GRASPING INTO SOMETHING

CHAPTER 2

4.

The next morning, Monday, Alioth feels a little gloomy. Having that much fun costs him too much energy, it drains him up to the point that he is currently having the polar opposite of his emotions yesterday. Alioth does not want to do anything that day but he needs to prepare since Milly is taking him to his monthly check up. With that, Alioth had no choice, he took a bath and eventually got picked up by Milly. Ever since Alioth entered the car, Milly is worried due to the fact that Alioth's loneliness can be felt deeply, way sadder than usual. Eventually, they reached the clinic where a professional psychiatrist treats Alioth. It took them some hours and afterwards, the psychiatrist explained the situation to Milly while Alioth was in a different room.

"Is he fine? Is he getting worse?" Milly worriedly asked.

"I do understand your panic mrs. Milly. It appears that Alioth is melancholic today, which is actually an improvement" the psychiatrist said.

"Wait, I'm confused? How is that better? I never saw him this sad before…" Milly replied.

"When you first brought him here, he was not responding well. I thought he would cry his heart out because that is the normal response for someone who is grieving, especially for the younger ones." the psychiatrist said.

"He didn't cry that time…" Milly answered.

"Exactly, he was still in shock due to the trauma. He can't process what had happened back then. Now that he is sad, he is finally showing his emotions, which is what he needs to fully recover. Sadness is fine, it's a healthy response towards painful things. Those who can feel sadness are the ones who can appreciate happiness more." the psychiatrist explained.

"You mean we should just let him feel that?" Milly asked.

"You don't need to force him to be happy, you just need to be there as a person to rely on. He needs support, now more than ever." the psychiatrist answered.

After the discussion, the psychiatrist still suggested that they should continue the sessions at least once or twice a month, in order for her to see if there are further developments. The check up is usually weekly but the case of Alioth is quite different. They are letting him progress slowly since his state is extremely fragile.

Milly and Alioth went home. Milly offered Alioth to stay in her house but Alioth does not want to leave their house at the moment. Milly decided to stay at Alioth's house just to monitor him for the rest of the day. She messages Rigel that they will have dinner in Alioth's house but be mindful of his actions.

Milly really wants to uplift Alioth but she worries that saving him from the tides of his emotions will lead Alioth to never diving to it ever again, or possibly drown when time comes. With a heavy heart, she focused on doing the household chores, letting Alioth learn how to swim to the tides of his emotions.

While roaming around the house, Milly saw a robot-like figure in the living room. She thought that it might be some random junk where Rigel and Alioth test some electronics stuff. Holding from the torso, she pulled the robot and placed it on the edge of the garage.

Later that day, Rigel entered the house. Knowing Alioth's current state, Rigel planned something that will help Alioth. After their dinner, Rigel pretends to sleep at Alioth's room. Milly said that they will be staying there for that night and Rigel will be sleeping with Alioth, that setup helped Rigel to do his plan. As the neighborhood falls asleep, Rigel whispers to check if Alioth is still awake.

"Pssssstt… Alioth, still up?" Rigel quietly said.

Alioth looked at him and nodded.

"Great, follow me. Let's sneak out" Rigel said as he got up.

Alioth was shocked from what he heard but due to Rigel's rapid movement, Alioth followed him without thinking that much. After successfully sneaking out without a single noise, the boys get their bikes and stroll at midnight. Alioth does not have a single idea on where they are going but his curiosity made him follow Rigel all the way to the top of a hill.

While catching their breath, Rigel starts to explain "Remember the time that I saw you pulling that robot? Welcome to my secret place".

Alioth was amazed how everything is set up. There's a mini shelter made out of branches, facing the stars that shines through darkness.

"I always go here whenever I feel sad, troubled, or just relax when I need one. I made this place because I'm not good at showing others about my weak side. This is a place where I can truly be me, honest to myself..." Rigel explained.

