The sound of children playing filled the air, laughter, yelling, running around after a ball. Absolutely nothing had changed since he had grown up here. The same lot was used for playing football as he used to when he was young, same houses, different kids. It was easy to tell which of the small paths between them was not used as plants grew wild and tall, creating its own natural gate to keep them out. Far off in the distance, the setting sun bathed the clouds in gold, the silhouette of the Jesus statue's shadow falling down upon the houses of the city.
Nostalgia filled Lúcio's chest; it had been way too long since he had been home. The game went on, he decided to take it easy on the kids since he had been playing football a lot longer than them. Then again, some of these kids were pretty good and he was caught by surprise having underestimated them.
The game was over and the kids started to scatter, running off home when the sun set further. From there he had a long walk home. He was so distracted that he didn't realise just how far he had strayed from where he was staying.
It would have been wiser for him to head back also, while the sun still gave him the safety of its warm light. He started back down from where he had come from, barely recognising the area before coming across some faded graffiti painted on a wall. He recognised that art, but it was hard to tell where he had seen it before. He took a moment to look around and try to get a grip on the area he found himself in.
There was definitely something familiar, though it felt like a lifetime ago. Memories flooded his mind, halting his journey to where he was staying as he took another path. He did recognise this area certainly, he used to pass by here when he was young. It was a path he had taken before all of his fame and freedom fighting. He'd been just a kid, running along the streets, between close standing houses, through overgrown grass - running just because he wanted to - running because he could.
It was amazing how much a human could remember, no matter the time that had passed. It was as if his feet remembered the path better than he could . Before he had a chance to think about it, his feet were moving as if on their own. Familiar noises filled his ears as he raced through the streets, only stopping when he came to a very tall wall. If his memories weren't deceiving him, he could remember himself as a small kid crawling through a large crack in this wall. Even after he had outgrown that crack, he remembered there had been a tree he could climb somewhere nearby. It looked as though the tree had been removed by some force, perhaps a strong storm or maybe by the richer people who lived on the other side of the wall.
Regardless of how the path was blocked, he had the urge to follow it still. It was almost as though he were chasing after himself, the ghost of his childhood. A much smaller boy, a child, that ran ahead of him, showing him the way. Lúcio backed away from the wall, looking around before deciding on how he would get through. Up and over. A few hops, a skate, a short fall and he was over the wall and back on his way.
Before he got very far, a simple glance to the side made him slide to a stop. He knew this place. This little hill was where he would hide out with some kind of sweet treat when he was young, usually with a friend. It took Lúcio a moment to start moving again. For some reason, the thoughts of his past were getting to him. It felt like he could stand there for hours, just thinking about those days.
In the oncoming darkness, he could see the shadows of his past moving without him, running down the path and growing. A child barely ten ran along the tall grass, growing into a thirteen year old causing a little trouble further down the path. Soon it became a wild fifteen-year-old who found high spirit in music. He chased after the shadows as fast as he could muster. It felt like mere seconds passed before he had to stop again.
The shadows of his memory faded when he stopped moving. Dead ahead was a tall wall, the other side was now in front of him. His past failed to give him an answer. Had it been too long since he had taken this path? He got himself in there, now it was time to get himself back out. This time, fate had it that part of the wall was starting to crumble, enough that it only took one wallride to get over. He definitely remembered when the wall stood tall and the plants could only hope to grasp the top. Now those plants spilled through the cracks of the wall like a river made of leaves and pretty blossoms, grasping the ground and pulling themselves through in all directions.
As entrancing as it was to stand there and reminisce about his past, he was running out of daylight. Lúcio turned his back to the wall, skating down the old road. Outside of those walls, the houses were crumbling and vacant. Where people had once lived, people he had seen often, none of them resided any longer.
His pace slowed down to observe the abandoned homes and the plants overtaking them. So much had changed since he had left. He let out a small sigh and continued his journey. The edge of the forest had become visible at this point, his adventure down this path was steadily coming to an end.
He passed by all those buildings, feeling sorrow as the area grew smaller and the forest closed in around him. It felt like no one lived around here anymore. He knew someone probably still did, but as the world began to still, it almost felt like the only thing out here was the forest.
Eventually, the ghosts he was following lead him back to where it had all started, to the very last house before the forest had taken over the land. It had been abandoned for so long that by now it barely clung to existence. He remembered the friend who had shown it to him, who thought it would be a great hideout. It was where he first started to get into music, stashing snacks inside, laughing and making jokes with friends he no longer had any contact with. Nature was reclaiming it more than any other house he had passed so far.
The roof had since caved in from the last time he visited, but when he entered, he found it held a beautiful secret. Beyond those crumbling walls a tree was growing through the cracked floor. Upon the tree and scattered all over the ground, even a few on it, orchids had taken root. Among the ground, begonia had also chosen this place as their home. Somehow, this old hut had become the perfect place for those delicate flowers to grow.
Lúcio didn't dare step inside, simply stood at the entrance and gazed upon the ecosystem that grew within the four walls of this house, enamoured by the sight. The flowers marked a very special place in Lúcio's past. This place, that had been the only one that gave him the privacy he needed to begin his music career before anyone had ever heard it. A place where he honed his skills as a musician. This place was better left untouched; it was no longer a place he wanted to disturb.
A small smile graced his features as he thought about the flowers and it grew as he turned to leave. He needed to get back to where he was staying before it got too late.