"You're so cold, keep your hand in mine. Wise men wonder while strong men die"
- Breaking Benjamin.
Chapter 9: So Cold.
It was well known to mankind that the districts of the Maria wall and its interiors were the holders of the lower class title. Most people can only aspire to be street traders or peasants.
In each district there were only 5 schools, of which at most two were worthwhile and these were paid, the product of the philanthropy of some inner millionaire; although not too philanthropic, because the enrollment, although by the standards of the interior was a pittance, for the citizens of Maria it was almost half the land of those who earned decently.
This made most of the parents choose not to care that their children had an education, teaching them to plow the land or any family occupation, and in extreme cases they pointed them in the army.
In Shiganshina, a little white-haired boy, whose curiosity was enormous, had dreamed for as long as he could remember going to school. His loving parents tried to educate him at home with their basic knowledge of science, math, history, and so on, but they were not experts and books, while helpful, did not satisfy the child's thirst for knowledge.
Faraday Furorem was a kind and polite child, he hardly ever left his house since he was very shy and had no friends; practically his only friends were his parents and his books.
At the age of five, the little white-haired boy received an unexpected visit from a man whose existence he did not know until that day.
"Faraday darling, can you go to your room while your father and I attend to an issue?" Gaia Furorem, a woman in her 30s, asked gently; gray hair, blue eyes, slim and small figure (1.65 meters). The little boy, devoted to his parents, go to the room without question.
But Faraday was a very curious and clever boy.
Through his door he heard his parents talking to a man whose voice he did not recognize. The minutes passed and his father, Michael Furorem, sometimes raised his voice only to lower it almost instantly.
However, when the little boy heard his father cry out in despair, he could not help but come to his father's "aid".
Out there he saw them. His mother was sitting looking sadly, his father (black hair, blue eyes, 1.73 meters) had a look of frustration, and lastly there was that man: he was bedridden in a wheelchair, his hair was black like his own father (with some gray hair) although his hairstyle was funny, as well as his eyebrows that were very bushy, and his eyes were light blue; the man looked old, close to 60 years old. The expression on the man's face was one of regret.
"Daddy?"
The three adults noticed that the child was there, somewhat self-conscious, looking with concern at the situation that was developing in front of him.
"My love, I told you to wait in your room." Gaia scolded affectionately, approaching her son.
"I just heard Daddy yell… Is that man bothering you?" The blue-eyed asked innocently. This man was staring at the boy, his eyes shining and a longing expression on his face. Michael sighed.
"No, son… Do you remember I told you a while ago that your grandfather had an older brother?" The man asked, kneeling in front of his offspring.
"Yeah, but you said he was in heaven like all my grandparents." The white-haired man said, confused. Michael looked away a little.
"Well, son... I lied to you..." The black-haired man nervously confessed, his wife and he had always taught their son the value of honesty.
"It's wrong to lie, daddy." The little boy scolded with a little frown, although he looked more adorable than angry. Faraday then looked at the man.
"You guys…?" The white-haired man did not want to finish asking. He had always wanted to meet his grandparents, but they had all died before or shortly after Faraday was born; Knowing that one, even if technically his great-uncle, was alive, deluded the eyebrow.
"Yes, Faraday… Gai Furorem is my name… I'm your great-uncle." Said the black-haired man, excited to see his beloved grandson, because he had not seen him since he was a baby due to conflicts he had with his nephew.
"Grandpa!"
Faraday ran to his newfound familiar and threw himself into his arms. Gai was surprised at first, but then he wrapped his grandson in his arms; the dark haired was almost crying.
Michael and Gaia watched the scene smiling, they had been wrong to deny Faraday to meet the last member of his family; They had both vowed to give their son the life he deserved and more, the conflicts of the past no longer mattered.
Gai stayed at the Furorem house for two weeks, where he lived almost 24/7 with his grandson, getting to know him better and being surprised by how dedicated he was to learning; Then Gai discovered that the white-haired man wanted to attend school, but that he understood that his parents could not pay all the tuition.
One night, while Faraday slept, the three adults were having tea in the kitchen. The last two weeks had also been for Gai to try to regain lost ties with his nephew, in addition to meeting his gracious wife.
