In the morning, Melo was awoken by the smell of bacon, ham, eggs, and hot chocolate. He felt excited that he got to bond with his parents two times in a row and he hoped that they would bond this way more often than eating together in silence. He crawled his way out of the tent and went straight to the table prepared by the maids. He looked up and could see a glimpse of his parents on the second floor. They are probably still not done with the plans for the living area. Did I outdo it too much? He thought for a while. He was about to ask Nanny but he could not see Nanny anywhere near.
"Ahm. Anne." He said, clearing his throat before he spoke. "Where is Nanny?" He asked
"Young master Mrs. Hearty is upstairs helping with the renovations. Would you like me to call on her?" Anne replied.
Melo shook his head in disapproval and went on eating breakfast. As he took one more glance at the window, he saw his dad catching a glimpse of him. He waved at his dad while his dad pointed at his watch and back at him, signaling that he would be with him in a minute. Melo nodded in response and continued eating his favorite honey glazed bacon.
Shortly after, as his father promised, he went to Melo. "Well, son, it looks like it will take 3 more days before you can use your room. Would you like to share a room with us for a couple of days?" His father asked.
*Who wouldn't want to!* He thought screaming in his head out of excitement but he didn't show it in his face. Instead, he took his time to answer, making it seem as if he was out of options.
"Ahm, well, are there any other options? It's just for a couple of days, right? Yeah, sure. Thanks for offering, Dad. I thought I'll be camping outside for three days." He answered.
"Alrighty, then. I'll have the room ready. And, be ready at 10 'cause we'll head out to the city. Okay?" His dad extended his pointing fingers and made gun noises.
At some point, Melo was getting mixed emotions with how his parents were reacting. A part of him felt everything was surreal but as a kid still hungry for affection and attention, a part of him was enjoying the events happening and was rationalizing that the probable cause of them being cold yesterday was due to their hectic schedules at work. And that it was a needed sacrifice in order for today to happen or to maintain the comfort that they were enjoying in this lifetime.
The family headed out for the city but instead of their state of the art modern car, they rolled out with their 4x4 old model grey pick up truck. Melo asked his dad if he could open the windows on their way to the city. His dad approved given that he had to close them once they reached the gates of Dychophalm. Melo smiled and nodded in compliance. Since his memory is vague, he has little to no memory of what awaits beyond the gates of Juende.
As they drove past the gates of town, he could already see the wide green pastures surrounded by wooden fences and barbed wires. His mother called his attention and pointed on the right side of the road to show a foal and its mother beside her young one, teaching it to learn how to gallop. They passed along layers of flowering trees that seemed like tunnels with their vibrantly colored flower petals falling gracefully with the wind like rain drops. The sidewalks were covered with piles and piles of pink, red, yellow flowers and leaves while elders sat on benches, feeding birds with crumbs. Couples jogging synchronously with the minute hands of the clock. Families spending their precious time with their kids. Melo asked her parents if we could go there sometime and they easily agreed.
Since it was a long ride up the city, Melo felt his eyes were strained and tired so he took a short nap. Not long after, he felt as if he was being dragged by an unseen force into a white room. He could smell the scent of sanitizer. He walked on the endless white walls and saw a metallic bed the same with the ones that can be seen in hospitals. He walked towards it and saw a man probably in his 20's or so lying almost lifeless, relying on the apparatuses connected with its body. He came closer to the man and accidentally touched its toes. He felt it twitch. He walked around his bed, examining carefully the features of the man.
*I think I've seen him before, but where?* He thought. The man had brown hair and tan skin. Slim body build, probably due to the amount of time he spent lying on the bed. His neck had braces in them.
*Why does it feel like I know this man?* In his deep thought, he saw a beeping monitor. He remembered hearing the same beeping sounds when he dreamt drowning in a big pool of darkness. He was about to touch the monitor when he heard a loud bang.
"Quite down! Have a little respect to your son, you piece of ****" the man shouted.
"Until when are we gonna keep him here, huh? He didn't even think of giving us the money. Instead, he wasted all his money here! In his dying bed!" the woman replied a bellow of rage.
Melo's head started pulsating and the voices started screaming at each other but he could not comprehend what they were talking about anymore until the shouting turned into ear deafening shrieks. He sat on the white endless space and tucked himself in a fetal position while pressing his palms on his ear. The shrieking grew louder and the tone flew higher and higher and…
*Eeeeeeekkkkkk*
Melo woke up from his nightmarish dream by the sound of car tires screeching. He heard a slapping sound followed by his mother's frightened bellowing.
"John! I told you to slow down. We almost hit the poor puppy!" she screamed. Mr. Daetes wore his face mask and looked at his side mirrors, checking if there were any cars approaching before he opened his car door slowly. He went to the back of his pickup truck and grabbed an old blanket then went to his hood.
