"I didn't stay outside, as promised."
"Thank you."
Ralph gave me a small smile as he spoke, his cheeks red from the warmth inside his apartment. Reaching out to him, I touched his wrist. But feeling the almost burning heat, I quickly pulled it back.
"Sorry. I must be cold."
Immediately after releasing my hold on him, Ralph shot out his arm to capture my hand, pulling it over to the side of his face.
"It's alright."
I stepped closer to his apartment, letting the yellow glow warm up my body as the two of us stood there. Leaning into my hand, Ralph muttered into my palm.
"Why did you go to High Street."
I froze, eyes widening as I looked down at the black-haired boy in front of me. Those melted-ice eyes looked down at me, their crystal clear clarity reflecting my face, as well as the corridor lights. A mini galaxy revealed itself to me.
"How did you find out?"
"I saw you when I ended my shift at the local shop. I didn't tell anyone."
Oh. He just saw me.
Letting out a sigh of relief, I rubbed my thumb across his cheek and gave him a small smile.
"I went there for our current project. We're involved with the MDVA research team there to create a drug to prevent the violent actions of MDVA. Although I don't know when it'll be complete. Keep this a secret too, alright? High Street seems to be keen to find them so things are quite dangerous now."
My thumb made a crescent path across Ralph's skin, and I couldn't help but squeeze the thin flesh within my palms. It wasn't too long ago that we had met on the stairway, Ralph shoeless as he waited on the bottom stair for his mother. Comparing that dark image to the present him, all bound up in thick clothes, warm and safe within his own apartment, I couldn't help but feel a cozy fire burn within my chest.
"Dangerous..."
Those eyes the color of melted ice lowered as they focused on his feet. His mouth formed a pout, putting more strength as he clung onto my hand and snuggled himself into my palm. Watching him intently, I saw him suck his bottom lip under his teeth, lightly chewing on it in thought before raising those determined eyes at me.
"Then let me join your project."
He lowered my hand from his face, switching to hold it in his own instead, as he looked at me straight in the eye. Inside, I could see a familiar fear and anxiety of sitting on the sidelines, watching others do something, and yet unable to do anything yourself. The raw feelings of uselessness and self-loathing made me hesitate on the 'no' that circled the tip of my tongue.
"...I'll ask Oliver."
Retrieving my hand from his, he nodded his head and pulled me into a hug.
"Thank you."
Bidding goodbye, I waited until Ralph closed his door before walking over to my own apartment.
[Dan.]
Halfway through the corridor, I heard Favian's voice appear near me and turned my head to watch him magic himself behind me.
"Where were you?"
I paused in my steps and hung around the corridor, leaning my back against the freezing concrete wall as I watched Favian walk up and take the spot next to me. Standing beside me with a straight back, he gestured to the sky.
[Us systems aren't bound by the laws of gravity or science in the world. I know people aren't really comfortable with me, so I listen to your words from above. Out of sight but near enough to react if anything happens. If you ever need to talk to me, just call out and I'll come down.]
Shooting a look at Favian, I raised my eyebrow. These actions of his seemed so contradictory. If he wanted to make people less uncomfortable around him, shouldn't he try to form an organic bond with them instead of hiding out of sight? Not to mention that eavesdropping on them isn't wouldn't help them feel more safe around him. Although I don't think I have the right to rebuke him on that last point.
Meeting my eyes, Favian's expression didn't change. Despite how cold and calculating he acted, he felt a little socially naive to me as he stared at me for a while, maybe trying to measure what I was currently thinking. However, his stare didn't last long, and he shot a glance at Ralph's apartment before returning that attention to me.
[If you want to ask whether it'll be safe for Ralph to join your project, he'll be fine.]
I brought my hands up to my mouth, allowing the white cloud of breath to warm them up as I observed Favian's reaction, or lack of, as he announced this fact.
"What makes you say that? Is it another system thing?"
Impervious to the temperature, Favian nodded his head as he placed his hand behind his back. Putting on an air of authority and confidence.
[I don't know how much Ava has told you, so I'll start from the beginning. Systems like us are beings that come from many different places, with many different goals. Those that share similar goals or views join departments, which are just a group of systems. We can also join more than one department.]
Taking out his notebook, Favian started to draw several shapes. The shapes representing systems were clustered into different groups, each group made out of many different shapes. Circling the congregation of shapes, he named them departments, with some shapes belonging to more than one department.
[Different departments have different ways of doing things with the skills we are given. There's the coding department, which creates useful subsystems - accessories to help make life easier - or the Record department, who pen down the lives of people into books to commemorate their existence and remember them. They all use skills that we systems share. One of these skills is being able to know the plans for certain people.]
He tore out that page in his notebook, handing it over to me.
[This is how we know whether someone fits the general criteria to become a host. When we look and focus on them, we can see what future plans the world has in store for them. Although these details are usually vague and uncertain. Until they reach a point where regardless of whatever option they choose, their future has already been predetermined.]
