"I'll ask Ivan to increase the amount of money given to you."
After leaving the orphanage, Jack silently escorted us from Bottom Street to Middle Street. Throughout the journey, his facial expression changed faster than the lives of the children we just visited.
At first, when we just left the orphanage, Jack had a smile on his face and a small spark of happiness in his eyes. However, a few steps away from the orphanage, darkness swamped the light out and the smile on his face immediately died.
With every passing step, Jack's expression turned colder and more devoid of emotion. At least, that was the case until Oliver suddenly spoke to him.
Surprise lit up that cold face and colored his cheeks as Jack whipped his gaze towards Oliver. He opened his mouth, clearly wanting to say something, but whatever words he had withered away in his throat because, after a couple of rounds of opening and closing his mouth, he gave up on speaking and just gave Oliver a simple nod and grateful smile.
"How's Marianne?"
Stepping past the road that separated Bottom Street from Middle Street, Oliver casually asked as we made our way back towards the cemetery. Although his words sounded apathetic and emotionless, his eyes were earnest as they gazed at Jack.
"Her illness has flared up."
At first, Jack seemed greatly surprised at the fact that Oliver knew his daughter's name. However, after a couple of seconds, he just sighed and accepted Oliver's omniscience. Taking a deep breath, Jack then answered Oliver in a hopeless tone.
"The doctor said that they'll have to increase the amount and dosage of her drugs. However, that also means that her medicine will be more costly. I..."
Jack hung his head, his voice dwindling into a small whisper of defeat.
"I can't afford them."
With those words, Jack's hand loosed their hold on mine. His shoulders slumped, his back bent under all the emotional stress they were under, and darkness seemed to enshroud his entire being.
"Even with the extra money that Ivan has given you?'
Oliver continued to ask as the cemetery came into sight. Regarding Oliver's question, Jack shook his head with a heartbroken expression.
"The current money is just a little short, so any amount Ivan gives would be enough to cover the cost. However, until when will this continue? Several years ago, it was still enough for me to pay it off. But it increased and increased and increased. I've done everything I could, funneled all the money I had, and even joined the faction and begged for extra money from Ivan. If this goes on, even the faction won't have enough money to cover the cost. What will I do then?"
With each sentence, Jack's voice sounded more and more desperate, and the frustration, hopelessness, and misery bled into his words, coloring them a deep, dark black. However, his last question was quiet, like the calm surface of a deep trench. Like a small cry for help that would be covered up by the gentlest of waves.
"Marianne will be fine."
The clouds above the waters broke and sunshine blasted through the deep darkness. Oliver's voice rang like a bell, dispersing the gloom that seemed the engulf Jack like an underwater monster.
"Trust me. She won't wither away."
In a daze, Jack turned his head towards Oliver. Even though what he just said were mere words, the confidence behind those words was as if he had read the future. Even for a passerby like me, they sounded like prophecies from God. I couldn't even begin to imagine how those sentences felt to Jack who had reached what would probably be the lowest point in his life.
"Thank you."
With a grateful smile, Jack tightened his hands around ours, and we finally reached the cemetery.
"We'll part here. Jack, you can head over to Ivan and ask for more money first, just tell him that I agreed to it. I'll contact you on another day to visit Marianne. I want to see her condition myself."
Letting go of our hands, Jack nodded at Oliver with red-rimmed eyes and bid us farewell.
Standing in place, we watched him turn the corner of the cemetery and head towards Middle Middle Market, where Ivan most likely would be at this time of day.
I looked up at the sky to guess the time and immediately noticed a familiar pair of eyes tracking Jack's movement. The cemetery was surrounded by a rickety old fence that was more air than metal. To cover these holes and give more life to the place, the caretaker of the cemetery planted many tall bushes in front of these fences, providing us children the perfect spot to spy on those in the cemetery without being found out. And it was through these holes just big enough to peek inside that I saw a familiar figure narrowing his eyes as they followed Jack's trajectory past the cemetery.
Those usually kind and sunny eyes were now filled with foreign suspicion. And when they had lost sight of Jack, they lowered to gaze at the ground, full of thoughts, before turning to a specific gravestone sticking up from the uneven ground. Bending down, the figure placed their hand on the gravestone and caressed it, like stroking the face of their lover. Then, the hand moved towards the area where the names of the deceased were usually engraved, and those brilliant eyes became shrouded in shadow and darkness.
Seeing this, I felt a fiery hot temptation bubble in my chest as my mind screamed at me to not ignore this scene. Like the early warning bell predicting a disaster, my brain told me that I couldn't leave this figure alone, and I looked over to Oliver.
