentil said, seemingly sharing a mind with me.

"Yeah. What did those kids do to us?" I replied.

"Other than providing a weird sense of home, I don't know."

"You really find those kids cool? Like 'your people'?" I asked.

"To be honest, I'm not sure.... But it's not a no." He answered.

"They just seemed... ridiculous, you know? They seem so happy and content but at the same time... insane and misdirected."

"I know. That's because they are."

....

"Deus, would you like to hear the story about why those guys ended up there?" Lentil inquired.

"I mean.... go ahead." I told him.

"Ahem.... Well... you see.... They weren't always like this."

"Of course."

"They used to have homes. Parents. Brothers and sisters."

"I see."

"And over there, where we were.... that's where they used to live. All three of them in those three homes."

"Huh. And what happened?"

"Based on how it looks now... What do you think?"

"A fire?"

"Yes, but... It was an intentional fire."

"An intentional? Wait, did they--"

"Yes. One of the families tried to commit suicide. From what I could gather, it might've been Chris' parents that started it up."

"..."

"Yeah... Chris couldn't believe it at the time either."

"Yeah... but... I just... His parents?"

"It seemed like it."

"But it doesn't seem right, though. How would an adult raise such youth only to later burn all of that progress down to the ground?"

"Yeah. It's insane how this disaster has turned this world over. Not to mention that all their other relatives, their brothers and sisters... They all died to the fire. Well, we think they did. But if they didn't.... then their homes getting crushed and reduced to atoms might've finished them off."

"Holy... That's... That's horrible."

"The boys were the only survivors. The only ones left. And because of this, they had to stick together in order to survive. The hall was the only thing standing close by that they can stay in and so... they retreated there for shelter."

"..."

"And that's basically the story."

"Damn. That must... That must've been brutal for them. I-I can't seem to comprehend all the feelings they must've felt when that happened."

"Yeah. The only thing that you may need to understand is what they did with those feelings. What they did was quite simple: they blamed it all on society."

"Yeah, and I can see why. Damn... if death didn't come knocking on London's doorstep..."

"Then maybe their families would've been spared."

"Yeah."

We walked down the streets in silence. The only sounds you could hear right then would've been the thumping of our feet, marching steadily as the night grew fonder.

Other than a few other small conversations we had, we barely talked after that. We were getting tired considering the amount of food we ate.

I was less tired since I only ate a piece but still.

"How far are we?" I asked.

"I think we're getting closer. I think I recognize those patterns of trees. We're crossing Rundarbar Avenue." Lentil stated.

"Who would name a street 'Rundarbar'?"

"I don't know but they did and they're idiots for it." Lentil remarked.

We shared a chuckle.

I mean, for real, it's a terrible name. In fact, we could've made a better one.

"Deus?" Lentil said.

"Yeah?" I replied.

"Do you remember what it was like before... all of this happened?"

"Before the plague?"

"Yeah. Can you recall?"

"Not so much but I do remember one thing."

"What?"

"My parents."

"Oh."

"Back then, my father didn't need to do such work like he does now to keep the family going. He was already doing fine for the job he got." I continued.

"Which was?"

"I'm not sure. I think he was a esquire."

"And what makes you think of that?"

"He brought home some... Some shield or spear of some sort. I can't quite recall, but he did bring something home after he finished for the day."

"So, what was so different back then about your parents than them in the current time?"

"It's simple: They were free. Sure, my father worked under a knight but other that, they were free. They had much more time to spend taking care of each other and playing with me. Oh! I remember that time we spent the afternoon running across the park just by Genishen Street. Those blades of grass was smooth, the sun was high. And the best part? I was enjoying it all with my family."

Saying this, I suddenly halted on my speech, remembering something I haven't remembered much of.

The past.

What was London before this.

The sky... The sky was bright blue. It seemed strange to the present me, considering how the sky always felt like a gloomy shade of blue. It was never bright.

As I looked around, I saw people. Real people. Not those who were scared, who were chaotic, who were dead in soul... or in the body. No.

I saw... people. People with life inside them. Some fellow children were running around the park, giggling as they played a small game of tag.

I saw men talking. Talking presumably about their families or their jobs.

