Listen To Your Elders, Now. | Act I: There is No End

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"Mum, please. I don't want to."

"Now, here! He wants his wares back and that's what we're gonna have to do."

"But all the kids around these parts all hate him. And frankly, as much as I know they're wrong, they may still have a point."

"Oh, all of those rumors about him is just a bunch of rubbish. Now, you are going to walk out of this house, into his, give him his items back right out, and then, you can just... You can just leave, son! Nothing painful there, now, is there?"

Sigh.

"No, mother."

"Good, now..."

THRUST!

"GO."

SLAM!

Another sigh comes out of my houses as I walked down the stairs of our "lovely" abode, with a couple of plates and tools and hand, and making a right towards Deinal Avenue.

Another day can't pass me by without me and my mother don't argue about anything... or everything.

Today, in this fine morning, I have to bring Mr. Lundi his wares.

And just so I can remind myself later when I confront him....

Mr. Lundi is pretty infamous for his habits of screaming at children and barely allowing anyone in his home.

To be fair, no one knows what he's going through or what's inside that house that keeps him away from the world outside. But unfortunately, kids like Lentil can only speculate what's going on inside there.

'Maybe he keeps all of those bodies by the streets and sell their meat, which he would call "animal meat", since he used to be a butcher'. Lentil once said.

A far-fetched idea for sure... But again, when you're living in a world where death won't bat an eye before taking your life away... Can you really blame them for thinking in this certain way?

The rumors themselves have never really crossed my mind too much. But the sheer tone of them has. And that... That is why I really didn't want to go to his house.

Sigh.

Let's get this over with.

Turning around, I looked upon the malicious building, all covered in grime and dirt.

It was even worse than Lentil's home.

The stairs had worms crawling out of spaces, eating the floor's vermin for us.

It was just... Just vile.

First impression of this place? As expected.

"If Kiri would be here, she would be fainting from the utter smell of it all, wouldn't she?"

My thoughts said.

Carefully, I climbed up the stairs, trying to be careful as the wood beneath me felt like it could break at any moment. When I finally got up to front porch, I placed the wares right beside, just in case.

I stood right up in front of the door, taking a deep breath and...

KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!

CRASH!

Immediately, I heard something break. Franticly, I looked to my side, only to sigh with relief afterwards.

The wares were fine.

Only it seems like that something else broke.

Heh.

This man might not be careful with his things, eh?

Soon, the door opened ever so suddenly and loosely.

That thing could've broken, you kn--

"Who are you?" The man asked in a fairly strict manner.

All so shook was I at that moment.

Staring into his irritated eyes and smelling his foul breath, I tried my best to talk but I could only stutter.

"I-I-I-I-"

"Well?!" The man continued to look me with such fury.

"I-I'm the son of Ms. Alwight. Miss Elaine Alwight? She... She borrowed a few things of yours... correct?"

The man's irritation softened but his eyes was still staring at me funny.

"Yes. Yes she did. Do you have them with you?" He asked.

"Yes."

"Good. Then put them in my kitchen... then GO." He ordered, before returning back into his home, his feet pounding on the seemingly frail floor.

HUFF!

I exhaled ever so anxiously.

Well...

That wasn't exactly a very good first impression, wasn't it?

Sighing once more, I picked up the wares and entered inside.

Closing the door ever so slightly, I suddenly started to gag for some reason.

As I looked around... I started to understand why this reflex ever so 'randomly' acted up.

Gooping through the cracks of the ceiling was this strange light green liquid, seemingly stuck in the air, extending close to the floor, and as I looked at the floor, I saw this strange alien substance's success at reaching the floor, causing me to be careful as I walked through the hallway.

I finally reached the kitchen after that treacherous journey through the green outlands, only to find it in such a dirty state.

As I laid the wares close at a table, I could only see the dust fly across the room as the wares landed onto the table's surface.

I let my finger fly through the table and what came out of it can only be a shift in skin tone.

My finger held many of these dust bits, making the tip of the finger look completely black.

"Are you done?!" The man shouted.