Receiving the note, I folded it and tucked it into my pocket as I listened. Hearing the last sentence, I lifted my head to look at Favian as his words pierced through the icy air.
"Then what about Ralph? What plans do you see for him?"
[The specifics are not clear. However, he will be certainly involved in something in the future. When I look at him, one phrase surfaces to the top of my mind. He can't die. So if anything poses a danger to him, the world will certainly do its best to direct it away from him.]
[Although I would rather the two of you limit his role in your project. If anything does happen to him, it might lead to a worse future overall.]
Favian kept his notebook, his eyes staring straight at me as he tilted his head slightly as if to ask what decision I would make.
"Oliver's in charge of this project, so I'll discuss all this with him. Thank you."
I pushed myself off the wall and headed over to the apartment. Out of the corner of my eye, Favian seemed to look at me as if he had something to say, before shaking his head and disappearing away.
"I'm home!"
Closing the door behind me, I took a deep breath of the comfortable smell of home and headed to the kitchen.
"Welcome home."
Standing near the stove with a ladle in her hands, my mother smiled at me as she scooped up some soup and placed them into bowls.
"How is your project?"
"We're encountering some difficulties."
I sighed, grabbing the filled bowls beside her and placing them on the kitchen table. After that, I took some plates and dumped three scoops of rice on each of them.
"What about Mom? How has your project been?"
With the table half-set, we leaned on the counter, waiting for the last part of the meal, a luxurious meat dish I had never seen before, to cook.
"It's been good. Although your father and I haven't been involved in the faction for almost 10 years, there are still people who remember us and help us reintegrate back. We've been invited to come into many projects, both big and small, and Ivan himself has been talking to us more and more."
"Although I don't know how to feel about that last point."
My mother shook her head as she casually laid her arm across my shoulder, the warm yet firm appendage heating my neck as we had a long overdue mother-son talk.
"You mentioned some difficulties, what kind? Maybe if you tell Mom, Dad and I could help."
I leaned my head on her side, my eyes closed as I gave a little hum. Which part of this project could I speak to Mom and Dad about? In the beginning, Oliver had wanted to keep this whole thing a secret, which was probably because of the existence of the systems and the impossibility of explaining everything he was doing.
But at that time he was basically alone, and my parents would have definitely not approved of him doing everything by 'himself'. Now, we had Linel and Frank, two people from High Street who could help us access places and information from High Street that people from the lower streets like us could not. Then there was Jade and Joel who we could rope in to help us with things here and there. Cedy and the Black Market Circle can't be considered allies currently, but if we could get a little closer with them, it may be possible to get information only privy to those in Bottom Street. In short, we had a whole network of information that we could tap on. Not to mention other people working with systems like Raven, which would allow us to know the ins and outs of the research center and other areas we could not access.
"I'll have to ask Oliver."
Snuggling into her side, I breathed in her homely scent and allowed myself to relax in her arms.
"I see. Then, Mom will just give some general advice she learned when she was younger."
I felt her arm muscles flex as her hand rested on my arm, partially enveloping me into a hug as the smell of meat and spices filled the air.
"When I was younger, I used to help the faction out here and there. Although it wasn't much compared to what the adults at that time were doing, it was the best I could offer at my young age. Just like you, I was very passionate about MDVA. You see, Mom used to be from High Middle Street. It's one of the reasons why I knew Vicky, she used to be called Victoria back then. Between the two of us was another girl, a dear friend named Luis who got diagnosed with MDVA. It was because of Luis that I joined the faction."
"At that time, the faction wasn't as cohesive as it is now. We used to have a juvenile faction before it merged with the adult faction to form our current 'Anti-MDVA Act faction'. Back then, the juvenile faction was kind of like the errand runners for the larger projects. We would create contacts with many different groups of people, and these contacts would be the people we would work with when we grew up and joined the adult faction. And the most common issue that we would face would be feeling helpless, or redundant because nothing seemed to be moving. We were not moving."
The sound of water bubbling ascended the air and the weight from my shoulders disappeared.
"But you have to remember, just because you feel as if nothing is happening, doesn't mean it's true. Children are usually used as links between adults. You're smaller, faster, and see the world through a different lens from us. Adults complicate things with ulterior motives, pride, and a need to earn a living. And on the off chance that a child is involved in more practical work, they're often underestimated, underfunded and undersupported because we like to believe that if we can't do it, how can a child succeed?"
Scooping up the small chunks of meat, Mom gestured to me, and I passed her a plate of rice. Carefully setting the meat next to the rice, we formed a cohesive chain where everyone had their own little job. Mine was to pass her the dishes, while hers was to add the meat. Then she would pass them back to me and I would place them on the table.
"Just because one part of the chain does not feel that it's important, doesn't mean it isn't. Everyone has their part to play, and sometimes that part is a background role in the darkness where it's hard for most people to appreciate or realize their own significance. Whatever the two of you are up to, you just have to remember this."
A large hand suddenly caressed the top of my head, the rough fingers scratching my scalp as the last dish was passed to me.
"Everyone has something only they can do. Believe in it, and believe in yourself."