The beeping of the machine was all he heard and then it turned into one long beep before it silenced. Just like that. He just kept wishing in his heart it would beep again but...it didn't.
He still remembered his mother's hand growing cold in his. The sounds of the doctors rushing in and the numb feeling overtook his senses.
Emptiness, fear, and disbelief engulfed him whole and his emotions were in turmoil.
He still remembered seeing her lifeless face as clearly as he remembered her last words to him.
"Neale, please I'm asking you one last thing. Live your life to the fullest. Don't ever beat yourself up too much, whether you're rich, poor, strong, or weak. Just accept yourself how you are. Be who you should be and remember, I'll always be proud of you." Was what she said, it all came out as a low painful whisper but he heard it all.
He still remembered it all.
He hadn't forgotten.
But that was all he wanted to do.
He just wanted to forget.
He just wanted to believe it all wasn't true.
Somehow.
* * *
The chirping of the birds could be heard from every corner of the small town of Kennington. Rays of light spread out like a blanket as the sun peeked out from beyond the horizon.
It was dusk and Neale opened his eyes to a new day. It suddenly struck him that it was just the day before that when he opened his eyes and his mom had still been there.
Neale sat up on his bed. He had to go to his new school in a week but first, he had to sort out his life.
He was moving out. He was going to a whole new town. The rent at his current house was a little too costly to be paid with just a part-time job so he was going to rent out a single-room apartment that was pretty near the school he was attending.
It would also save transport costs. His school fees were paid by his mother's former boss so he probably didn't have to worry about that. Neale was fine with living off cheap food and he would be grateful as long as he never went to bed on an empty stomach.
He had to take responsibility for himself now. Neale silently chuckled to himself when he thought of that.
Responsibility is such a massive word. It felt heavy on his tongue and the word itself was a massive burden on his shoulders.
After cleaning himself up and eating. Neale began packing up everything. He packed all his clothes, utensils, and other things into boxes.
The furniture was a bit old but it could still be used. When the time came to move, a kind man he knew as Uncle Jeff, would help him take his stuff to his new apartment.
Uncle Jeff was the landlord of the current place Neale resided in. He was a good person and didn't hesitate to help to help
Uncle Jeff had offered Neale's mom the current apartment for free but his mother refused so he just reduced the price as much as possible. Even then it took quite a bit of persistence for his mother to pay the low amount.
It was quite underpriced considering what a good house it was. But Neale knew it was still too much for him, in addition, the other place was closer to campus.
After Neale finished packing most of his things he decided to go for a walk. It was already about noon by then.
Neale walked outside as the cool breeze blew his messy black hair back. He ambled on, through the silent streets of the quiet town right until he reached the park.
The world just seemed so empty to Neale. There were plenty of other people on the planet but to Neale, it felt like there was nobody. The world which was full of billions of people was empty to this man.
They say the world is a small place. But to Neale, it seemed too big, much too big.
Neale sat on a bench and closed his eyes. The slow whistle of the breeze blowing through leaves in a set pattern was heard, and it blew in a slow gentle melody.
Nature truly whispered into the heart of man, or it at least whispered into Neale's heart. The words were sweet but they filled him with an insurmountable amount of sorrow. He opened his eyes and blinked away a tear.
Neale felt lonely. His mother was all he had but he lost her and now he felt like a pauper. He had nothing.
Neale could be compared to a beggar because, at that very moment in his heart, all he did was beg for a little happiness, or something, anything, to soothe that piercing pain deep in his heart.
A few minutes later, Neale stood up and looked at his watch, it was getting late. He had planned to get to the library so he decided to rush so he made it in time.
Neale walked alone to the library and he borrowed a new book. Books were all he had left in this lonely world. It kept him occupied and made him forget his worries.
For a person like him, it was quite a weird habit. It seemed out of place for a delinquent like him, he thought to himself.
But Neale loved books ever since he was young. His mother had said to him that his father was the same. He had never met his father. His mother said Neale's father left a little before Neale was born, he had gone to explore the world and make a fortune.
Neale didn't appreciate his father's sense of adventure though.
Neale took the bus home later after visiting the library and reached home at dawn when the sun had just set. Neale entered his apartment and made himself something to eat.
He was feasting on some cheap noodles when he switched on the TV. On the news that day, was the famous businessman Lucas Blake. He was said to be the richest man in the country.
