Sitting straight on the chair, I pointed to the first article, the one about Oliver.
"Could you tell me more about this?"
Camellia lowered her eyes and read the article before nodding her head.
"The Research Institute, as its name states, is an institute that focuses on research, most of the projects are health related though. The majority of new medicines are developed by them, same for most illnesses and disease discoveries. However, the current head of the Research Institute is infamously Pro-MDVA act despite them having a large portion of Anti-MDVA protesters inside."
In the middle of her talk, she stopped and showed a slightly hesitant look, before continuing to talk.
"There have also been rumors of a couple of protesters taking part in a project to find a cure for MDVA in the Research Institute for several years now, but unfortunately there has been no good news until now."
Pausing here, Camellia showed a disappointed look on her face before snapping out of it. With a small shake of her head, she continued.
"Since the head of the Research Institute was the one who wanted to adopt him, it was basically accepted by everyone that Oliver would reject him. Nobody knows whether his 'other plans' are real or just an excuse to reject the head though."
Nodding my head, we moved on to the next couple articles before I thanked Camellia and returned to the study. When I opened the door, as I stepped foot into the room, I noticed that Ralph was sitting silently in his chair and staring at the wall. The moment he heard me enter, he turned his head to face me.
"Sorry. I just went out for a while to ask Camellia some questions."
Smiling apologetically at him, I set the articles down and took one of his hands into mine.
"Did any of the articles catch your eye?"
Asking softly, I gestured to the newspapers as Ralph shook his head.
"Then do you want to go back to my room? We can play some more games."
Standing up, I saw him nod his head, and we exited the study to bid farewell to Camellia and head back to my apartment.
"Mom! I'm home!"
Calling out as we entered the apartment, I dragged Ralph with me to grab a couple of snacks before we locked ourselves in the room to play.
"Welcome back!"
Sticking her head out of the kitchen doorway, my mother smiled at the two of us and pointed to the kitchen table.
"There's some sour paste and grains on the table."
"Ok! Thanks Mom!"
As we reached the table, I pushed Ralph to sit down on the chair before taking three bowls and spoons to the table. Passing the bowls to my mother, she used the communal scoop to fill each one halfway with grains, before spreading the sour paste on top with the spoon.
"Here, enjoy!"
Smiling, she passed the first bowl to Ralph before making mine and then her own. Then I sat down next to him and the three of us dug into the bowl.
Taking my spoon, I scooped down and got a nice chunk of grain and sour paste. The sour paste, which was made from harvesting some of the slimy plants from the river and keeping it in a jar for a couple of weeks, was a mixture of sourness and bitterness. However the grains, which were grown behind the apartment, tasted sweeter the more you chewed on it which complimented the sour paste perfectly.
Swallowing after giving the mixture a good couple chews, I took another spoonful and sneaked a look at Ralph. I didn't know if Ralph had eaten sour paste with grains before.
Even though our family technically was from Bottom street, we were from top Bottom street, which was basically acknowledged as a slightly inferior version of bottom Middle street. Unlike the middle and bottom of Bottom street, top Bottom street residents weren't controlled by gangs. Instead, it was just a slightly cheaper version of Middle street with dirtier apartments and smaller rent.
Half nervous and half excited, I watched as Ralph opened his mouth wide and put the whole spoon inside. At first, I could see the initial sourness and bitterness shock him as he scrunched up his face and hurriedly pulled the empty spoon from his mouth. Taking a couple bites, I saw his initial squinted eyes light up as the sweetness of the grain finally took effect and lessened the bitterness. Furthermore, since the bitterness came before the sweetness, the sweetness was amplified
"Delicious right!"
Smiling at Ralph, I took another bite of the mixture. Nodding his head, Ralph swallowed and reached out his spoon for another portion.
"I'm glad that you like it."
Grinning from opposite us, my mother took small bites from her bowl and took a large pot lid to cover the sour paste and grains. Once we were done eating, we waved goodbye to her and hid in my room.
Locking the door, I turned around and saw Ralph reaching for two boxes in the corner. Passing one to me, we sat on the floor and opened the lid.
"Was that your first time eating sour paste and grains?"
I asked lightly as we started the first round of the game.