"Faraday is an amazing kid. You two have done the best job with him." The older black-haired man sincerely praised.
"Thanks, Uncle. It has been difficult with this economy, but we have tried to instill important values in him so he will grow in the best way." Michael said smiling.
"That's the attitude, Michael. Today people no longer give importance to virtues, I understand that the world is full of cruelty, but amid so much despair it is always essential to maintain hope." The old man said with a big smile.
"Very nice words, Mr. Gai." The woman of the house said smiling.
"Faraday told me that he wanted to go to school ..." the old man started after a couple of minutes of casual chat.
"Yes, but here in Shiganshina there is only one school that is worth it, and the truth is that we do not want to send him to public schools, you know what they say about them ..." The lesser blue-eyed said sadly.
"I can help you with 80% of the tuition. I already did the math." The old man suddenly blurted out, causing the spouses to be surprised.
"Oh, Uncle Gai, no, I would be very embarrassed…" The black-haired man said nervously, making Gai laugh.
"Shame? I used to change your diapers when my brother passed out from the smell. We are family, boy, no commitment; I just want the best for my grandson." The man commented with his smile. Gaia laughed at the diaper anecdote while Michael blushed.
"Are you sure Uncle?" The man asked him.
"Sure, I am an invalid retired from the army, I live in the mountains; I spend most of my pension on buying old books, the only major expense that is a necessity is my driver. In fact, I could pay all the tuition, but something tells me you'd be too proud to accept it. " At the older man's words, Michael smiled.
And so the next day Faraday was given the news that he would start attending the best school in the district. The white-haired man hugged the three adults so many times that they lost count.
Gai left the money with his nephew, saying that he had to go home since he couldn't leave her alone that long. Faraday was sad, but Gai promised him that next time he would take him to see his house, to which Faraday nodded excitedly.
Faraday's first day of school arrived, and his parents accompanied him. They presented the documents at the entrance and a soldier from the military police led them to the director's office. The establishment was quite large compared to the rest of the houses and places of Shiganshina, you could tell that an indoor one had placed his hand there.
"Ah, you must be Faraday, nice to meet you, boy." A man with the appearance of an aristocrat greeted, somewhat obese, but with an apparently friendly face. Faraday shook his hand politely.
"I must say that you have surprised all the staff, my boy. You got a perfect score in your evaluation test, and that you are only 5 years old. At your age you normally enter the first of a total of 7 grades, but with your You can advance to third grade if you wish. You have done an excellent job with him, Mr. and Mrs. Furorem. " The man reported.
Gaia and Michael were somewhat undecided about whether to make their son skip classes, he was already quite shy and could get overwhelmed; they proceeded to ask him what he wanted.
"If I enter third grade I will learn more new things than if I entered first grade, right sir?" He asked the director, who nodded. Faraday had made his decision.
The man signed a few documents and gave him a piece of paper along with the number of the room they should take the white-haired man to right now.
"Class, I am pleased to inform you that today we have a new student. He got a perfect score on his entrance tests so despite his age he was allowed to advance directly to third. Say your name to everyone, dear."
Faraday looked at the students. There were about 15 in total, they ranged from 7 to 9 years old; He could see that up back there was a group of three who had quite arrogant expressions.
"My name is Faraday Furorem, it is a pleasure to meet you." The boy politely introduced himself, making the girls think how cute he was.
His first block passed normally. He gave mathematics, history, and geography; The teachers quickly realized their potential, since wanting to expose the youngest in the class, they asked him somewhat complicated questions; Faraday, although shy, answered correctly.
Up to this point everything seemed to be going very well.
But you are always in the red with life.
"Wow, so he's the genius kid. Hey, brainiac, have you drunk your little knowledge milk yet?"
An 8-year-old boy named Conan had approached the little white-haired man, who was eating only the lunch his mother had made for him; the boy Conan was blond and with blue eyes, he was accompanied by two others that are not worth describing since they are like puppets.
"I don't drink milk. It's juice that I drink." The blue-eyed replied politely, somewhat nervous at the intimidating presence of the older boy. Conan just looked at him strangely.
