Kyle and Atlus faced off in the middle of the park. The flickering oil lamp shed light on their tense confrontation.
Atlus was intrigued by Kyle's offer of help, but remained skeptical. In the novels he read, the people who helped protagonists often turned out to have ulterior motives.
"You're just trying to take advantage of me and lead me into a trap," Atlus accused.
Kyle shook his head. "No, I'm just offering to help a fellow homeless guy. Can't you see you need someone to rely on?"
"And who do you rely on? This bench?"
Kyle let out a small laugh. "I sleep here because I like the scent. It's refreshing and sweet, something I don't have access to in my life. I sneak here to sleep since the guards don't allow poor people like me to enter here during the day. Did you come here to sleep too?"
"No," Atlus said, his frustration mounting. "I came here to collect my treasure box. Now it's gone. Tell me if you know something about it."
"Where did you leave it?" Kyle asked.
"I hid it in the trash."
Kyle's smile grew wider. "That's interesting. I happen to know the guy who collects the trash."
"Who is it?!" Atlus demanded, feeling a surge of anger at the thought of someone stealing his belongings. On the ship, he couldn't just buy new things - he had to make do with what he had. He even wore the old clothes of a young sailor who died from sickness.
"What's so important about your treasure box?" Kyle asked skeptically. It was hard to imagine that a poor-looking boy like Atlus had anything valuable.
There were many magic-less and broke youths who arrived at Westtuna from poor islands in search of a better future. The reason being this prosperous island was under the free Affinity potion scheme by the empire.
"Aren't you new here, friend? I'm guessing you just arrived today. You don't know about the Syndicate and how they force foreign teens to work for them. Listen to what I say, don't be naive enough to stay alone. They'll destroy your future," Kyle warned as his face changed emotions from welcoming to angry and helpless.
"What's the Syndicate?" Atlus asked.
Kyle didn't answer, instead he rolled below the bench. The small space below the park's clean benched seemed like a cozy spot to sleep.
Atlus felt odd knowing that a boy was sleeping under the bench he was standing on.
The cold wind brought the sweetness of flowers to his nose. Somehow, he began to think that this place was a nice sleeping spot.
As he sat on the bench, Atlus couldn't help but reminisce about his life on the ship. He was used to the swaying of the vessel with the waves, but there were times when he longed to experience what it felt like to sleep on solid ground.
He took a deep breath, savoring the crisp scene of the flowers of the park. The bench was calm and his body was still. But as he tried to sleep, his mind was troubled by the thoughts of events that happened and the things he lost.
If the Syndicate were the villains, then he wanted to take them out. But for that he needed magic.
Jack, his mentor figure on the ship, told him to stay out of the current era's events and settle back in a farm.
The world is a stormy sea, he had said, no matter how big the ship is, there is always a bigger wave.
"Should I stay on the land or should I jump on a unknown ship and sail across an undiscovered sea?"
Soon, the hypnotic effect of a comfortable spot and unceasing thoughts lulled him into a deep sleep.
In the early dawn, before the sun was to show its face, the sky began to turn brighter. The sound of birds chirping filled the air.
But before the sunrise, Kyle shook Atlus. "Wake up, wake up fast," he said urgently.
Atlus, curled up on the small bench like a baby, tried hard to not wake up. It was the best sleep he had in a long time. The warmth of his own body that shooed the cold made him want to keep sleeping.
"Wake up!" Kyle gently shook Atlus, but slowly ramped up the intensity until it became borderline violent.
"We need to leave before the guards see us. Hurry up," Kyle urged, pulling on Atlus' hand.
Still half-asleep, Atlus stumbled along. His eyes were half-closed and refused to fully open. Everything he saw was a blur - the sweat flowers, the pleasant earth - as he swayed in happiness. But suddenly, the air changed, and he smelled the awful stench of manure, making him resist moving forward.
"We were in a beautiful dream in between the flowers. Now this is how our real life smells like," Kyle said, tugging on Atlus' arm.
On hearing that, Atlus allowed himself to be led. He raised his eyebrows, but his eyelids still refused to open. For a few moments, he felt as though he had lost his sight and wouldn't be able to see again.
"I'm climbing up," Kyle said as he began to scale the wall at the back of the shed. "Hurry, give me your hand." He said when he was on the top of the wall.
Atlus raised his hand and immediately felt a sudden pull. His eyes finally focused on his surroundings when he sat on the top of the wall. But before he could admire the park, Kyle pulled his leg.
"Get down, get down," Kyle urged.
At last, Atlus was down, and the feat felt like successfully helping a drunk man home.
"Listen carefully. If the guards catch you, then you're done. Your future will be over. Do you understand?" Kyle warned with his hands on Atlus' shoulders.
"I was caught yesterday," Atlus revealed.
Kyle quickly checked both of Atlus' arms. "Bad joke," he said. "If the military catches you, they'll burn a sign on your arm. With that, your life is over."
How can such superficial things destroy your future?" Atlus snorted.
"Believe me, I know," Kyle replied, pulling up his sleeve to reveal the letter "B" imprinted on his forearm. It looked as though it had been burnt into his skin, sinking a millimeter below the rest of his skin.
"Shut up and follow me if you want to learn magic." Kyle walked away without waiting for Atlus' reaction.
"It cannot destroy your future," Atlus muttered under his breath.
The boys walked down the morning road as the sun began to rise with a fiery hue.