In the darkness, I heard the faint sound of paper turning. Flipping around, I felt the cool wall hit my shoulder, and I couldn't help but lift my eyelids.
"Good morning."
Hearing a cool voice from behind me, I rolled onto my back and twisted my neck.
"Good morning."
Croaking out a greeting, I saw Oliver give a little chuckle at my just-awoken appearance. Placing a piece of colored paper into the research paper, he flipped it close and hid it back into the bookshelf.
"What time did you wake up?"
I rubbed my eyes as I sat up on my bed. Looking around, I saw that the side of my bed was messy, with everything thrown about. In sharp contrast, Oliver's bed was neat and tidy, and when I crawled over to get out, I could feel the cool sheets on my skin.
"Elaine and Van are home."
Without waiting for me, Oliver walked over to the door and opened it. In his hands were a towel and clothes.
"Then I'll go take a bath first."
Seeing him espace from the room in such an obvious fashion, I shook my head and put my feet on the floor. Going over to the bookshelf, I took my own towels and clothes, and walked out of the room.
In the kitchen, stirring the pot, my mother turned her head towards me as I exited our room.
"Good morning."
Scooping up a ladleful to taste, she then nodded her head and picked up several bowls.
"I made some sweet soup."
She smiled at me, but it was a stark contrast to her red, puffy eyes, dark circlers, and pale complexion.
"Ok."
I hung my clothes and towel on the back of the chair and reached over to give her a hug. In her warm embrace, I could feel her tighten for a second before she relaxed and wrapped her arms around me.
"Thank you."
"Dan."
Shocking me out of the warmth like a cold shower, I heard my father's serious voice sound from behind me. Separating from my mother, I saw my father approach me and place his hands on both sides of my shoulders. He stared straight at me, his eyes a solemn shade of dark coffee. The bitterness that seeped through was overwhelming, like a cold brew early in the morning. Except that his gaze was the opposite of cold. It was burning with rage.
"Please take care of Oliver. "
Absorbed by those eyes, I slowly nodded. Based on his words, that tone, and what he said yesterday, I already had a vague idea of what was about to come. Slowly sliding my gaze over to the toilet, I could feel the drumming of my heart in my ears reach a fever pitch.
"But please, take care of yourself too."
Snapping my eyes back to him, I saw the red in his eyes get replaced with a little sweetness.
"No matter what happens, please put both of your safety above everything else."
With a small smile, I felt the strong grip on my shoulders loosen before disappearing. Then, tearing his gaze from me, my father gave my mother a meaningful glance, and the two of them leaned forward to whisper quietly to each other.
Looking at the two of them talk, I heard the toilet door open and saw Oliver step out. With his hair wet and the cold water making his face paler than usual, I felt a little squeeze in my heart towards him. Noticing me, he turned his head and gestured to me.
"The bath is yours."
Nodding my head, I retrieved my clothes and towel from the back of the chair and headed in.
Our apartment had only one toilet and shower, so everyone took turns using it in the morning. The toilet was near the wall, while the shower head was affixed to the ceiling. Reaching out my hand, I turned the tap and let the water run over me. Although it was cold, it couldn't freeze the myriad of thoughts that seemed to penetrate my mind. They ran amok, crashing into each other and causing chaos in my brain. However, after an unknown amount of time, they finally calmed down, and I started washing up.
After all those rampaging ideas settled down, only silence was left.
Finishing up, as I put on my clothes and stepped out of the bathroom, I threw the towel in the laundry basket and sat down at the table.
While I was bathing, my mother had already set the table. Sitting at the master's seat at the head of the table, my father was pecking my mother on the cheek. Their lovely interactions were something I was used to a lot, so I instead turned my attention towards Oliver.
Sitting to my left, Oliver seemed dazed at the sight of my parents, a slight haze of envy filtering over his usual clear black eyes before he shook it off and focused his attention on his bowl.
Hearing my mother take her seat in front of me, the four of us waited until everyone was ready before tucking in to breakfast.
"This soup is as amazing as the first time I tasted it 20 years ago."
Praising in a happy tone, I saw my father take a small sip of the soup beside me. Hearing his praise, my mother turned to him with a weak smile. She replied in a teasing tone.
"Does that mean that my cooking hasn't changed in 20 years?"
Layering on this false sense of harmony, I quietly drank my soup as I watched Oliver try his best to keep his eyes on his soup.
At first, I saw the envy return to his eyes. However, shortly after that, the envy was washed over with a deep sadness that was like waves on a stormy sea. The great thing was that the storm did not last, and the sun soon shone through. After flipping through many emotions, I saw his eyes finally stop at a helpless, blank look. A small smile climbed up his lips, merging both sadness and happiness into a complicated emotional cocktail, before fading back into his gentle but emotionless mask.
Reaching forward, he took his soup and started gulping it down. Similarly, I refocused my attention on my bowl and grabbed both sides, draining it of it's contents.
Hearing my parent's voices quieten, the whole family finished the meal. Then, setting the empty bowls on the table, we moved on to the main focus of this meal.
"Oliver, there's something I have to tell you. It's about Andrew."
Standing up, my mother quietly cleaned up the dishes as the two of us stared straight at my father.
"It's about his punishment, isn't it."
With a monotonous voice, I watched the light in Oliver's eyes fade and the almost-deep abyss return to that gaze.
"Yes. I think you would have known it was coming. He's going to be executed. Tomorrow."
Widening my eyes, I couldn't help but look over at Oliver. He was silent. Emotionless. As if he had long expected this outcome and had prepared for it.
"I see."
In an almost too polite tone, I saw Oliver's head lower a little and the corners of his mouth quiver. Then his mouth straightened, and he raised his head.
"Thank you for telling me."
Smiling at Oliver's brave front, I saw a sympathetic smile flash across my father's face before he nodded his head.
"Then, I have work, so I'll go first. Dan, come home straight after school. There's somewhere we need to go."
Standing up from his seat, I saw my father's serious eyes look towards me, reminding me of the words he had said before he left through the front door.
"It's time to go to school."
My mother gave me a reassuring smile as she herded me out of the kitchen. Turning my head to Oliver, I saw him wave goodbye at me, and I forced myself to put down the worry in my heart.
"Then...I'll go now."
Entering my room, I quickly stuffed the required textbooks into my bag and hurried out of the house. Turning left, I jogged to the front of Camellia's house and knocked on the door. After not too long, she opened the door and passed me the news book.
Saying thanks, I tried my best to smile at her. Similar to my parents, her face was slightly paler than usual, and there were thick eyebags under those concerned eyes.
"Take care."
Waving goodbye to her, the two of us parted ways, and I heard the lock of her door behind me.
As I passed Ralph's house, I couldn't help but turn my gaze to their door, and I took a deep breath. Tip-toeing to the doorknob, I quickly but quietly turned it, waiting for the reassuring click of the lock before hurrying down the stairs.
Allowing my feet to take me to school, I stared at the cover. Camellia's concerned look gave me a bad feeling. She would definitely know that Ralph was adopted into our house since Daniel had met him several times already.
Spreading my hand over the rough cover, I took a second to gather my courage and calm my heart. Then, I opened the book to the first article from yesterday.
'Andrew Amor judged guilty of several crimes, including the desecration of his daughter's body, and has been charged with public execution in 2 days.'