He brought his attention back to the bin and opened up the lid. Surprisingly the papers didn't shift that much so they were in the same organization as before. He took the first few pages out and examined them. They had Arabic numerals on the top right corner in a neat font and the writing was in the same language as his. (The explosion was not that long ago and people survived so the language would continue to exist.) The handwriting was quite nice and neat as well. Hanc's vision wasn't the best so he brought the paper a little closer to his face. He sat down on his gray carpet in the middle of his compound, brought his eyes to the beginning, and began to read.
4 April 104,834,601 NCM
Page 1
Nothing much happened today. I think I should start a diary, which would be nice. It's really late outside and the sunset was beautiful tonight. Today was not really eventful. But then again, it is the same every day. I went to school, came home, did my work, went to Elder Vörður's hut, ate dinner, and I am now writing in this diary. I follow the same schedule each day which is a bit boring. I don't really mind though.
School was alright today. I didn't learn much and the day was more like a blur for me. There were two points of clarity. Lunch was one of them. Tame, meaning "broken," or "no good" ate lunch with me and one of my best friends Xi, meaning "light of day". Tame does not like me for reasons that are unknown to me; but yet she clings to my friends and tries to pull them away from me. It makes me feel numb and hallow inside. I used to care but not I ignore and pay attention to other things. Another was Shiro Inochi's behavior; shiro means "white" and inochi means "life". He is my brother and another best friend of mine. Usually I know what is going on inside his head but today I couldn't figure it out. He was much quieter, less energetic, and less clingy. It was a bit scary to me because I have never seen him act like this before. But, not really my job to look into it.
I went to Elder Vorour's hut today. (His name is just Vorour but because he is so old we put the title "Elder" in front of his name for respect.) I am amazed that the old man is still alive. He is one of the oldest men alive who is not a reborn. I keep forgetting his age and I always ask him for it. ->
Hanc followed the arrow, which led to the backside of the paper. He continued to read.
Page 2
He claims that he was born in 1930 BNE but I think me and his son, Kim, believe him. I believe him because the man rarely lies. When his wife Qian, meaning "secret" was living, apparently Elder V (my nickname for Vörður since it is shorter and easier to write) used to lie a lot. But after her passing in the year 2090 BNE, he stopped lying and started to live. (This is what he told me; he trusts me well-enough to say such things to me.)
From what Kim has told me and from what Elder V has mentioned, Qian was a very quiet and reserved; she was known as the Secret's Keeper. She got this name because she never revealed anything about herself to anyone; even her husband or close friends. Whenever V (he was not an elder when she was alive) would ask about her personal life, she would shut him out and remain silent for days. When she passed away, her secrets died with her and so did her life.
The page ended mid-way down and Hanc wondered if there was more. Unfortunately, it was late and as he looked through the small window and saw the sun begin to set.