"Could we stop by the cemetery for a short while?"
With one step extended in front of him, Oliver was clearly ready to head back home when my words stopped him in his tracks. Turning around, his gaze seemed to glance at me for a while before moving to the 'inside' of the cemetery. Although I was sure that Oliver shouldn't be able to see the figure in the cemetery from that position, I could feel my confidence in that fact waver as Olive's eyes narrowed slightly.
"Sure."
Walking back to me, the two of us stood side by side as we made our way to the entrance of the cemetery. This old cemetery was the one where normal people without MDVA were buried, and was where the minority of graves in Middle Street were stored. Compared to the new cemetery, which was a huge white building with sparkling clean doors and air-conditioned floors, the old cemetery was a reflection of how the government and those in High Street really viewed people below High Street. Like dirt.
The entrance of the cemetery was a decently tall metal arch that was hammered together with nails to prevent it from toppling over. Unlike the reception area of the MDVA cemetery, the old cemetery had about a foot distance before the rows and rows of gravestones started. Despite the caretaker's best efforts, the uneven surface that this cemetery was built on made all the gravestones bob up and down as they snaked down the line up until the end of the fence. And on the last row of the cemetery, Aaron was there. He kneeled in front of one gravestone, his forehead touching the rough stone as he mumbled to it.
With quiet footsteps and shallow breaths, we tiptoed toward uril's gravestone and Aaron. Hearing our footsteps, Aaron's eyes suddenly opened and those once sunny eyes shot towards the two of us like bullets.
"Oh, it's just Dan and Oliver."
Seeing the two of us, Aaron's murderous face softened and he leaned back from the gravestone, one hand reaching out to rub his red-rimmed eyes.
"I just wanted to visit Uril's grave for a while."
Taking a step towards Aaron, I kneeled in front of the gravestone and reached out to touch the headstone in front of me. It was bumpy, unlike the ones in the new cemetery. However, you could tell that these stones weren't just randomly chosen. Smearing my hand across the stone, I could feel the tiny imperfections beneath caress my fingers, like Uril's rough hands from all his days doing handicrafts back when he was alive.
Moving my fingers down, I felt the hand-engraved words break up the mostly gravelly texture of the gravestone. The words were uneven, and the engraver was clearly inexperienced with carving on stone. And yet, these rough but sanded-down lines reminded me of the passion and strength Uril had shown despite his struggling mental health after Aaron had been captured.
Closing my eyes, I took a deep breath. The image of the gentle and kind man surfaced in my mind as he smiled at me while handing over the carvings. However, that image only lasted for several seconds before it was switched out with a more sinister image. Of feet hanging several inches off the floor.
On that day, it was obvious that Uril didn't want me to see his body. Even though his front door was unlocked, the biggest red flag in Middle and Bottom Street, his bedroom door was locked. For a single child, the metal slab of a door was too large and heavy to break through. However, for two children, the apartment's old creaky metal hinges were no opponent.
And as the door burst down, Uril's body swung as the wind blew into the room, and darkness filled my sight.
"If only I was released several months earlier."
A sigh snapped me out of the blackness that had engulfed my sight and I turned around to see Aaron shake his head as he patted the gravestone.
"No, it's not your fault."
I turned toward Aaron as I placed my hand on his arm.
".....You're right."
His gaze shot towards me and a superficial smile rose on his face. Within those eyes of his, the void smiled at me. In the blackness of his eyes, my face was reflected in there. However, that reflection of me seemed...off. Its smile cracked across my face, and its eyes smiled. The void seemed to laugh as it took on the appearance of me inside Aaron's eyes. It taunted me, sneered at me, at my own uselessness 2 years ago, at how I was too late to save Uril.
"Thank you for finding Uril."
The void paused. It's smile cracked as it's imitation of me blurred. Ripping my eyes from it, I refocused on Aaron's whole face as he gave me a sincere, grateful smile.
"If it weren't for you finding him that day, Uril might have stayed there longer. He suffered a lot when he was alive, so thank you for preventing him from suffering more after he passed."
Aaron moved his arms from the gravestone to my shoulders. Those large arms were warm as they grounded me to the present.
"Truly, thank you."
Pulling me into an embrace, the warmth of Aaron's words melted the image of the void from my mind, and I wrapped my hands around his back.
After a couple of seconds, the two of us parted and we stood up. Patting the dust from my knees, Aaron led the two of us out of the cemetery.
"I'll see the two of you next time."
