Chapter 12 The boy
Normal POV
"What's on your mind?" She said to him.
"Aren't you tired staying here?" The boy jumped down from the window to face the girl.
"Here? What do you mean? It's fun here in the Barrel Zone" she said happily.
"Yeah, fun for you since the Leader is fond of you" he scoffs.
"Aren't you happy here?" She asks as she hand him a handkerchief.
He only looks at her.
He always adore her.
He likes her cherry blossom hair everytime it dances with the wind.
He likes her sound everytime she find something fun.
He likes the way her emerald sparkles when he show something new to her.
If only he was born noble, he would marry her.
If only...
"Where did you go, garbage boy!?" His father hits his face making him hit the ground.
'Garbage boy' that's his name.
He was named by his father.
His father is alcoholic, his other siblings are in the corner.
They all look malnourished and skinny.
His mother's corpse are still lying in the bed.
Some of his younger siblings are still beside her.
He can't call this his home now.
It was reek of the corpse's scent and a streak of alcohol.
"Stay here, I'm going out" his father said as he take the bag hanging in the worn out wall.
He knows where he was going.
At that bar again, gambling and getting wasted while his children is starving to death.
He wipe off his blood from his nose and sit in the corner.
He close his eyes again and starts dreaming about her.
...
"Hey! Where you going?" The girl ask him while he was walking in the dark alleyway.
"W-why are you here? It's dangerous here..." He worriedly said.
"Don't worry, people can't hurt me...you know, because of the Leader" she giggles as she wipes his face with scented handkerchief again.
"Why are you always dirty?" She asks as she continue to wipe the dirt away.
The difference between them.
She was treasured by the so-called Leader of the Barrel Zone.
He was a garbage boy.
She was always clean and happy.
He was always covered in dirt and grumpy.
They were completely opposite.
He got beaten by his father again after losing in the gambling.
Now, he was roaming looking for food and money.
"Thanks.. " he murmured after she was done cleaning him.
"Want some bread?" She pull out a bread in her pocket covered in a clean handkerchief.
His mouth watered in the sight of delicious bread.
She break it in half.
"Oh, I know a great spot to eat bread!" She happily grabbed his rough hand with her soft hand.
Running, they finally reach a rooftop.
His eye's widen in the sight of the Capitol.
It was beautiful, it was peaceful but not as beautiful as her while smiling.
They sat in the railing and starts eating the bread.
His hunger was now satisfied as he finished quickly.
She giggles and offer her bread to him.
He blushed in embarrassment and shake his head no.
But she insists and put the bread in his hand.
He gladly accept it.
"Do you know what it's like in the capitol?" She asked.
"Capitol is a place with a bunch of douchebags" he said while stuffing his mouth with bread.
She laughs at his comment.
"I read a book once...about a prince who fell in love with a lower..." She said while her gaze is still in the capitol.
He gulped down the last piece of bread, confused at her words.
"I wish I could find my prince too" she raised her hand and reach for the Capitol.
He stared back at the sight of the Capitol as he realized...
...
Their house get ransacked again, by the people in the bar.
His father did not pay his debt again.
His father offers one of his children again and sold it as a slave.
He can't do anything but to watch the scene while his younger siblings are hiding behind him.
"I-I'm scared, big brother..."his only sister said while holding into him and trembling.
He put his hand on her head petting it and whispering it's gonna be okay.
The people in the bar dragged one of his brother.
His brother is desperately trying to get away from their grasp.
He was screaming and squirming.
The neighbors only turned their heads and ignore what's happening.
One of the people of the bar pull out a syringe and shot his brother's shoulder making him slowly lose his consciousness.
"Don't worry, it's gone now..." He whispers at his sister while hugging her.
Suddenly his father grabbed him and throw him outside, making her younger sister scream "brother!".
But she was stopped by her other sibling while his father grabbed a stick and walk closer to him.
He was about to stand but, his father hit him with a stick in his legs.
"Ahhhh!" He screams feeling his bones getting cracked.
His father continuously hit him and kicking him.
Again, the neighbors ignore the scene, no one dares to help the poor boy.
After a while, he was now lying in the ground holding his gut.
Curled into the ball, his body is covered in bruises and blood.
He can't move as if the pain slowly killing him.
When he was about to close his eyes, he thinks of her.
Flashbacks come to his mind.
The moment he met her, she painted his grey world.
The dark cold alleyways of the Barrel Zone became warm because of her.
She was his 'treasure'...