"Juice? What juice? Ah, this juice." The blond snatched the bottle with the juice from him and drank it quickly before the confused gaze of the blue-eye; in the end Conan burped close to the little boy's face.
"Excuse me, but that was my juice… My mommy did it to me." The little one reproached him. Conan laughed and the other two monkeys followed suit.
"My mommy did." The blonde snapped in a mocking tone. Then he stopped laughing and put his hands abruptly on the little boy's table, startling him a little.
"Listen to me, genius dwarf. Since you're so clever, I suppose you won't have a problem doing all my homework and theirs too. You don't have a problem with it, do you?" Conan said approaching the face of the blue-eyed, who could barely respond due to how nervous he was. Conan left laughing along with his two slaves.
For the rest of the day Faraday was somewhat distracted, although he did not stop responding in class.
When his parents asked him how his day had been, the white-haired man dismissed that bad event and began to talk excitedly about everything he had learned.
As time went on, things got worse for Faraday. Conan was serious when he said he was going to have him do his homework; Faraday thought it wouldn't be so bad considering they were in the same room and it was just a matter of doing the same thing four times with slight differences so as not to fall into plagiarism. However, Conan had no more and no less than 2 months of overdue assignments, which included book summaries, workshops, essays, etc. When Faraday wanted to make the boy see that it was too much work, he responded by stamping his lunch in his face and taking it by the neck while threatening to knock out his teeth if he did not comply.
Faraday had to exert himself and sleep very, very little to finish everything, to the point where his parents became concerned and asked him about the exorbitant amount of homework. The white-haired man excused himself saying that the teachers were very demanding, but that they wouldn't worry because he loved to do his homework.
At first Faraday tried to take it on the positive side; Doing the homework for those three bums helped him go over the topics in class several times. However, everything was going to get worse.
Faraday had already been doing their homework for three months, sleeping just a bit and hardly eating, trying to hide his condition from his parents. He knew they and Grandpa were going out of their way to give him the study and he wasn't going to miss out on just a trio of idiots.
Tiredness got the better of him, and one day when an important essay had to be delivered, he couldn't finish Conan and his monkeys.
That day Faraday knew the empirical cruelty of the world. He only knew that the world was harsh due to his knowledge of the Titans, but they were on the other side of the wall; the poor little boy was unaware that within the walls there were also demons.
At the exit of that day Faraday was intercepted by Conan and his idiots; They took him to a nearby alley where he was beaten, kicked and spat; the little white-haired boy only covered himself as best he could from the hits while he tried to hold back the tears.
That day, Gai was visiting, and he found himself with the horrible surprise of seeing his grandson arrive bruised and with injuries all over his body. The three adults were shocked, but Faraday told them that he had been a thief who wanted to take his money by being an easy target. His parents and Gai didn't believe him.
Michael and Gaia went to talk to the principal about the possible mistreatment their son was receiving, but the principal assured them that at school all the students were extremely disciplined and that they should take their son's word for it, after all there was a lot of insecurity in the streets. From that day on, Gaia and Michael took turns picking up their son from school every day.
But that didn't save Faraday from everything he had to endure.
Psychological and physical abuse by Conan and his lap dogs; at all times, in all places (unless an adult is present); Conan was king from first to fourth grade, even going so far as to beat a 10-year-old boy in a fight. No one dared challenge him, and the fifth-graders were not in the least interested in the little ones.
Faraday was totally at the mercy. The little boy did not understand why they were like this with him, he only wanted to learn new things, he did not want to hurt anyone.
Michael and Gaia watched their little sunshine grow dimmer every day. Desperate, they turned to Gai, the master of motivation par excellence, for help.
The mid-year holidays arrived and Faraday went to visit his uncle at his house, which was in a beautiful paramo next to a forest inside Wall Maria.
"Faraday… what are their names?" The old man suddenly asked. They were both taking a walk in the woods. Faraday looked at his grandfather.
"What names, grandpa?" The white-haired boy asked softly.
"The names of those who beat you."
Faraday stopped suddenly, a frightened expression set on his face.
"No… Nobody does anything to me, grandpa…" Stuttered the little boy. Gai smiled sadly.
"My grandson, there is no shame in admitting sorrows to a loved one; we are family, and the family helps each other." He said with a big smile, trying to make his grandson feel comfortable.