"Yeah..."

"Good... Then git!" He screamed.

This.. This was beyond what I expected.

From what I've heard, he was nasty.

Not downright atrocious.

I couldn't stay for much longer.

After this, I quickly paced out of the kitchen, heading straight out the door.

Holding out my hand onto the handle, I prepared to open it when I had the sudden notion to look to my left.

And when I did...

I only went...

'Curious.'

To my left, right close to the opening of the door, was a potrait.

A portrait entirely done in ink.

That was strange. Most art was done with paint.

Not... ink.

And this portrait...

It depicted a woman, roughly in her early-20s, I believe, and here...

Unlike most portraits, the woman was smiling.

Like, really smiling. Teeth out, mouth wide

It was...

Nice.

And just like the painting that Kiri gave me...

It was different.

"Hey!"

I froze.

I only slowly looked to my right, seeing once again...

The irritated Mr. Lundi that introduced me to his home.

Or well...

Reluctantly introduced me...

"What the hell are you doing?!" He said, marching up to me with such frustration.

"Well-Well, I was just looking at this portrait that you have displayed." I nervously said.

Mr. Lundi stopped right in front of me, looked at me again, eye-to-eye, and with seething anger, said:

"That portrait there.... THAT portrait there... ISN'T for display." He slowly stated.

"Yeah-yeah but I.."

"No no! Nothing about you is right here! You come into my property, disturb me, and now set a ruckus in my house, just out of curiosity!"

"But I did nothin'!" I responded, frustrated with this man's short temper.

What is meaning for this? What does this mean to him that caused him to act this way?

"Yea?" He asked, breathing on me.

"Yeah." I responded uncomfortably.

"Well, then... Then, you gonna do nothing more!" He shouted.

Immediately, he grabbed the door behind me, opened it wide, and with surprisingly, pushes me out of the house, making me trip onto the floor.

"But wait! What did I even do?" I asked franticly, looking for an answer amidst this madness.

He didn't answer and just slowly closed the door.

"All for just looking at a portrait? Just what is it?" I asked again, with much force.

Nothing came out.

I sniffed a little, waiting for an answer.

But it didn't seem like I was gonna I get any.

"Gosh..."

I got myself up, stretching my arm a little.

I looked up and down at the house.

Man... What was his problem?

I guess I'll never know, huh?

With another sigh, I started to walk out of it all, only leaving Lundi with only these words:

"By the way, the portrait was nice. If you thought I didn't like it... I didn't. It's... nice."

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CREAK!

"She was."

I turned around.

It was Mr. Lundi.

He had opened the door after hearing what I said.

"Wait... she?" I asked, more curious than before.

"Yeah... she. My daughter."

I stood there, a bit surprised in what he had to say.

"Umm I... I'm--" I tried to apologize but I was interrupted with the man replying with...

"No... I am."

I grew even more surprised now.

Eyes wide now.

"Do... Do you want to come back in again?" He asked, seemingly nicer this time.

After a moment of silence, I slightly nodded.

Mr. Lundi nodded and motioned me to the door again.

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We were now in the living room.

Where Mr. Lundi was seated before all of this.

He showed me my seat, which was actually quite clean, unlike everything else around it.

I took my seat, with Mr. Lundi taking his seat in front of me, in the other corner of the room.

We stood there a little in silence.

We didn't know how to respond after all that just happened.

And so, the situation felt a little awkward.

But right as I was about to speak, he immediately started to talk again.

No longer angry, it seemed.

"I'm sorry for how the house looks right now. I don't really have many people over here anymore. Not since... then."

"It's.. It's okay. The house could be burnt or almost completely destroyed like some others so it only have those weird boogers and some dust filled everywhere... Eh. It's better than not living somewhere." I replied nonchalantly.

"Yeah, that is true.." He said. "How's your mother, ummm....?"

"Deus. My name is Deus." I stated.

"Deus, huh? Strange name for a young boy like you."

"Could've been worse."

"Yeah. Once, I knew a man named Branface."