Alioth entered the shelter, sat down, and indulged himself in the suiting atmosphere that the place offers. The quiet gust, the sparkling stars, the calming scenery, it's like a masterpiece from a perspective.

"I remember you like stars ever since you were younger. I kinda feel the same way, sometimes I wonder what's out there. Do you want to go there someday?" Rigel asked Alioth.

Alioth excitedly nods his head.

"Then let's do our best everyday, who knows what tomorrow has to offer? Am I right?" Rigel added.

Alioth finally smiled again, he is slowly finding something to look forward to, a reason to push him and live.

"Let's go home now, Mom will be angry if she caught us sneaking out this late" Rigel said as they immediately headed back.

The next morning, Alioth is left alone. Rigel needs to attend his school while Milly goes home to do her chores. There's a meal already prepared for Alioth cooked by Milly. The house feels empty but not as Alioth's feelings. He learned how to properly vent out his emotions without escaping from it. That's the reason why he feels lighter compared to yesterday.

Alioth starts to function again, like he always does. With a small bluetooth speaker, he often puts out some upbeat tunes while cleaning the house. He loves it when they were all dancing while doing their chores, it's a fun memory that turned into a habit. Cleaning the house by himself surely exhausted Alioth. He decided to take a bath then sleep, they call it siesta in some places.

5.

Later that day, Rigel is busy in his studies that's why Alioth spends his time assessing the robot. Since he has no idea if that thing is prone to water, Alioth brushes the dust off. Looking at every corner of the robot makes Alioth feel intrigued by its structure. It's weird in a sense that it is the first time he saw that kind of screw. He immediately searches on the internet for different types of screws but none match the robot. Alioth begins to test some things, he knocks the robot and he thinks that the material seems like metal. He then gets a magnet to prove it but it is not sticking to it. The test made Alioth search for further answers on the internet. He found out that metals that don't attract magnets are in their natural state. Alioth did not understand it that much, he concluded that it is not the common metal that he knows.

The further the examination goes, the more questions arise on his notes. The arms can be removed by just pulling it, and it automatically attaches when you put it near to its body. That completely contradicts his first experiment with magnets. If it doesn't have any magnetic principle, why does it work like it has? The mysteries keep piling up. Every answer that he thought might explain that thing will only lead to more questions. In that instant, Alioth put his game face on.

Alioth removes the arm from the robot and begins to do a couple of experiments. He first filled the tab with water and threw the arm there. The arm floats therefore it's buoyant. Next up is he goes outside, puts gas at the other end of the arm, and lit it with fire. Alioth touches the latter part where it does not have fire, it is surprisingly at normal temperature even though the other end of it is on fire. He then puts out the fire by throwing sand on top of it. As it all settles, he inspects the arm and it is still in its original state, like nothing even happened. In his next experiment, Alioth attached a wire on both ends of a battery then taped it to the left side edge. He then holds an LED he got from Martin and sticks it to the right edge. The LED lit, meaning to say current can flow to the surface.

In Alioth's conclusion, the robot is buoyant, temperature proof, fireproof, can conduct electricity, not magnetic but has the same principle to its body. None of it makes sense, the internet does not even help him even a little bit at this point. He spent the whole day looking for an element with all of the properties that he concluded.

The endless seek of enlightenment knocks him out. Alioth firmly believes that there should be an answer, he just couldn't find it. There are times that asking Martin about it crosses his mind, but he strongly wants to figure it out on his own.

Alioth woke up from his slumber, it's the first time that he woke up on his desk. Normally he'll wake up on his bed regardless of where he falls asleep. With that said, Alioth stretches his aching body and starts his day.

Temporarily setting his goal aside helps Alioth to relax, take things easy, and observe his own progress. It's like a pause button from an offline video game, helpful when you need to do other things. Thanks to his notes, Alioth can track his own progress. What feels stagnant is in fact the opposite of it. Alioth is proud of what he learned so far, he is indeed worthy of praise. Even though it's a baby step towards his wanted discovery, small steps are better than none.

