Is this the beginning?
In this moment of emptiness, someone laughs;
The sky blurs and the world will soon change its colour;
In that distant land of hers;
We raise our voices and run through this land,
Leaving behind our memories;
Is this really the beginning?

-Revaival (Revival)

"Darren," The door into my room was opened, and the low baritone echoed in my ears. I didn't know who it was; I didn't know what was happening. The room was spinning and my eyes blurred; my lips shook, my knees trembled and nothing would come out of my mouth. "Darren!" The voice roared again. This time, I lost track of what it was saying as darkness conquered my mind, and eyesight.

xx

I put both of my hands to cover my eyes when the sunlight sneaked in. Once again, I closed my eyes, was about to drift into another sleep before I noticed that I should be in school by now. With that realisation, I snapped and quickly sat on my bed, just to see Larten sitting beside me on a chair, sleeping; my expression softened. Without knowing why, I dragged him from the chair, to my bed, head right on the cosy pillow.

With a gentle push, the door to my room was creaked open and I stepped out, walking down the stairs lazily.

"Darren! You're awake," My uncle smashed the glass of water on his hand to the table hard, making me twitch. "Oh, I thought you're dead."

"What happened to me?" I asked curiously, sitting next to him. "I remember someone calling my name and blacking out."

"You were out yesterday," He explained, looking into my eyes. "And Larten kept twitching on his seat, as if he knew there were something wrong with you. He then told me he had to go home and had the feeling that he had to say goodbye to you first. When he came into your room, you were on the ground, on fours, and throwing up." I eyed him blankly, noticing that he had something more to say. "Larten didn't tell me what made you like that, no matter how hard I press."

I grunted in understanding, before looking on the table.

"Asleep, isn't he? He's a nocturnal one." He paused, searching for a conversation. "He asked me why we look so very different, no resemblance at all." Both of us chuckled.

My uncle was not literally my uncle as he was my step-uncle. My grandmother divorced with her husband after having a child and re-married, then another divorce to marry his ex's older brother, which was now known as my grandfather. My uncle was my dad's step-brother, and therefore, my step-uncle, Gavner Purl. He's 38 and his wife, Liz Carr died in an accident recently. He told me he had no further plan on re-marrying.

"Mornin'," A familiar voice mumbled from behind the door, he pushed the door open. His face was dark and eyes narrow but, when he looked at me, it all changed. "Darren, you are awake."

I nodded and smiled at him. "Thanks for yesterday. I knew you'd come." Both my uncle and Larten stared at me for a while and then I realised how odd that statement sounded for someone who just met another. "Ah. . . I'll get you some water!" I scratched my head awkwardly and stormed into the kitchen.

I put one side of my cheek on the kitchen table, sighing. Why did it keep happening? It seemed like something was poking on my brain, asking to come through whenever I saw him. A second later, the kitchen door was swung open, and closed again. "Darren, do you feel it too?"

"What?"

"That we had met months, months, ages ago." He put his right hand on his chest, eyes closed when he said that. "I can feel it whenever you are in trouble and I always fidget uneasily whenever that emotion overflowed through my body. It was my brain telling me that I have to protect you."

Both of us laughed humourlessly. I stole a glance across his smooth face and straightaway felt that something was missing. But, I pushed that thinking aside. "Um, so what was wrong with me yesterday? Why didn't you tell Gavner the reason?"

"Well. . ." He began. "It was a poison needle on your finger," I winced as yesterday's memory of me rummaging through my bag struck me. "It was not that strong, but enough to put you into a deep slumber for at least a week. As for why I did not tell Gavner, I do not know why either."

I clenched my fists and grinded my teeth against each other. Yesterday, my hand came in contact with a sharp something before I withdrew it, feeling nausea, vomiting all over the floor and finally collapsed. If I had to pick out of a thousand of criminals from the Alcatraz, I wouldn't even waste a second thinking that the culprit was Steve Leonard. "I think I might have one thing or two to sort out tomorrow at school."

"Was it someone you know?" He asked firmly. When I looked at his emerald eyes, I could only see concern inside. I paused for a few seconds, trying to get my brain to tell me who that person was. Larten curled his lips and raised one of his eyebrows, questioning the awkward silence happening.

"Oh, yes. I can't be more certain." I muttered, turning my back.

"Darren, please do not–"

"You guys take ages to get drinks," Gavner pushed the door to the kitchen opened roughly. "Are you guys talking about important stuffs without me?" He frowned and wrinkled his lips. "Normal people wouldn't close the door to get drinks."

"Oh, about that. . ." Larten looked at him. "Sorry. I forgot you still have your common sense. Had I known that earlier, I would just open the door and whisper."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Both Gavner and Larten exchanged soft chuckles before they walked out of the kitchen without anything more to say to me. I tilted my head while staring at their backs.

What was Larten about to say to me?

xx

Later in the day, Larten excused himself as he had to go somewhere else. He and Gavner fist-fived each other, just like normal teen guys would do and that kind of thinking made me chuckle.