"That's his name?" I asked, ever so surprised at such a name.

"Yep. Don't know why his folks named him that. Must've been on something."

"What ever happened to him?" I asked.

"Oh, well... let's just say his name serves as an answer for that."

Oh. Well... Oh wow. That's just horrible.

I made a small face, indicating just how terrible that would've been.

"Yeah. I try not to think about it too much." He remarked.

We stood in silence for a little bit longer.

We weren't exactly... accustomed to each other's presence.

But like the previous moment, it only took a lot for someone to speak.

This time, it was on me.

"So, Mr. Lundi.... she... that person there.... She was your daughter?" I asked, nervous of what he might say.

With a low sigh, he replied lowly with a "Yes."

"Yes, she was." He continued.

It seemed like he didn't want to continue further with the topic, even if it was just the start.

"What.. What was her name?" I asked, further pondering into this man's personal life.

"Her name... Her name was Lily." He said, slowly, giving the name some kind of meaning.

"That's a lovely name."

"And so was her." He remarked.

"Heh. It almost seemed long when everyone went to shit, didn't it?" He remarked.

"Yeah... I can't even remember what was beyond this world. It's all a vague memory to me."

"Yeah, I don't blame you. You've must been young. Just like my dear Lily."

"So what happened to her?" I asked.

"Well, let's start at the beginning, shall we?" He said, scooting along his chair.

Here we go.

"One fateful night, long before this thing came to plague our Earth, my wife and I had Lily in a cold, weird hospital. I can barely remember that place. But oh, how I can recall just perfectly the moment I laid my eyes upon her. She was just so... She was something alright. I looked at her with such joy and pride that the only thing on my mind was what I should call this beautiful spark of sunshine."

"And so you decided to name her after a flower?"

"That's just how much of a beauty she was. While things got diluted when we all realized that my wife had unfortunately died, it couldn't stop me from smiling... From crying both tears of joy... and sadness." He said.

"Wow. Things must've been transiently blissful at that time, huh?" I remarked.

"Transient?" He asked, confused.

"Means short. Things must've been blissful then, even if it was short?" I explained.

"Ah yes. It was. And from there, it only got better. The joy in her face as she grew, skipping from puddle to puddle, playing with other girls at the time, and even helping me out with the house. I could only..." He stopped, with eyes starting to water.

"Oh, are you okay, sir?" I said, almost getting off my seat to help him.

"Yeah, yeah. It's just... It was all so unbelievable. For such a father like me to care for such a bright girl like her. I could only stand there with some form of... pride. 'That's my girl.' I would say." He continued to say.

It was getting emotional to him. And as he spoke more of her, I could only wonder what kind of person she was. To garner such a positive outlook.

"But then... things started to change. For all of us. When the outbreak just burst into our front gates, it seemingly changed the positive atmosphere of our neighborhood. It even changed my girl as she finally became such a fine and young woman. But out of the blue, she started forming these... goals. These fantasies. I couldn't understand them but I could only grin as I thought...

It was only childish behavior.

She wasn't really going for it... right?"

He said that, wiping his eyes, as it continued to water. His snuffling started to grow in volume as he tried to breathe.

"And I don't know what... but one day, in the middle of it all, she left... and never came back. For days, I searched the town, up and low, far and wide. I even took a few steps out of it, just to see if she would've escaped.

And for these days... my worrying only increased within each one. Where was she? Who was she with? And what is she doing? 'WHERE IS MY BABY GIRL?', I screamed in my home once. It was disastrous." He further said.

PLOP.

Breaking my concentration was the sudden plop of a liquid. And as I could finally look straight, I saw just... tears flowing through the man's face, even with him trying to hold all back.

It was getting unbearable.

"And then... And then... I hear my door open. And from it, my daughter appeared. I ran up to her, hugging her, holding her as tight as I could. She was back. My entire life's worth had finally returned to me.

But...

But...

The woman that returned to me wasn't my daughter.

This woman... She had pores all over her skin. All of these were either dry or recently broken. And as I held up the woman's face, I could no longer feel the soft warmth from her cheeks. It was all drained out of her. And as I was trying to process of all of this... She just...