Alioth walks out of the house to check if Martin is back. Unfortunately, Martin's house still looks empty. It's quite uncommon for Martin to be out for days. Alioth thinks that maybe Martin visits his family in the city, staying there to bond with his son and daughter. Alioth began to roam around the forest, observing the place where he found the robot.

When Alioth started to analyze the surroundings, he found it unusual. The rocks on the surroundings suggest that the hollow was formed from an impact. It is quite different from the surroundings since the place is filled with grass, only the pathway has stones in it. The most convincing part is that those rocks on the cave were similar to the whole cave itself, suggesting it's part of it. Still, all of these speculations are hard to prove since it lacks witness. But if it's true, another speculation would make sense. It could mean that the robot is not from this planet, and the elements used to build that is something humans have not discovered yet. A child's imagination is as wild as the unknown, something that eventually dies when not properly nurtured.

Alioth thought that he might find an answer but it raised more speculations instead. Without a meaningful trace, Alioth decided to go home. Along the way, he saw a familiar vehicle from a distance. As it comes closer, Alioth recognizes that it's Martin's car. He sprinted back towards the town, excitedly wanting to greet Martin on his return.

Minutes of sprinting eventually lead Alioth to Martin's house. He caught Martin unloading his stuff.

Alioth pokes Martin's arm, surprising him from an on point visit.

"Oh, it was you! It should be a surprise but you caught me already" Martin said.

Alioth slightly tilts his head because he has no idea on what's going on.

Martin opened his car and showed Alioth all kinds of tools. "I went on a road trip to meet some friends. There are my college friends, some of them were my colleagues. I asked them to help a kid with a dream aaaaand they gave you these tools…"

Alioth couldn't believe his eyes, he was stunned by the moment.

Martin saw Alioth's reaction, he tried to explain further "I was in a hurry coz some of them have tight schedules. I kinda did not thoroughly check on what's on every bag but I do tru…" Martin was interrupted because Alioth hugged him tight.

Martin pats his head and says "Work hard kid, I can sense greatness from you…"

Tears are about to fall down in Alioth's eyes, Martin immediately encourages him to bring those inside of his house. Suddenly, Alioth remembered that the robot was still in the garage, uncovered. Her aunt Milly did not expect anything but he believes that Martin will start asking questions at first glance. With that said, Alioth raised his arms, indicating that Martin should wait for him. Luckily Martin understood it as Alioth sprint towards his home. Upon reaching inside, Alioth immediately grabbed some blankets and covered the robot. Now that it is secured, Alioth went back and called Martin.

"Ready to bring these to your home?" Martin asked.

Alioth smiled brightly then nodded.

"Let's go!" Martin said as they immediately moved. To make things quick, Martin drove his car and parked it near Alioth's home. Afterwards, they opened the compartment, and started lifting the new equipment for Alioth, towards the garage.

After quite some work, they manage to settle things out. Martin saw a weird object covered with a blanket. Martin walks towards the object but suddenly Alioth blocks his way. Given that Alioth is a type of kid that slowly opens, Martin decides to act like he does not notice anything, and walk towards the opposite direction.

Martin can feel how happy Alioth is right now. Even without saying it, he can see how thankful the kid is through his eyes. A joy from a child, the genuine reaction that makes Martin conclude that door to door road trip, asking for help, all of it was worth it. With that, Martin leaves the house to let Alioth enjoy the moment.

6.

With thrilling energy coursing through his veins, Alioth immediately inspected every item while having a smile on his face. His eyes sparkle as he puts out the items one after the other. As fascinating as it is, he already saw those items at Martin's house, but knowing that he owns it makes it extra special.

Almost an hour of sorting the equipment, Alioth finds it a bit strange. He remembered that Martin told him that those were a complete set of everything he needed. With that in mind, it's quite odd that he still couldn't find the proper tool for the robot. Alioth cannot open the robot because the screwdrivers do not match the screws of the robot. The rarity of the machine is the problem itself, but it fuels Alioth's curiosity.