"It's just… I'm scared…" Admitted the lightblue-eyed, with a broken voice. Gai walked over to his grandson and hugged him.
"Fear is for the brave, Faraday ... Anyone can boast of courage, but few admit their weaknesses. Now, you must not let fear consume you, dear grandson, you must face it head-on." Motivated the old black-haired man. Faraday clung to his grandfather.
"But I can't… they are bigger and stronger than me."
Gai pulled his grandson away slightly, to look him in the eye.
"Then become stronger, my grandson. Don't let fear dominate you, because if fear dominates you then you will be weak, but if you overcome your fears then with much effort you will be able to surpass those who use their natural strength to frighten the weak." He said with a good boy smile.
"So… I shouldn't be afraid?" The little one asked.
"No, Faraday, we will always be afraid of something; it is part of us. We must control the fear. Remember, Faraday, any feeling, no matter how negative, can be the greatest motivator to be better every day."
Faraday looked at his grandfather admiringly.
"And how do I do that, grandpa?" He asked anxiously.
"My grandson, it is time for me to teach you the way of honor and effort."
The two months that the vacation lasted, Gai trained his grandson physically and mentally. The old man soon realized that Faraday was a prodigy in terms of psychological qualities, since he understood his teachings on honor, courtesy, compassion and so on; although of course, he was already prepared given the good education of Michael and Gaia.
"Grandpa, if this is the right way to live, then why are there bad people in the world?" The white-haired boy asked seriously.
"Because, my grandson, in this world it is easier to follow the path of corruption than the path of honor; the human being tends to let its inner animal dominate it and forgets everything that differentiates us from wild are many bad people in the world, Faraday, but remember that a good person always makes a difference."
One day, on the way home, Gai and Faraday came across a small bird with a broken wing, at the mercy of predators. Faraday, moved by his innocence, wanted to help him and Gai supported him. However, when they were at home taking care of the little bird, a question came to the little one's mind.
"Grandpa… why do we help?"
"Mm, what do you mean, dear grandson?" Gai really didn't understand the question.
"When I see someone who needs help, I feel the need to help; and in the streets I have seen how people help weak elderly people to walk; and when in my class a child cries the adults help. However, I have seen people doing harm to others, stealing, making fun… So, I don't understand, why help? "
"Faraday, if you can do something for someone, you have an obligation to do it ... Because if you don't do it, something bad happens, then it's your fault. Compassion and empathy are virtues that put human beings above other species, but sadly they are overshadowed by the cruelty of those who are more beasts than men. However, the fact that there are human beings who want to be beasts, does not mean that you should let them corrupt you; my grandson, you can always choose to do what is right."
While the philosophical teachings were going from strength to strength, the physical training was not going very well; Faraday lacked dexterity and strength, his speed was poor; after a month of training He had barely advanced.
"This is impossible, grandpa ... I can't do it..." Faraday said, panting. Gai looked seriously at his grandson.
"Faraday, that word, do not say it again; erase it from your dictionary, from your mind, from your life. The impossible is only conditioned by the mind, my grandson; there is no impossible when the mind is strong." He said fiercely to his grandson, who saw him undecided.
"But, Grandpa, in just three hours I have been able to do 15 sit-ups and I am exhausted."
"So do 30 sit-ups in 1 hour and a half." The black-haired man told him, making Faraday look at him confused.
"But, Grandpa, how will I do that if I can't do the other?"
"That is what it is about, my grandson, if you cannot do something then break your limits to be able to do it. Your will is the first engine that you must start, because without that you will be just an empty shell. Do it, train until you are exhausted, train until you can no longer stand up; it will hurt, yes, you will suffer a lot, but when you reach your goal it will all be worth it. Because, let me tell you something dear grandson, hard work is the best of talents. "
"But what if I fail again?" The worried boy asked.
"Why do we fall, Faraday? To learn how to get up." The old man said with a smile.
Faraday listened to his grandfather, and for the next month he pushed himself to the limits and beyond. The results were not exceptional, but he had made much more progress than in the previous month.
It was time to go back to school.
Faraday was confident of his abilities, perhaps too confident.
