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Chapter 7 - Chapter 7 – This Distinct Sadness That Hung In His Shoulder

Josef sighed as he glared at the back of Lucad as he head out of their restaurant. *What a prick he is,* he thought. He shook his head in disdain. He turned to leave and was about to head out to the convenience store when he caught his father staring at him.

"What was that?" he asked, staring at thr exit.

Josef looked back at the lonely restaurant and stared at his father. "He said something came up and that he had to leave," he lied.

Paul observed him, Josef felt uncomfortable at the way he scrutinized him. He nooded, "please be in the register of store for this day."

He walked towards the convenience store and was immediately annoyed at the sound of voices coming inside.

*When would they stop!* he thought in gritted teeth. *They been at each other's throat since morning!*

Hearing them, he suddenly felt at loss—he missed Nita's house. Josef had always love the quietness of Nita's house. Especially in the early mornings where he could hear the sound of waving bamboo leaves that had come from her small garden. The sound of occasional motorcycle that passed on their small street... just thinking about it was enough for him to feel a sense of longing and ache. He could always go back on that house, after all Nita had given it to him before she died. But Josef was here, because of his whim about loneliness.

He smiled as he touch the handle of the door. *It's better this way cause I know what would happen if I still choose to stay on that house. The loneliness, and creeping sadness would slowly eat me.*

But now his depression had turned in to annoyance, when earlier this morning, he was woke up by the sound of shouting from downstairs. It was a mother and son conflict, that turned into an exchanged of curses and conversation about ungratefulness. How Enilia raised Noah, and how could he do this to her?

She called Noah a son of a bitch, and Lucas in his state of half-awakeness and annoyance felt like something was wrong on that sentence.

Josef didn't exactly know what cause that early ruckus he had experienced. But it was enough to destoy his spirit for the day. *Seriously, how could they brought this fight here in the shop?*

He opened the door, and casually walked towards the register and stood there. Stoically and unwilling to spare a glance to the two. Lian was beside him. He looked at her and was surprised that the child was already staring at him.

Lian has this distinct creepy eyes that look so emotionless. She was eight, and the fact that Josef never heard him spoke anything had caused him worry and curiousness. Her eyes spoke of curiosity in a very weird way.

*Was it trauma or something? I remember a classmate back then who had witnessed his father shot in front of his eyes. It had caused him not to talk for almost two months and the time that he had, he just cried helplessly calling his father's name.* Lucas remembered that memory, how that boy was just in his front. How this certain topic in literature had ultimately destoryed the shell that covered him for so long. He could never forget that memory. At that time, Lucas was sixth grade and was not as rebellious as he was right now. He was sitting near the window when his classmate cried, it started with stiff sniffing up until it ended in a full blown cry. 

*It's a very tragic scene to watch. Though despite of finally being able yo speak and cry, he doesn't turned back to normal. He had this distinct loneliness that hung in his shoulder. As if he was about to cry at any moment.*

Looking at Lian, he wondered if it was also the same. He noticed that the girl was looking at something in the candy stand in the store. He moved his hands towards it and open the case and get one. The girl looked at it. Lucas teared it open and gave the girl a candy.

She bite on it and looked up, "thank you."

Josef felt like sighing after hearing the girl spoke for the first time since yesterday. He looked up and saw that the fighting was still going. The bell rang, a customer entered but immediately pulled back on the sight of the two bickering in the side.

*Would we even get a customer for this day?* he thought helplessly.

He sat on a chair, and decided to snatched one of the magazine there. Josef continued to read on it as he patiently wait for his first customer.

Surprisingly, afternoon had been busy. He saw to a lot of customers. Emilia took his place when she realized that it would be useless to scold her son. She was giving Josef some glances as if he was a thief. He didn't have the energy to be angry on it, because he already felt so drained. He felt as if he had gone too a long bus trip.

Josef stood around arranging things in the store or sitting in the bench reading the magazine. He decided that he would be taking a book tomorrow to read so he wouldn't get bored this afternoon.

Later that afternoon, his father entered the store and dragged the two of them out to help in serving in the restaurant. This time Josef had made sure to sighed and calm his self, he didn't want to scared off a customer this time

"Why are you sighing? Are you scared of people?" Noah asked on his side.

"I'm calming myself," he said.

Noah looked over him. Josef didn't like that a bit. "Yeah you need that, you have an air of superiority in you. In this city that kind of air is troublesome."

Josef smiled mischievously, knowing that almost all of he met had told him so.

There wasn't much customer that time. Paul told him that they could pull out before two in the afternoon. But Josef thought that it would be not much to his liking since he doesn't have anything else to do. In that moment, he hoped the class would opene right now at that moment. But of course it was a foolish wish.

"Noah, you could give Josef a tour to the school," his father suggested 

Josef was about to raise a concern about it when Noah agreed on it enthusiastically. Josef sighed. And wondered how this school would look like.

*What's there to be excited they're all the same.*