Title: In the Verge of Darkness
Characters: Alfred, Arthur, Gilbert, Ivan
Rating: T
Summary: Alfred a former Fine Arts student and an out-of-school youth goes to hang out with himself every weekend at the park before going to church. There, he met Arthur, a writer. A guy who seems to know a lot about Alfred (which Alfred doesn't noticed to know in their first meeting)
"Hey, morning!" I greet him.
"Oh, it is you again." He said holding his cup of, what is that, tea? "Good morning, lad."
"What'cha writtin'?" I mumbled through crunching some chips. Yeah, that's my breakfast. I'm not a healthy person, I admit.
"Random ideas. I don't know what to write. I have so many ideas but I don't think those ideas will keep in my mind.
"That happens to me too! I am also fond of writing but I'm not good at it. Another problem is when an idea struck me, just a minute will pass and I will forget about it."
"Such a goldfish. That's bad."
"Yeah! Very bad, so bad that I have to always carry a notepad and a journal so I won't forget things."
"Well, I am surprised you haven't forget about me yet." He scoffed.
"Dude! I can't forget those enormous eyebrows of yours!" I exclaimed.
"Very funny." He frowned.
Oopsie. I just realized what I have just said.
"Since you're having a problem with your ideas, I want to help you. And could you help me too?" I asked.
"Err…sure, why not?" he gazed at me with his emerald eyes, but still, his eyebrows really distracts me so much, I'm glad he's not a girl or that will turn me off of girls for all eternity!
"Okey, I'll give you random ideas, it is up to you how you will sort the sequences or happenings in the story."
"It is like you are using me as a living, walking and talking note/memo pad."
"Haha! That's the point, dude!"
"Fine, let's start then?"
"Let's just say, I'm just sharing stuff with you."
"Uh-huh."
"I have this two friends of mine, the one is Gilbert, he's kinda my best friend and stuff. And the other one is Ivan, he is much taller than me. I met him before Gilbert. Before, those two were best friends in their high school. They're just both lonely, so they stick together all the time. Most of the time. People find Ivan kind of weird while Gilbert doesn't like his usual friends' company, not contented. And his friends think he's awkward too. You know, by befriending a weird person. They understand each other. Well since Ivan knows that Gilbert is an otaku, he drags him to the otaku life, as a cosplayer. Then Gilbert runs away from his other friends because they don't understand him." I took a breath, talking sure is exhausting, huh?
Gilbert felt awesome in the cosplay world. Got blinded by fans. He thought that people there are his friends. Well, some are friends. Ahaha including me! Some…they gave him stress and confused him. Especially when some guy cosplayer butt in in his life. And ivan and his boyfriend encourage that guy to pursue his feelings for Gilbert. That made Gilbert be angry of Ivan and he tried to save his friendship with the guy. But everyone thinks that he is in relationship with the guy and that made the guy be possessive of Gilbert. He got exhausted doing things all over again. He did everything to make the guy to leave his life alone.
After that he got confused if it is the guy he wants to be happy or his self. By the way that guy is his avid fan. Every time that guy say something good at him, Gilbert's level of vainness reached even to me…haha! Kidding! Since Gilbert kind of boast to himself every time he got "fans". So finally, a thought struck him, maybe he is just using that guy as a toy who will always worship him. Though he got closed to the guy, so he made a decision to drive him away so that he won't use and hurt the guy anymore. And he succeeded.
"Be glad I'm a fast writer. I took note all of what you have said." He said, stretching his arms, that earn some crackling sounds.
I pat his head. "Hehe, good boy!"
He slapped my hand. "I am not a dog." He said, giving me a ridiculous look.
"Yeah, yeah. Sure. Whatever the hoolahoop, dude." I laughed.
"Tell me, do you want me to write a story of life out of this?" he asked.
"I don't mind." I said
"How was your church last Sunday?" he asked. Taking a sip in his tea. Really, tea?