He shot a faint smile towards me, saying, "Take care, Darren,"

"You too," I returned his smile and a second later, I could see his back, being further and further away from me, before he disappeared in the end of the road.

"Oi, how long are you going to stare?" Gavner patted me firmly on my right shoulder and I let out a small chuckle. "I'll write you an absent note, let's go inside." Being with Gavner was not enough to clear my head that was full of graffiti. I wanted to tell him how much I desired to sign out from the school but, he would just ask for the reason, so I didn't. "You like the school so far?"

Fuck no. "Yeah, it was okay," I said, keeping my attention to the TV program that was on that time. It wasn't that interesting or anything. I just needed something to pretend to focus on while plotting my ultimate plan of killing Steve, you know. So, what is the best thing to do once I face him tomorrow? Should I spit on his face or just stab him from the back?

"You look like you're deep in thought. The program's not that interesting."

"It is. What are you talking about?" I denied but regretted it straightaway when I realised that I was watching Teletubbies. "I mean, isn't it like interesting, to see. . . to see. . . these creepy dolls projecting films from their tummies?"

Gavner laughed out loud after he heard my response. "I think I'm starting to like your sense of humour, Darren."

"You should."

He chuckled and I gave him the remote, the full right to change the program. We spent the rest of the night just chatting casually with each other.

xx

"You look horrible," The female in front of me said. She was slim and her skin was dark, her silky black hair fell nicely on her shoulder. Without any further comment, he grabbed me softly by my arm, to guide me to a mirror.

In the mirror, I could see myself, looking dirty and unkempt. My eyes were red and underneath it were eyebags. Obviously, I had not been sleeping well.

"I'm sure he won't be too happy looking at you like this."

In the next second, just in the mirror, I could see a drop of tear fell from my eye, being followed by another and another, until I finally burst into tears in the female's embrace. I covered my face with my hands, whispered: "Even in death, may you be triumphant. . ."

xx

My eyes snapped open in a heartbeat just to felt the moisture on my cheeks. Hesitantly, I touched them with my hands and found out that I had been crying inside my sleep. "Who was that. . ." I narrowed my eyes. With my right hand, I clutched the clothing covering left side of my chest and I could feel that my heart was racing.

I was silent for a while that all I could hear was the ticking of the clock and my breath. The dream was so frightening because the sorrow felt so real and familiar inside my head.

I landed both of my feet on the soft carpet, slowly walking to the door. It was one in the morning and I was pretty sure Gavner should be snoring by then. Decided to get some water to drink, I creaked the door open before I went outside.

"Darren?" The familiar brunette looked at me in surprise, was holding on to the cordless phone on his right ear. "Ah yeah, it's Darren. You wanna talk to him? What no, I didn't wake him up, he just appeared like that. Alright, alright, hold on." My uncle finished, handing the phone to me. "It's Larten."

"Um, hello. . ."

"Darren, are you feeling better now?" The familiar voice echoed on my eardrums.

"Yeah, way better. At least I don't feel like vomiting anymore."

"Thank goodness." He said it and he meant it. I could hear it from the tone he was using. "I just have a twisted feeling inside my stomach and I thought something bad was happening."

"Well, I had a weird dream," I paused. The silence told me that Larten wanted me to tell the 'weird dream' to him. "This dark-skinned female was talking about how horrible I looked and suddenly I cried, saying 'even in death may you be triumphant'. When I woke up, my cheeks were wet. And then I thought I'm going to get some drinks but then, Gavner was already here."

"Is that so. . ." Larten whispered. "Well then, just get to bed again. You will need some strength for tomorrow."

As much as I wanted to deny it, I knew he was right. I would need the strength to spit something bad to Steve's face and to be involved in a fist fight with him. "Kay," I muttered, giving the phone back to Gavner. In the sudden mess of my brain, I could think of nothing but bed.

"I thought you're gonna have some drinks?" Gavner asked, but I was too distracted to actually reply, not to mention to get back and have some drinks. So, I just went back up the stairs again and smashed the door closed before I jumped for the bed, burying my face on the squishy pillow.

What did I ever do to him to make him hate me so much? The fact that I hurt him? Well, it was his problem to begin with, by tripping me in the corridor, embarrassing me in front of the others. And then, he just poured cold water all over me, how could anyone not be upset at that stage? A counter attack after was just foreseeable. Yet, he just muttered the word 'you'll regret it' as easy as flipping your palm. What the hell?

I was pretty sure that Steve would try and deny the fact that he put the needle inside my bag. But the other half of me thought that he would smirk and taunt me even more. What should I do if he would actually do that? I had no experience in combat and Steve looked like the type to beat everyone he dislikes into pulp, both physically and mentally. And at this point, I was a hundred percent certain that he loathed me.

As much as I wanted to tell the teachers all about the event, I just couldn't. It might be my pride was in the way; the fact that I didn't want Steve to call me a coward by running away from my own problem, letting the teachers handle it for me. He might get expelled by doing this type of bullying to me. However, I was sure that he would try and get back on me, somehow. And I had the feeling that it would be much more worse. Much more painful. Much more sinister.

But the next day at school, I got the information that Steve was absent, because of poisoning.