At the brick of losing his patience, Alioth saw a bag that he hadn't opened yet. Having a low expectation, he walked towards it and unzipped the bag. Inside of it is a set of welding equipment which is actually dangerous for his age. Maybe some of Martin's friends misconcluded his age range. After a couple of seconds, Alioth immediately realized that if he didn't have it, then he could make a tool for it. He gets excited and fortunately Rigel timely visits and knocks on his door. Alioth opened the door and as soon as he saw Rigel, he immediately dragged him towards the garage.

Rigel looked around and saw various tools arranged on the floor. "Woooaahh, so this is the reason behind your overly excitement of pulling me in" Rigel teasingly said.

Alioth smiled and scratched his head, guilty as charged.

"This is actually awesome! You have your own tools now! Let me guess, mr. Martin gave you this?" Rigel added.

Alioth nodded but Rigel can tell that Alioth's expression speaks of curiosity.

"HAHA, I overheard mom and mr. Martin's conversation through call. I do have an idea why mr. Martin went missing for days" Rigel explained.

Alioth pouted and his eyebrows met in the middle.

"Sorry for not telling you, I don't want to ruin the surprise. Anyway, what are you planning to do with these?" Rigel asked.

Alioth immediately grabbed a pen and a paper, he drew the shape of the screw as Rigel watched him. Holding the drawing on his other hand, Alioth points at the bag. Rigel then looked inside of it and said "This is a welding set". Alioth nods then grabs a screwdriver, points it to the paper then points back to the bag.

Rigel is a little bit puzzled on what Alioth is trying to say. Alioth then removes the blanket from the robot then points at the screws. That moment Rigel finally realized Alioth's plan. "Ooh, you want to mimic that shape to that screwdriver through welding!" Rigel loudly said.

Alioth excitedly nodded, the satisfaction of effectively delivering his idea can be seen on his face.

"You are a genius! Let's do it!" Rigel said.

Using all of the safety precautions that they learned from Martin, they start attaching some metals to the screwdriver. Rigel takes the lead while Alioth criticizes if it's good enough. With their joint efforts, they crafted a new type of screwdriver, close to perfection.

"And it's finally done!" Rigel said while both of them feel proud of themselves. A weird looking screwdriver, the end of it looks like the Z-block from tetris also known as squiggly. As long as they got the job done, it's worth it after all.

Having exactly what they wanted, Rigel and Alioth immediately drag the robot to the center and loosen the screws at the back. Alioth managed to loosen the screw a bit but when he reached the middle, he could not loosen it any further, it looked like its lock. Believing that it might be stuck, Alioth passes it to Rigel. He also tried his best to force it but it seems like something stopping at the middle of the screw. Rigel decided to loosen the other screws but all of the 4 screws have the same issue.

"I can't remove the screws, maybe it's already rusted inside?" Rigel said.

Alioth does not want to believe Rigel's guess, he finds it odd that all the screws were stuck at the same length. Randomly trying on what might work, Alioth pulled the half opened compartment. That instant the screws extend like a spring that does not automatically go back. Alioth and Rigel were stunned, they tried to push it back and it went back to its original state.

"This is incredible!" Rigel mentioned. He pulled it once more and clanged the driver to the screws. "It looks like metal, but this is the first time I saw a metal that is flexible and tough at the same time!" Rigel added.

Alioth smirks as he felt some satisfaction when he saw Rigel losing his mind. Alioth remembered a certain meme with a caption "First time?".

When they came back from their senses, they tried pulling it into its max capacity. Inside of it, there's a board on the lower part. Noticing that there's a tiny gap between the board and the edge of the compartment, they concluded that the board can be pulled. Doing so proved them right, they pulled it until it hit the back side. Multiple panels can be seen, they think that it could be a solar panel that charges the robot.

Rigel finds it strange, he couldn't see any wirings inside, only strips painted to it. "This thing does not even have wires, how does it even work?" Rigel curiously asked.

