The night fell and the boys went on their ways. After finishing his shift, Liam went to the pharmacy and bought some aspirin and promethazine. He also had his head hurting like needles were inserted into the very flesh of his brain. Some of the townsmen in the building were still talking about the incident that had happened earlier. Liam lammed out of the pharmacy and traveled along the row of streetlamps.
He got home after some pedaling and brought his bicycle to the railing-walled rear balcony of the house. He checked and locked all the doors and windows before settling down on the couch in the living room, his arms extended over the backrest and feet on the small wooden table. He sighed while looking at his reflection on the television screen.
After the unforeseen nap, he went to the kitchen and cooked some soup. He took his medicine as well and showered in warm water. He cleaned the kitchen before plopping back down on the cold couch. He put his socks off with his toes, then closed his eyes. The air flowing in the room was colder than yesterday's it seemed like he was in a freezer room. He got up and left the biting living room.
He went upstairs, then entered his father's room. Lesley was still in bed. Liam sat by him and fixed his head back on the pillow.
"Lyn?" Lesley uttered, his eyes shut.
Lyn was his wife's name. He was dreaming, Liam guessed.
"Lyn?" Lesley repeated.
Liam held onto his father's arms which were constricting his waist and whispered in the distance, "Just rest for now, Dad."
After some minutes, he got off his bed and prepared dinner, the loud buzzing noise of the cicadas veiling the shadows of the night. He brought the finished dish to the table and went upstairs.
He entered Lesley's room and tapped his arms. After some time of disturbing the stillness of his body, his father's eyelids opened and revealed his reddish eyes. He overdrank again. Liam had disliked seeing him this way for a long time, but nothing put his appetite off alcohol. It was like Lesley's days were nearing doomsday whenever he did not have a bottle of liquor tossed down.
He looked his son in the eye and just made occasional blinks at him. Liam smiled at him, then put his legs off the bed. He reached for his slippers and fit his feet into them. He stood up and pulled Lesley's weight until he gained his total balance. Liam put his hand over his shoulder and the other on his wrist. Lesley's skin was cold, but Liam knew he was feeling warmth in his guts due to the excess alcohol intake.
Liam led him down the stairs until they reached the dining table. He sat him on a chair, then settled down across his seat. His father started sipping his soup in silence, so Liam minded his plate.
He was about to take in a spoonful of food when Lesley heaved a long sigh. "Liam."
"Dad?" Liam raised his brows, putting his utensils down on his plate.
"What happened to your face?"
"Um, this?" Liam touched his left cheek.
"Yes."
"Nothing."
"I did that, didn't I?"
"Um—"
"Fuck," Lesley said with a low voice, then got away from the table.
"Dad, no." Liam caught up with his pace. "It's nothing."
Lesley stopped stepping and faced his son. "You won't ever live in peace and safety when you're with me, Liam."
"But you're the only family I have left, Dad. I'll never leave you."
"I don't deserve you, Liam, you know that."
"You do. You've suffered enough. I've been trying to ease the pain in you, Dad, because I know your old self has never left you."
"Son." Lesley shook his head, clearing his throat. "I mean— You should get aw——"
Liam cut his words off with a tight embrace. "You don't need to like me and please ignore whatever you think you should be doing. All I want is for you to take care of yourself. That's all I've ever needed."
Lesley did not hug him back. Instead, he just breathed in and out with placidity on his shoulder.
"Liam," he whispered, his arms now enfolding his son's back. "I'm sorry, son."
That was the time Liam's chest doubled its rate. His insides turned into mush and his emotions overwhelmed him in a good way. Tears formed and got suspended in the corner of his eyes. He then let them fall, then burst into a silent cry against his father's shoulder. He tightened his arms around him and after some time, they broke the contact. Lesley had never called him his child for a long time. Liam had missed it and the time his father said it again, he felt a dramatic gratification in the core.
He wiped his tears off and smiled at him. Lesley just faced him with his eyes avoiding his son's.
"You can go back to your bed, Dad," Liam uttered.
Lesley did not respond and went upstairs. Liam let out a long sigh, then put a bantam smile on his lips. He then washed the dishes and turned off every appliance, then rechecked the locks of the doors and windows.
He was about to ascend the stairs when the urge of watching the television hit him. He then sat in the living room and turned on the box, the lights still down. He pulled his socks up to his shins while his eyes were stuck on the screen, watching a news program.
". . . of the Arctic Ocean. It's been in some serious . . ."
The program played live footage of, as Liam heard it right, the Arctic Ocean. Some small vessels were stuck in the now-frozen water. Helicopters flew around not far from the surface with people in white coats, which Liam assumed were scientists or some kind, in them with binoculars, looking over the arctic blue firmed-up surface of the Arctic waters. Liam furrowed his brows at the scene playing while rubbing his hands to each other in a harsh manner. He did not know anything about the Arctic Ocean except for the famous tragedy of the ship named Titanic that had taken place there almost one and a half-century ago.
". . . that it's still a mystery why the Northern Hemisphere dramatically cools down more than it's used to during . . ."
He always wanted to go abroad to experience winter. What he was seeing right now on the television made his face blank for a second. The seas were freezing. Snow was falling as if there was no tomorrow. Everyone was evacuating places. The whole program run just made his face distorted later every time a piece of news regarding the unfriendly weather change came up.
"Almost every city in Mexico and Russia on this day is still under public violence as civilians commit mass robberies in malls and markets."