She just...

She just...."

The man stuttered, unable to breathe and his voice started to grow in pitch.

"She just fell... Right there in front of her. And there..." The man continued.

A moment of silence entered the room. The climax of this story had been reached. And I couldn't hold myself right when I heard these final words:

"She just... She just died. Right there. In front of me. In front of her own home. And as I slowly realized this travesty, I just... I just couldn't bear it."

"My whole life's work. My sweet sugarplum. My beautiful rose. My entire life's purpose... Just vanished. Into thin air. And I just... I just couldn't handle it."

He stopped there, trying to grasp himself back into reality before continuing.

But wow. She just... She just died right there. Right in front of her own father.

That's just...

I can't even find the words for it. Death comes knocking on everyone's door, and to everyone around you, it all seems so natural. But when you see it, face-to-face, and see it take one of your own beloved's life....

That's just brutal.

"A year later, I got a painter to draw her portrait, and while it ain't perfect... it's close to the little angel that I used to know. And for many years... I couldn't stop thinking about her. And how she died. I always speculated it was those damn kids that she always played with or those perverted men roaming around these streets. And all of it drove me mad. Mad against the world. Mad against myself sometimes." He continued, shedding less and less tears as his voice got only a little stronger within the accusations.

"And... So... So that's why kids are all afraid of you. And why they spread such hideous rumors." I said.

"Yeah. It's not really their faults for potentially killing my girl and saying all the bad things about me but... I sometimes just can't stand their faces. All so gleaming with hope and joy. It reminds me of her. And how she ain't smiling anymore. 'It ain't fair.', I say to myself every time I screamed at those children. To be fair, they're not wrong on a few things. It's just-" He explained before I interrupted him and said:

"They just don't know the truth?" I queried.

"Yeah... They just don't know anything." He stated, shedding his last tear on the ground, which seeped through the floor.

Mr. Lundi looked down at the floor for a while, seemingly lost in his own thoughts, just how I would sometimes. Slowly, I got up from my chair, went behind Mr. Lundi's chair and put my hand onto his shoulder. He suddenly looked up, and with it, I said:

"I'm sorry for your loss. She was lucky to have such a great father."

He grinned a little and replied, "You really think so, kid?"

"Yeah."

He smiled a little, with another tear shed from his eyes again.

"Thank you, Deus. Your mother must be very proud to have raised such a boy like you."

"I suppose she is." I said, starting to smile as well.

Everything inside this home felt a little brighter somehow. I don't know what but the air lost some of it's dry tone, and the sun seemingly gleamed a little bright outside.

I don't know what just happened but all I do know is that Mr. Lundi...

He's a good man. Better than most.

"Thank you for the talk, mister. I'm glad that the infamous Mr. Lundi... isn't as bad as he seems." I remarked.

"Well, thank you... for reminding me that there is some good people in this world. Maybe as young as you." He said, grinning.

"Would you like me to come over tomorrow? I would like to get to know you a bit more." I asked.

"Why not? It's nice to have some company over once again." He said lightheartedly.

"Alright then. You have yourself a nice day mister. Thank you for the talk." I said.

"You too, son. Also, thank you for bringing me my things."

"No problem at all, mister."

I walked out of the living room and started to head towards the front door. As I held out my hand for the door handle, I looked to my left once more, seeing the portrait.

What a beautiful girl she was.

Like I said to Mr. Lundi... she was a lucky gal to have such a great father.

Opening the door, I breathed in the fresh air once again, now with a sigh of relief.

Everything seemed calm now. Compared to the rumbling of the street from before, it almost felt soothing to see the streets change for once.

As I walked out the porch and went down the stairs, I stood there, looking back at Mr. Lundi's house.

For some inexplicable reason... the house looked a lot better now. It could be just the lighting from the sunset but... the house now seemed welcoming to me.

Like it accepts me now.

I smiled once again at this. Maybe things around these parts ain't so ba--

SWIPE!

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