Meanwhile back in the car, Mrs. Daetes turned her head to Melo and was surprised to see Melo with his reddish wide eyes and soaking wet shirt. "Sweetie, what happened?" She asked with full surprise. She unbuckled her seatbelt and reached for Melo's packed bag. She rummaged through it and grabbed some towels, powder, and a new fresh new shirt. She unbuckled Melo as well and helped him change his clothes. Melo looked around. The once breathtakingly beautiful scenery was not like a desolate abandoned area, with nothing but dirt and silhouettes of big machinery, pounding, drilling, and digging through the ground. The windows of the car were filled with dust that they had to put the wipers on to have a clearer view of the road. Melo tried to open the nearest window on his seat but his mother forbade him not to.
"What happened, sweetie? Why were you soaking wet in sweat? Are you feeling feverish or anything?" She asked as she examined her child's body and placed her hand on his forehead to check for any signs of fever.
"I'm fine, Mom. I just...I've been having weird dreams lately. That's all" he answered as he put on his new shirt. "Thanks Mom. By the way, where are we now?" He asked.
"We are now nearing the city gates. This is the reason why your father wants the windows closed, sweetie. The outside of the city is extremely polluted. It's been a while since they had construction done." His mother replied.
Just then his father opened the door on his seat and handed to his wife something rolled in a blanket. He slightly removed his mask and said, "Honey, could you hold this poor thing for a while." She extended her arms like a basket trying to catch something and Mr. Daetes reached for her arms. Mrs. Daetes held on the the thing while Mr. Daetes entered the car.
"What's that Mom?" Melo asked.
"Why don't you see for yourself, Sweetie?" His mom replied as she placed the thing beside his seat. Not a moment went by as soon as Mrs. Daetes placed the thing down, it's tiny head popped out.
"A puppy? Poor thing. Where are its parents? Also, Mom, it stinks!" Melo honestly remarked. He could not distinguish what the color of the puppy was due to its dusty and worn out features.
The couple laughed.
The puppy whimpered.
"Ahmm. Mom. Dad. I don't think he is okay. He's crying."
"As soon as we reach the city, we'll visit a pet groomer and the veterinarian. I hope it's not as bad as it seems." His dad replied. "Oh, would you mind if I drop by the office for a while?" Mr. Daetes asked. "You can take a shower there as well. My office has everything just like our house." He added with a chuckle.
"I really don't mind 'cause Melo is right. The puppy stinks." and the three of them laughed.
They continued on their drive. Not long after just beyond the thick smog covering the road, they reached the gates entering the city. There were a couple of cars in front of them so they had to wait in line. Melo noticed children of his age scouring the bushes on the side of the road, near a seemingly abandoned tunnel. Their clothes were different from theirs and their complexions were lighter than his. One of them had vibrant ginger about neck length hair. He seems to be the leader of that group. He thought to himself.
Suddenly, the puppy laying beside him walked slowly, whimpering as he continually shifted weight from one foot to another.
"Oh. Oh. Easy. Easy boy." Melo said while trying to support his waggling walk. Unintentionally, he noticed that the puppy wasn't a boy, but a girl!
*Tooroo! Tooroo!*
*Aaarff! aaarfff! aaarrfff!*
Every time the children outside called on Toro, the puppy beside him barked in response.
"Toro?" Melo stared at the puppy, waiting for it to reply.
*Aarf! Aarf! Aarf!*
So, your name is Toro. They must be your owners. He thought.
Without making any noise, he wrapped the puppy with the blanket then unlocked the car door and ran towards the screaming children on the other side of the road with the puppy close to his chest. Seeing the charging child from a distance, the ginger haired girl without any thoughts stepped in front of the other younger kids and raised her wooden stick.
*So, she's a girl. I thought she was a boy because of her haircut.*
"Back off! We don't want anything from your kind!" She screamed at him as he was nearing in proximity.
"Hey, I don't mean harm. I just think she's yours." Melo handed over a blanket rolled in a ball. The ginger haired girl, still in her fighting stance, together with the younger kids carefully stared at the blanket ball and saw slight movement.
The kids stepped back. "What's that?" She asked with anger in her voice.
"Toro?" One of the kids called on as he approached the ball of blanket.
*Arf! Arf! Arf!*
"TORO" The children shouted as they ran towards Melo. He handed them the puppy and the children were happy they were reunited with their puppy. The girl with the red hair faced back Melo and removed her goggles.
"Thank---" The red haired girl fell silent abruptly. She felt a creeping, paralyzing fear. The children hissed and ran away.
"Wait!" Melo tried to run after the children when he felt a firm grip on his shoulders. He felt a sudden jolt of fear.
"Dad..I--"
"Get back in the car, son" Darkness looms over his father's face. He could sense an unshakable feeling of fear that all he could do was walk at a snail's pace and his father's silence numbed his mind from asking a question nor even to make a sound.
He knew he was in deep trouble.