He slowly push himself to stands up but he stumble in the ground again.
He have no choice but to crawl.
He push his limp body as he go to her.
It may take a while but he finally reached the big door.
He was about to knock on the door when suddenly the Leader's men kick him out of the way.
"Why the fuck you doing here kid..." He said as he squat down and grabbed him by his hair.
He groaned in pain.
The man eye's widen to see the boy covered in bruises and blood.
"Oh shi—" he suddenly let go of the boy.
"You got into fight?" He huff a smoke from his cigar while watching the boy trembling and mumbling.
The man sighs, he pitied the boy.
He throw his cigar on the ground and step on it.
He carried the boy in his arm as he go inside.
...
The boy wake up with bandages wrapped in his body.
He tried to stand up but it was too painful for him.
He looked around the room.
It seems the strange man earlier brought him here.
He can hear the music from the bar coming from above.
It means he was in the basement lying on the cold ground only a piece of cardboard covering the ground he was on.
The door opened and it was the strange man again.
"You awake kid?" He steps closer as he caress the boy's face covered in bandages.
The boy only hisses in pain.
The strange man introduce himself.
"Zen..." He told the boy and hand him a piece of bread.
"What bout ya?" He sits down beside the boy.
"G-ga..." The boy is hesitating to tell his name.
"Ga what?"
"Ga..garbage boy...sir" the boy embarassingly said as he stuffed his mouth with bread.
Zen only raised his eyebrow.
"I see..."
Zen pull out a cigar and his lighter.
He huff some smoke in the air, while the boy coughs.
Zen look at the boy immediately stop smoking.
"You know, you remind me of someone..." He randomly said.
The boy stop coughing and look up to him.
"Is that why you're being kind to me?"
Zen was speechless, maybe the boy is right.
Suddenly, they heard the music stop in the bar.
Zen suddenly stands up and look above.
"What's going on?"
They heard glass shattered and people screaming.
"Stay here for a bit, don't go outside" Zen said before he run coming to the bar.
The moment he reaches the top stairs, he saw people in chaos.
He hold his sword as he look for the cause of the chaos.
His eye's widen. It was the 'Leader' sitting in the corner as he drink a whiskey.
The Leader's feet are on the top a poor looking man.
"What's going here, leader?" Zen ask.
...
The boy didn't listen to Zen's words.
He push himself to stand up.
Stumbling on the dark hallway, he found the stairs going up the bar.
He push himself while he take one step at a time.
Finally he reached the last stair.
He looked around to see what's happening.
His eye's widen to see his father, kneeling down infront of the Leader like a slave.
"Father!" He called out.
Zen immediately turn his back and saw the boy running towards them.
The Leader raised his hand and his men immediately caught the boy before reaching his father.
"No!" Zen shouted, the Leader look at him in curiosity.
"What's the matter, Zen?" He asked.
"Don't touch the boy..." Zen begs as he bow down to the Leader.
The Leader raised his hand again and his men immediately let go of the boy.
He take a last sip in his whiskey and stands up from his chair.
"You have explaining to do, Zen" he warns as he walk away with his men.
The bar is still in the chaos, the boy immediately run up to his father.
"F-father!" He shakes his father's body.
It's not responding.
Zen only stands up there and watch the scene unfold.
The boy shake his father's corpse again, and still not responding.
Zen only sit down and pull out a cigar while he watches the boy suffer.
...
The boy asked Zen to take him back to his house.
He was worried about his other siblings.
The moment they reach his house.
Everything is a mess and the house is on fire.
It was surrounded by their neighbors.
He can smell something nasty from the fire.
He squeezed himself through to see what's going on.
His eye's widen, he got shivers in his spine, he was paralyzed to see his other siblings were pile up and burning.
"N-no...no.."he mumbles as he convince his self it was all just a dream.
"B-brother..." He hears his younger sister call out to him, he snapped and run towards the fire.
Before he can reach the fire, he was held back by Zen.
"No! Let go! I need to go to my sister!" He tried to squirm out of Zen's grasp but he failed.
Zen doesn't budge a bit, the boy look up to him to meet his gaze.
The boy felt Zen's tear drop down in his head.
His eye's widen again, Zen slowly cover the boy's eyes.
He was confused, scared and angry at the same time.
He was confused because, why is this happening to him.
He was scared because, he doesn't have a home now.
He was angry because he had no one else to blame for this.
Zen kneel down and hug him, he heard him whispers to his ear.
"Everything will change from now on, kid..."