Alioth observed it as well, after a couple of seconds, he realized how it works. Alioth immediately grabbed his notes, turned a couple of pages and handed it over to Rigel.

Rigel reads it and after a few minutes, it finally makes sense for him. "This is the first time I know about Carbon paint, this explains a lot now!" he said.

Carbon paint transfers electrical current to a certain extent, like the copper in a circuitry. It is not exactly what they thought it could be but it is the closest explanation to what they are witnessing. It could be the foundation of it. Carbon paint mixed with different elements to make it more efficient can still be a probable equation.

The examination goes on, just like before, it gets more complicated the further it goes. They were able to access the first compartment but they failed to go beyond it. The latter parts require different equipment which they currently do not have. The main goal is to power it up, using a tester, Alioth puts the test probes in the panel, to test if it is still working. The needle inside of the tester goes to the edge, he puts it on a higher scale but the result is still the same. Meaning to say it has incredible resistance. Alioth also checks the continuity and the tester beeps, indicating that it is not broken. He repeated those steps until he successfully checked every panel and even the painted strips. Therefore, that certain part is still functional.

Since the first step has been done, they decided to take it outside because they believe that the robot is solar powered. Unfortunately, the skies are cloudy, it is also afternoon and the sun is about to settle.

"We did take some time, I guess we have to continue this tomorrow" Rigel mentioned.

Alioth sighed, his stubbornness makes him disappointed when an uncontrollable scenario occurs. Hence, they pull the robot back inside the garage. Rigel thinks that it would be a hassle for Alioth to drag the robot every morning. There's no guarantee that they can fully charge the robot in a single day. With that, Rigel invited Alioth to come with him and visit a friend of his. Alioth followed Rigel even though he knew nothing about where they were heading. After quite some distance, they reach the town's junkyard.

"Good afternoon McPilly!" Rigel greeted a small old man, white hair with slightly ripped clothes and a big cowboy hat, residing at the yard.

"Well isn't mah favorite young lil' fella, what brings you here boy?" McPilly responded with an usual accent.

"I actually need something that can carry heavy objects with wheels on it" Rigel described what he was looking for.

"Wheels on it… Like a push cart?" McPilly answered.

"Nothing beats the memory of the junkyard king!" Rigel said.

"You know I do!" McPilly laughed and said "Follow me boys, I'm sure we'll find something similar to what you want"

With the lead of McPilly, Rigel and Alioth look around the junkyard and search for a pushcart or something similar to it. It was the first time that Alioth entered the junkyard. At first he thought that every known trash was tossed to it but it's more of the broken or unused objects. Most of the junks there were the old belongings of the residents. It's not as dirty as he thought it would be but it's not that clean either. Looking at every random thing in the junkyard, it surprisingly amused Alioth to a certain extent. He did not even notice that they were looking for almost an hour by now. Rigel and McPilly look tired but it pays off every time they see Alioth having fun in the area. In the southern west of the junkyard, they finally saw what they were looking for.

"This is it! This will do!" Rigel shouted as he held the platform with wheels.

"A mechanic stool? We use that to fix something under a car. You boys have cars?" McPilly asked.

"Nah, we are going to use it in a different way" Rigel answered.

"Oooh, it must be for a slide, I remember riding those when I was a kid!" McPilly once again laughed and said. "As long as you are happy with what you are doing, then do it!"

"Thanks McPilly, You're the best!" Rigel replied.

"Ayt! See you boys around" McPilly said as he went back to his small house.

"C'mon Alioth, let's head home now and eat dinner! Now you won't have a hard time pulling the robot in and outside!" Rigel said as they both walked back to Alioth's home.

Alioth finally gets why they need something similar to it but not necessarily a push cart. He smiled brightly and let Rigel tell random stories.

-In an early night scenery, everything seems lighter. Even the longest heavy days will end as the night finally calls it a day, grasping into something that will push us everyday.