Another footage flashed on the television screen. Now, it was all about Mexican and Russian cities in pure chaos. Liam leaned forward and put his elbows on his lap, supporting his upper body weight. His eyes got watery and his eyelids were heavy with him not doing any blinking. Another video popped out on the screen with people in it bursting in and out of shops, throwing things to the authority, and everything looked upside-down.
"The government of the two countries hasn't responded to other countries' request of legal assistance yet, but some of the interviewed natives have said their governments were long gone."
Liam's heart thumped at a fast pace when a flash of a picture of mattocks appeared, the same as that of thrust into the man's back at the incident earlier. Their tips were covered with red paint which Liam was sure was blood. He was doubtful about it, but he guessed the world was in ruination. The weather was drastic and people started hurting each other. Liam was still grateful his country, even being unable to get off the third-world countries list, had not gone mad yet. It would be traumatic if those kinds of things happened in the country.
Liam jolted after hearing a loud buzzing sound following an explosive one. The power was cut. Liam picked up his phone and turned on its torch. He got out of the house and saw people flocking around the post where the explosion came from. His eyes narrowed as he heard some voices that sounded rather aggressive. He shut the door close and walked to the crowd.
"It was a person. I saw him clearly," a lady in glasses said.
"He was tall and the way he walked off was weird," an old woman let out.
Mike, sitting on his bike, shrugged at Liam.
The subdivision guard scratched the side of his neck. "You sure about that, folks?"
"Yes." A man went akimbo. "Please double the security here."
"I'll just call the— Please, people, get back into your houses." The guard put his thick telephone against his ear. "I'll cry out to the power provider."
The people then scrammed away from the post. Mike bid Liam goodbye. Liam entered their house and locked the door. After washing his face, he went to his room and lay motionless on his bed. It was a long day for him. Everything that happened on this very day was mixed-up in his brain. They overwhelmed him and gave him a bit of discomfort. His eyelids got heavier at last and his vision grew darker.
He woke up as his alarm clock went off. The night passed like a blink of an eye. The morning light burst into the gaps in the window curtains. Liam got off the bed and turned down the still-ringing clock. He yawned, extending his arms side-to-side, and scratched his itchy scalp. He walked to the window and slid the curtains to the side. The surrounding was all blurry, thick mist reigning in the air.
Liam left his room and went downstairs. The power was still not back, so he made a light breakfast and two cups of hot coffee. He went to his father's room and invited him to join him. Lesley agreed and walked along with him to the dining room. They sat and ate in silence. Liam felt the atmosphere tensing, but neither of them two broke the ice. Liam still had not gained enough courage in this early hour to initiate a talk with him. They just finished their plates, the Liam did the light house chores before showering and taking off to the café.
He pulled into the bicycle shed and locked his wheels. He entered the workplace and greeted his coworkers. He heard that the manager was off to a meeting, so it was only them who would manage the packed Sunday morning. Customers' arrival and leave were almost simultaneous.
Some hours passed — it was already eleven noon. Liam's Sunday shift was done. He worked in the evening from Mondays through Fridays, the whole day on Saturdays, and only morning on Sundays. He cleaned the tables and set up the seats back. At the time he put the apron off, the manager got out of her office. Liam did not notice her entering the café, so he just looked at her.
"Good day, ma'am." He wore an extensive smile.
"Come in here, Liam," the manager ordered.
Liam nodded in agreement. He went inside the office and stood straight before her desk.
The manager handed him a white envelope. "Here's your monthly salary."
Liam lowered his brows. It was not yet the end of the month. He peeked into the envelope and had his mouth hung open at the thickness of the money inside.
"Ma'am," he started, "this is kind of, you know, excess."
"Is it?" She threw him a grin. "Don't worry. It's my treat to you all. I had a great morning at the headquarters."
"You seem cheerful today, ma'am."
"Do I? I do."
"Thank you so much for this, ma'am."
"No." She sneered. "You all deserve that anyway. And you, Liam, better do well in your studies. You're a great kid with great attributes."
Liam scratched his left sideburn. "Um, thanks. I'll do great, yes."
"You're done with the shift?"
"Yes."
"Off you go then. Safe trip."
"Thank you again for this, ma'am," Liam said before bugging out of the room.
He then pedaled to the supermarket to buy fresh and canned goods. He also took some cans of drinks. It had been days since the last time their fridge tasted storage. He put everything in the shopping cart and fell into the less crowded line. He zipped up my jacket, but that did not help to warm up his skin at all. It was already afternoon, but the cold seemed like that of midnight. Liam breathed out a cloud of breath.
He handed the payment to the cashier when it was his turn, then left the building. After a quick turn, he ran into someone — Ron. Ron was with another guy from one of his classes.
"Oh, Ron." Liam chuckled, fixing the rather heavy bag of goods.
"Where are you headed?" Ron asked.
"I'm on my way home."
"Let me give you a lift."
"No, it's fine. I have my cycle fixed already, thanks to Uncle Mike."
"Oh, come on." Ron lifted his bicycle and put it in the back compartment of his car. "We'll be passing by your place anyway."
"Oh, um, okay then." Liam smiled and nodded. "Thanks."
They got in Ron's vehicle and hit the road. It was a silent trip until they got past the open basketball court. That was when Liam got off the backrest of the seat. A small, thin white thing got stuck on the other side of the mirror. He brought his eyes near the window until he got a clearer look at it. He then put his focal vision on the surroundings and his mouth hung open at the view.
"What the hell, guys," he uttered, tapping the backrest of the two boys in the front seats. "Is it only me or is it really snowing?"