Conan and his two monkeys went to greet him as soon as there was a chance, demanding that the white-haired boy give them what he had in his pockets. The blue-eyed refused to the surprise of the blond.
"I won't let you bother me anymore." Faraday said.
That day Faraday returned home bloodied, to the horror of his parents.
The lightblue-eyed did not understand, he had tried so hard and had barely been able to do anything to them; they outnumbered him, they were stronger and older than him, and he was arrogant in thinking that with two months of running around the field he could achieve something.
Then he remembered his grandfather's words about effort. If in his current state he couldn't defeat three people, then he would train in such a way that he could defeat six.
And so he did, for more than 4 months he was training until exhaustion while enduring Conan's abuse.
"Getting money from those brats is so easy, I'm even starting to feel sorry. HAHAHAHA!"
Conan scoffed by eating pieces of dried meat along with his dogs; Despite the fact that his family has money, he prefers to take it from others to satisfy his tastes.
Then Faraday appeared in front of them, his expression flat, emotionless, it was neither cold nor hot. Conan and the others laughed, since he was not in the "mood" to give him his due today.
You're always in the red with life, and that doesn't just apply to those who live life with honor; death doesn't discriminate between saints and sinners.
"Faraday, I am very disappointed in you. You are lucky the principal took consideration of your excellent grades or he would have expelled you."
It was the scolding of Gaia and Michael, looking at a white haired boy who did not dare to look at them; his eyes were still dead, but with a hint of confusion.
For many months they beat him, insulted him and the police or nobody appeared to arrest them, but when he went to charge them for what they had done, he received severe punishment.
"Why, grandpa? They have been more than cruel to me, but nobody did anything to them..." Faraday said venting to his grandfather.
"My grandson, I did not teach you martial arts so that you would go and massacre those boys; the fact that you can beat someone does not give you the right to do so. And as for your questioning, Faraday, there is no real reason ... But I can tell you why what you did was wrong. It's okay to defend yourself, but attacking someone who is weaker than you is dishonorable… My grandson, with great power comes great responsibility. "
From that day on, Faraday continued training despite complaints from his parents. He would defend the weak and the helpless, and if the weak is bad then he would only put them in their place with words. As his grandfather told him:
"In times of bullets, dialogue is the best weapon."
Two years after meeting his grandfather, when Faraday was 7 years old, he was visiting his home in the country. The little boy went to wake him up to continue training his Goken style as he had promised.
Faraday never managed to wake him up.
Cardiac arrest, forensic officers said.
Faraday cried for days, and then stopped; he would honor his grandfather by proudly wearing his code of honor.
His grandfather was a knight, and Faraday was his last legacy.
"Faraday!"
"Faraday!"
A sweet voice was the first thing the white-haired man heard when he returned to the world of the living ones; he opened his eyes slowly, adapting to the light, and the first thing he saw was that Angel who had saved him.
"My Savior Angel…" the blue-eyed muttered.
Mikasa blushed when she heard the white-haired man's words, Historia was laughing next to her.
"Aw what a cutie." Said the tender blonde. Faraday put his hand to his head, rubbing it.
"So History, huh? Too bad I couldn't solve the mystery myself." Said the white-haired man, already more awake and seated. Historia smiled with a hint of sadness.
"You and Ymir were the only ones who noticed…" The blonde said.
"Mine was just a hunch, instead Ymir does seem to know something." The boy replied. Then they both felt a chill. Mikasa was looking at them with murderous eyes.
"Oh! Mikasa, don't look at me like that. I would never try to steal your man." The words of History were enough to deactivate the black-haired death mode, making her nervous. Faraday was just smiling nervously.
"How is Ymir? I must thank her, she saved our lives."
Historia sadly pointed to the stretcher where the brunette was.
"Hey, Faraday!" It was Eren accompanied by Armin, going to meet their friend; behind them were Reiner and Berthold with faces of tragedy.
"Alright, it's time to go." Hange interrupted the guys who were talking about how screwed up yesterday had been. Faraday was walking alongside Mikasa, but they both realized that Eren had been left behind with Reiner and Berthold.
"I am the armored titan, and he is the colossal titan."
It was hot, but at that moment he felt very cold.