Nodding his head, Ralph paused a while to consider his next move in the game before he answered.
"In Bottom street, access to the rivers are controlled by the gangs so we can't go near them without permission. To get water, we have to pay the gang a small amount of money to be escorted to the river, take as much water as we can, and then return. Each trip is charged, so my Mom and I usually take a pail each to collect water once a week. The good thing is that everything else is not charged."
As I listened to him talk, I saw him make a smart move on the sand. Furrowing my brows, I chose a move to counter it.
"So what do you eat everyday?"
He made another clever move that dodged my counter and placed me in a difficult spot. Trying my best to listen to him talk while thinking of my options, I could feel the tide of the battle shift towards his favor.
"We pick some weeds off the side of the road to make some stir fry vegetables, and some of the tree bark is edible if you ignore the taste. If we have enough money though, we usually head to the market at top Bottom street to buy some groceries."
As he ended his sentence, Ralph dealt the killing move and won the game.
"You're good at this!"
Frustrated but impressed, I threw my hands into the air and exclaimed. Hearing a laugh as cool as the summer breeze, I smiled even though I lost and we simultaneously reached out to reset the game to begin another round.
"The groceries at top Bottom street are alright, but the store owners really like to argue the price up. If you aren't careful, you might get ripped off."
Remembering the times I followed my mother to the so-called market, which were just several people from bottom Middle street selling their inferior groceries to prevent loss, I shook my head.
"Especially that one seller who always sells too good to be true vegetables. She likes to hike up the price of her produce by saying that they come from the market at high Middle street, but in reality she just pulls them out of her garden. But the vegetables are delicious though."
Ralph paused with his stick mid-air and lifted his head to look me in the eye.
"You used to live in Bottom street?"
In his eyes the color of melted ice, I could see a little bit of excitement sparking. It almost made me guilty to admit that I technically was but technically was not.
"Top Bottom street."
Averting my eyes, I didn't want to see that spark get crushed and extinguished. It was generally agreed that top Bottom street wasn't really part of Bottom street. But it wasn't really part of Middle street either.
However, contrary to the disappointment I expected from Ralph, I felt a pair of warm hands grab mine and turned my head in confusion to see his sparkling eyes.
I then saw a wide smile stretching from one side of his face to the other as he opened his mouth to happily discuss the street vendors in the market at top Bottom street.
Faced with those eyes, I could feel my lips start to curve and the previous nervousness disappear as I joined in with my own comments.
With the game abandoned in the middle of us, we both laughed and complained about our own experiences and I could feel my heart lighten. Then, pushing the boxes aside, I stood up and sat on the bed. Patting the spot beside me, I invited him up to continue our conversation on a much softer spot.
"But among the store owners at that market, the fruits sold by Henry are the best. It's really hard to buy one since they are so popular though. I remember queuing up super early in the morning to get some!"
Ralph smiled and laughed at the many stories I had of the market. Although a trip to the top Bottom street market was a daily occurrence for me, it was a rare event for him, so I made sure to try and pick the most exciting or relatable stories to tell.
Smiling as I felt my friendship with Ralph increase, we exchanged stories and snippets of our lives at Bottom street until we heard a voice coming from the door.
"Ralph! Mom's back, it's time to go home!"
Turning the doorknob, the two of us came face to face with June's relieved face. Taking off her knitted mittens to caress Ralph's face, she then faced and thanked me. She then turned and thanked my mother.
"There's no need for thanks. Like I said, as neighbors, it's only a given that we help each other out."
Helping June straighten her back, my mother gave her a smile as we bid farewell to the mother-son pair.
Waving at them as they entered through their own apartment's door, I heard a sigh from above me and my mother's unconscious mutterings.
"Oh how am I going to make her more willing to seek help from us."
With a voice sounding both troubled and affectionate, she closed the door and limped back to the kitchen.
Heading back into my room, I kept the sandboxes. Then, standing in front of my wall of newspaper clippings, I stared at the area filled with news relating to Oliver and Alex. The articles we read today were most likely going to be in the newsbook tomorrow. And after I received them, I would definitely hang the Oliver one next to its predecessors.
Looking at an article with Oliver's face, his eyes straight and pure, yet unreadable, I sighed out loud to myself.
Why is God so unfair?