He had shares in multiple companies and he was the owner of one of the biggest companies in the entertainment industry, Crystal CV.
They were an entertainment company that had contracts with multiple big-name celebrities. They sponsored athletes, models, actors, singers, and other celebrities.
They were a well-known movie company and it produced some of the most famous movies in the country. They were an influential company.
The brains behind all of this were Lucas Blake.
"I wonder if he has any kids, they must be darn lucky," Neale grumbled to himself as he watched.
Lucas Blake won the award for the most handsome businessman of 2020.
"I never knew there was such an award," Neale commented, speaking to nobody. At that moment he stood up and went to wash his plate in the kitchen.
The TV continued playing and then they spoke about Lucas Blake's 16-year-old daughter who was an aspiring actor.
Then the TV switched off.
Neale had come back from washing his dish and then used the remote to switch the TV off.
Neale then lay down on his mattress. He slept in the lounge since his house had only one room which his mother used.
"I wonder where my father is, hope he's poor as hell," Neale said to himself with a sigh. Very soon he slowly drifted off to sleep.
Neale woke up early the next morning. He'd decided to go to town again.
"I've got to get myself the Eagles Bay secondary school uniform and I should get some groceries," Neale mumbled to himself as he stretched.
After bathing and changing into some decent clothing, Neale was ready to go. He left the house and when he reached outside, he quickly checked the time on his watch. It was exactly a quarter past 7.
It was pretty early, Neale thought. Neale walked for a while toward town until he came to a café. He checked his wallet to see if he had enough money for some coffee. He had just enough.
Neale walked into the café and walked over to the nearest table and sat down. He was deep in thought as he did that and he soon realized that there was already someone seated across him.
The person was busy typing something into her phone but when he sat down she looked up at him. She was a young girl wearing a beanie. Ginger-colored hair reached her shoulders and her eyes which were a satisfying shade of light blue were covered by spectacles.
"Ah, sorry. Didn't see you sitting here..." Neale hurriedly said.
He was about to go to another table when she gazed at him curiously and spoke to him.
"Nah, it's fine."
Neale raised his eyebrow in surprise.
"Oh, I don't want to disturb you." He said, letting out a nervous laugh.
"Nah, it's really fine. Don't worry about it." She said to him. She seemed to be watching him quite curiously from behind the spectacles.
"Okay, then. Thank you, I guess." Neale said as he awkwardly smiled back, a little nervous from her intense staring.
Neale sat down and ordered a cup of coffee with a few cookies. He took his cookies one by one and munched them carefully, making sure not to make too much of a mess. He then drank the coffee sip by sip until he soon finished everything.
Satisfied, Neale sat back in his chair and sighed heavily. More out of satisfaction than exhaustion. Then he stood up to leave.
He was about to turn around and go when then he heard a voice.
"Are you leaving?" The girl asked him.
"Well Yeah, I am heading home now," Neale said to her, suddenly feeling like he desperately wanted to leave.
"Well, you just look a little bit familiar." The girl mumbled, more to herself as she scratched her cheek.
"Oh..." Neale replied not knowing what to reply to that statement.
"Haaa, Nevermind." The girl said sighing heavily. She then began engaging herself in her phone once again.
"Weird..." That was all Neale could say. Then he wasted further time and simply turned around and walked towards the door.
°. °. °
Rachelle, replied by mumbling,"Just focus on driving or I'll break your legs."
"Come on Rachelle, we'd like to know what happened. You seemed fine when you left the vehicle before." The man who was addressed as boss before asked as he sipped his Cappuccino.
"I just bumped into someone,that's all." Rachelle sighed before replying.
"Oh,that's quite unusual. You're always pretty aware of your surroundings, aeren't you?" The guy with the stunning appearance said as he paused from sipping his beverage.
"I was a bit unfocused, that's all, Boss." Rachelle said turning her head away as if embarrassed.
"I never thought I'd see the day you'd make an excuse, miss perfect." The driver chuckled as he started the vehicle.
He had dark ebony skin and his eyes were covered by his sunglasses. His hair was cut into a stylish crewcut and he had a youthful appearance.
"Shut up and focus on driving before I break your legs,Joshua." Rachel growled before pausing,as if to think. She than turned to the man sitting across her in the back of the van as she thoughtfully said."now that I think about it carefully. He kind of looked like you,Boss."