Letting go of my hands, Aaron's gaze lingered on Oliver for a second before he waved at us and turned his back on us. Then, alone with Oliver, the two of us started walking back to our apartment.
For the first couple of steps, the two of us were silent. Oliver had his hands stuffed inside his pockets, and I took the time to allow Aaron's words to sink into me. But as they registered within my mind, his curt farewell finally rang a couple of bells within my mind and I felt my mouth twitch.
"Aaron caught sight of us leaving for Bottom Street with Jack."
Looking at Oliver's reaction from the side of my eye, I stated a fact I was half sure about. Listening to my words, Oliver gently nodded his head and continued walking with no change in expression.
I had only a short while to know Aaron before he got captured. However, based on my shallow understanding of him, he was incredibly proactive in protesting against those in High Street. It was one of the main reasons he got imprisoned. And I doubt he would change this much in just a couple of years.
However, the presence of the void in his eyes was of great concern. That absolute blackness, the intensity of the hatred behind those pupils, made my heart squeeze in dread.
"Even if he didn't catch sight of us, I'm sure Aaron would have found out about our actions sooner or later."
Closing his eyes, Oliver announced in an unconcerned voice as we stopped walking once we were a few feet from the apartment. Ducking into a nearby alleyway, the two of us lowered our voices as we continued our conversation.
Pondering over his words, a sudden irrational conclusion slipped into my mind. It made my blood run cold, and my heart drop to the bottom of my chest. If Oliver mentioned that Aaron would find out about his project eventually, did he mean that Aaron was a possible subject? Did he mean that Aaron has...
"Are you saying that Aaron has MDVA?"
I widened my eyes at Oliver as I tried my best to restrain my surprise. In all the time I had known him, as well as from what little I had seen of him yesterday and just now, it didn't seem like Aaron had MDVA. But at the same time, I had failed to find out Leo's MDVA before it was too late, so my sensor for it probably wasn't as sensitive as Oliver's.
"No. Aaron doesn't have MDVA."
Shaking his head Oliver folded his arms as he leaned back on the alleyway wall. Then, as he caught sight of my confused expression, he showed a small smile as he explained the answer to me.
"Judging by Aaron's attachment to Uril, the fact one of the first things he did after he came out was to place flowers in front of their old apartment, as well as visiting Uril's grave the next day, it's clear that he probably won't forgive those from High street who imprisoned him. And so, he will probably be looking to work harder against them. And to do so, he will most likely look at whoever seemed to be the target of those in High Street."
Oliver's voice was steady and monotonous.
"Me."
Placing his hand on his chest, Oliver confidently announced the fact that he was currently one of the people High Street was paying attention to, in a not-so-good way.
"Of course, there is a possibility that Aaron might also join several of the other projects that are taking place within the faction. A good example will be the project Mark and James are currently doing. Although I doubt they will accept any newcomers at this stage."
Mentioning Mark and James, Oliver seemed to pause for a second before shaking his head.
"What project is the Current acting leader and vice leader doing?"
Leaning my back against the dirty alleyway walls, I carefully watched Oliver's actions. His random gazes into blank spaces and his outlandish confidence in some things were incredibly suspicious. However, according to the reactions of others around him, as well as how much he seemed to be trusted within the faction, it seemed that whatever he said was mostly correct.
Even if it was information an ordinary member probably wouldn't have access to.
Meeting my eyes for a second, Oliver smiled at me, probably sensing that I was already quite wary of him, and glanced at thin air again. He wasn't even trying to hide the fact that someone - something - was talking to him.
I glanced at the place that Oliver kept looking at and squinted my eyes as I tried to focus on that area. As if with enough mind power, I would be able to see whatever it was that Oliver was speaking to.
"You won't be able to see her."
Suddenly, I heard Oliver's amused voice call out from in front of me. Snapping my sight back to him, I saw the laughter on his face and couldn't help but frown.
"What is this 'her'? And why won't I be able to see 'her'?"
Sneaking a glance back to the space, I heard Oliver chuckle from in front of me and I felt my frown turn into a pout.
"If you want me to introduce you to her, we should probably go back into our room. It wouldn't be good if anyone were to listen in on us."
Pushing his back off the wall, Oliver had a wide smile on his face as he made his way to the stairs leading up the apartment building. Following him, I couldn't help but give the space another glance. At the same time, another chuckle came from Oliver in front of me.
"There's no need to look anymore. She isn't there."
I whipped my head back to the front and hastened my footsteps to cover the gap that had widened between Oliver and me. And together, the two of us climbed the staircase in silence and entered our apartment.