- March 3, 1619 -
"He is coming."
'Clack' 'Clack' 'Clack'
"Good Morning, Mana-"
'Pop' 'Pop'
"Happy Birthday Arthur!!"
'Thud' Oops! He fell on the floor.
"I told you all, there is no need to do this every year. Ouch."
He says that but I can see his lips go up a little. He is happy.
"Now now, here, come on cut the cake."
"Manage-"
"Faster, we have work too."
I pushed him towards the dining table as he got up from the floor.
"Do it. Blow the candles and cut the cake."
"I know." 'Fuu'
"Yayyy!! Happy Birthday Arthur."
"Happy Birthday."
"Happy Birthday."
.
.
.
We don't know his birth date. He himself didn't know but today was the day I found him outside the building, so we celebrate his birthday every year on this day, haha or it was just a cover up to thank him for brightening my sad life.
"Here, manager."
He put the piece of cake into my mouth. Everyone was looking at us.
"You too, Aah." I fed him too.
It's been 14 years. The first time I saw him, he was around 4-5 years old and now he has grown into a handsome man.
Black hair, blue eyes. Such a beautiful combo.
Handsome indeed.
"Hey don't rub it on my fa-"
"Hold him."
Many people in the town love him. It's such a sweet moment, but-
'Clap - Clap'
"Okay, we have letters to deliver too.Back to work."
I looked at the clock. It's 7 a.m. Work is important too.
***
The manager left the room.
'Sigh'
As I came downstairs this morning, she surprised me. She celebrates it every year. Ever since I met her.
I came from a poor family. We lived in an excluded place, somewhere in the forest. It was a dangerous place to reside in but there was no other choice. My parents were neither literate nor could they use magic. I didn't know their past, and I never asked either because it didn't matter.
We were living happily in our small home. Food was sufficient in the forest, water was pure and it was a big place to play around too. But amongst the happiness there was a fear too, fear of being attacked by a monster and one day we faced our fear.
It was the first time I saw a monster. Six eyes, two big teeth coming out from his mouth. It was terrifying.
My parents died protecting me. My father used his body to make an escape for mother and me, but he couldn't hold the monster for long. It soon caught up to us. There was blood on his face. He looked even more dangerous. Having no other choice, my mother threw me in the river after saying something, I was too terrified to listen but I saw her face before falling.
She was smiling, her eyes were filled with regret, tears were dripping down representing her sadness. It was a face full of emotions.
Everything was black after that.
.
.
.
When I opened my eyes, I was on the ground. I couldn't stand up, my mind which was blocked due to fear was now calmed down and reality hit me. I lost them. I had no one else, no friends, no relatives, no one to rely on except my parents. In just a few moments I lost my everything. The throat was suffocating, eyes were wet. I cried a lot but after some time the energy to do so was also exhausted. I was hungry.
I walked for hours and reached a place full of people. It was a sight I saw for the first time, so many people at one place. I asked for food from many people but they either ignored me or shouted at me. I didn't know what to do next. My mind was becoming hazy, and soon I lost consciousness. I should have died too, that was the last thought before collapsing.
And then I met the manager.
"Arthur!!"
"Yes!?"
"Did you not sleep yesterday?"
I have been working in the city's post office as a postman for 6 years. The manager, Lucie Kriot was the head or in other words manager of this place.
Postman's job is simple, get the letters from the manager and deliver it to the mentioned address. Today too, I came here to collect the letters but I guess I was lost in thought.
"Sorry, I was just thinking about something."
'Sigh' "Anyway, here are your today's letters."
She put letters on the counter table. Huh?Aren't these little less? I counted the letters and there were only six. Too less. Usually we have to deliver 10-15 letters every day. I looked towards her.
"One of the letters has to be delivered to the next town."
"Oh! I see. I'll be going then."
I put the letters in my side bag and walked towards the exit.
"Wait."
I looked back, she was holding a small box in her hand.
"Your gift."
I looked towards her for a while and then hugged her.
"Haha, Arthur."
She was the reason, I was able to move on from my past. Even though I was an outsider, she never treated me like that. Stupid old lady, thankyou so much.
"Thanks."
I took the box and walked outside.
"Come back before the sunset."
"Yes, yes."
The sky was clear and the sun was shining brightly. A perfect day for work.
I looked sideways, there were many mana vehicles parked there. Useless.
'Sigh'
Mana vehicles, as the name says run using mana and they are useless..., for me. I can't control mana. I don't have any mana core so I can't even try. I believe it was a feature I got from my genes because my parents couldn't use magic either.
I looked at my other side. These were manual vehicles which run by physical force. Not having a mana core is rare but there are people like that, so these vehicles were developed for those people. One of them was me.
I use them for deliveries. It is too slow compared to the mana ones. That's why, I got very few letters today because I had to go to the next town, using this slow boy. Well it's faster than walking on foot.
I sat on one of the manual vehicles I always use and opened the box the manager gave me.
There was a watch inside. It was pure black with blue needles.
Black and Blue, 'pfft!!' Did she use me as the reference?
I put the watch on my left wrist and extended that hand upwards. Yup! It looks good.
Time to go.