And then I saw them.

Looking up, I saw my father, holding hands with my mother and watching me as I skipped around the floor, which were surprisingly hard.

The floor was stone for some reason.

What happened to the stone?

Why did it leave us?

"Hehe. You should be careful there, Deus."

I looked back up. It was my father who said that, chuckling at my childish movement.

I tried to talk but somehow, most of my vocabulary was gone. I couldn't speak anything of the sort.

The only thing I could say is...

"Where we going?"

"Somewhere real special."

"What is it?"

"You'll see."

I stared at him, partially annoyed before just forgetting about it and continuing on with my childish behavior. As I did, I could hear the mumbling of my parents but I was too distracted to hear it clearly.

I was too distracted with the delight of jumping over and even on the small puddles of rain that appeared across the floor.

It made me feel all giddy inside.

As we continued to trot about the streets, the day seemed to have passed us by, already seeming like it was noon. The puddles have disappeared and so, I had stopped with my silly antics.

Besides...

I was already feeling tired. All of that hopping had made my feet rather sore and my legs rather worn out.

"Mommy?" I said.

"Yes, dear?" My mother replied ever so sweetly.

It was rather strange.

I've never heard her talk like that before.

"Can we go home now?" I asked.

"Not yet darling. We still haven't made it there yet."

"Where?"

"We'll tell you when we get there."

I kicked my feet. I was rather troubled, thinking that it will take us forever just to get there.

Like it would take several lifetimes.

"Alright..." My father said before coming to a halt. It took me a while to realize just what was happening, and once I did, I ran all so quickly back to my parents.

However, I ran perhaps a bit too quickly because I accidentally bumped into my father's side.

Landing on my bottom, my father chuckled and then proceeded to squat down and ask me...

"Hey... You know what this is?" He said as he pointed at the building in front of us.

"Uh... Home?" I replied, unsure of what it was, as the building look all strange and blurry to me.

"Hah! You would want that. But no, son. This..."

"This is our church."

As I inspected the building even further, I started to notice just how big was it. It was bigger than most of the houses around it, although it was not by much.

The colors of it all is similar to all of the other buildings, yet the stains on this building signified much more than just color.

It was age.

This church has been here for a long time.

I believe it's still standing in the present day.

"Well, shall we enter, then?" My mother prompted.

"We shall. Come on, Deus. In we go." My father said, opening the door for us.

As we entered inside, things seemed rather dim now. The floors were getting all darker and the lights seemed to fade away.

When I finally looked back up from inspecting the floors...

The day was gone.

The skies were all black again.

I looked around and what was in front me wasn't the church but rather...

A house.

I was back to the present day.

"Mate, are you alright?"

"Wha-?" I said before realizing that it was just Lentil that said that.

"You zoned out a bit there when you recounting the past. Are you alright, mate?"

"Yeah. I'm fine. Like you said, I have seemed to have been rather in the clouds of my mind again. That's all."

"Oh, Deus." Lentil remarked.

As I looked back at the house, the house had seemed to be rather dinghy and dirty. The windows were rather frail and the building was queer in shape.

It only took a second to realize...

"Well, this is your stop right?" I asked Lentil.

"Yeah. This is it. This is my place." He responded, looking a little nervous.

"Hey, don't you worry. I'm sure your parents won't be that harsh that we arrived a little tardy."

"Then you don't know my parents, do ya?"

"To be quite frank, I do not."

Lentil chuckled a bit before looking at the house again, scared for what his parents might do to him.

He didn't want to enter but he had no choice.

"I guess I'll see ya on the other side?" I said, trying to lighten up the situation.

"Yeah. I guess so." He said.

"Good luck in there, mate."

"Thanks. I needed that."

Waving his arm slightly me, signaling goodbye, he took the stairs up to his door and slowly, he got inside.

What continued after that was only could be considered as if hell had been released upon this world and has entered into that abode of his.

I didn't want to stick around, especially since I didn't want to get any more trouble than I'm already in. So, quietly, I retreated from the light of the homes and continued to walk in the shadows of the neighborhoods.

Once again, I was treading in the dark.

Just like I've always been, eh?