"Awesome. The topic's about children and parents. They talked about how we should honor our parents by obeying them joyfully, treat them respectfully and care for them diligently. We must cherish them coz in the end they are the ones who love us the most. They may not say it, sometimes, parents are like "tsundere" too. About children…hm…I like this part. It is about parents who exasperate their children. I mean don't provoke the child to hate you, because in the end they'll be the one to care for you. Haha! And oh! That part is written in the Bible, Ephesians 6:4, "Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord." Just saying the verse so that you won't say I just made it up. You should take note of that so that when you got married and then have children, you'll not alone and lonely anymore!" I slightly slap his back and he sputtered his tea. Oops.
"I'm not alone and lonely!" he exclaimed.
I shrugged. "Whatever you say."
"It is hard for my part to honor my parents." He said putting his tea back to his lap. I never thought that he's the kind of person who opens up to other, especially a stranger.
"Why is that?" I asked.
"MY father is always away from us, doing his job over the Pacific. My mom, she's always freaking out whenever I'm out of her sight. And when I explain things to her, negative thoughts are the things coming to her mind. She never believes in me. My brothers are the worst, they always beat me up without reasons."
"Don't worry. I think they're not the worst family members in the world!" I encouraged.
"Easy for you to say. My two older brothers are my half-brothers. I have a twisted family." He said.
"Don't think like that, at least yours is not a broken family."
"I am better off alone."
"But you are with me, you're not alone!" he looked up to me. Emerald eyes staring straightly at me as if eading me like a book.
"I don't have a family anymore. They're gone." He said emotionless.
"W-what? What happened?" I exclaimed, aghast.
He just looked at me with those now toxic green eyes, full of something that I don't know. It scares me a bit.
"They've been killed on fire. I'm the only survivor." He said grinning at me. I felt like I'm talking to another psychotic person, not the Arthur I know.
"O-oh, I'm sorry then. S-so, how do you live now?" I asked. Argh! Why am I stuttering?
"I live in an apartment by myself."
"Alone?" I asked.
"Yes, my dear."
"So! You're not alone anymore! I, Alfred Jones, the Hero will be your new family! It is settled now! I won't take a "NO" as an answer!" I proclaimed, grasping his hands and shake it as an agreement between us. "I'll be your best friend and brother from now on!"
He blinked and laughed, oh my, I think this is my first time to hear his laugh. Funny, hearing his laugh is like listening to music box. Ugh, I'm bad at comparing things. That's the first thing that came up in my mind.
"Don't you have a family? Siblings? They might get jealous." He said wiping his small tears in the corner of his eyes formed after he laughed.
"My parents are open to my new friends, they are hospitable! They even let Gil sleeps with me in my bed every time he goes to our place to visit me. His place is so far away from us so my dad worries for him if he goes home late at night. They almost let Gil live with us ahhaha!" I can't say the things further than that, saying the fact that I let my best friend sleep with me, for your information, we're both guys. Yeah, you got the idea? Good. I'm not gonna say it! Haha! We're that awesome! But everything ends after, ah, never mind! I'm getting out of topic. "I don't have a brother anymore, he died when I was young. So you could be my new brother?" I asked him, my smile formed a crescent moon shape onto my face.
"You are a fool. You don't know what you got into." He said.
"I don't care, I have a new friend now."
"My dear Alfred, don't you have somewhere to go now? I think it is already time for your church service."
"Oh! Yeah! I almost forgot it. You sure talk like an old lady haha!"
He frowned. "I am not an old lady."
"Yeah, yeah, sure. Wanna come with me?" I asked.
He shrugged and shook his head.
"Okey, maybe next time?" I asked again.
He just smiled at me. "Maybe, my friend."
I stood up and waved my hand to him to say goodbye. Okey, see ya next time!
"My Lord, if You are listening to me, please save my new friend from me. I do not deserve him. Please, my Lord…
… If You really do exist."