In St. Cloud, a blonde middle-aged woman with a black trench coat staggered in the middle of the street in the midst of the night.
"Damn it, why is my head hurting so bad? It feels like a thousand needles are piercing my brain!"
The woman shook as if she were having a seizure in the middle of the street before she ran into an alley.
"It would be a problem if I collapsed in the middle of the street, and the cops found me!"
However, she could only hold on for a couple more seconds before she wilted down like a leaf, defenseless in the dark, gloomy alley.
A few minutes later, her eyes shone purple, and she bounced back up.
"Finally, I got my hands on an actual body after so many years of saving aether!"
"I need to get the cops off my tail and whisk away that brat's life."
The woman, who had clearly been taken over by another entity, grinned mischievously in the dark.
-Friday-
"Damn!!!"
"Today's Friday, and I have to head back to that accursed workplace."
Wailed a slightly drowsy Sunny.
"It's 11 am, and I have to head to work at four, so it's a must to go to the gym. It's a hassle to go to the gym at 10 pm at night!"
Brooding over his plans for the day, Sunny got ready for the gym.
Sunny didn't manage to speak to Lydn today as she wasn't here for some reason, and granted if she was here, he wouldn't casually approach her, as that would come off as pushy.
So, just like any other day at the gym, he sweated a ton, and wobbled his ass off to the car.
Just as he was driving back home, he received a call from one of his siblings.
"Aye bro, you at the crib?" a rather cool voice came through the phone.
"Naw, I'm just heading back. What's good?"
"Nothing, just was wondering who's at the house, as usual, you know I can't stay there for too long." The voice chuckled as they spoke.
"Yeah, you're never at the crib for real. Life must be exciting at 20, huh?" Sunny shot back sarcastically, which made the voice on the other end laugh in response.
"It's not just that but also-"
"Yeah yeah, I know what the business is." The voice was cut off by Sunny before they could finish.
After a bit of banter, Sunny hung up the phone and was left to wonder.
The person who had just ended the call was Hakeem, his older brother. Honestly, Hakeem and Sunny shared a solid bond, even though they rarely spoke to each other nowadays due to Hakeem not being home much.
That also applied to his other older brother as well. Although the three of them had a strong brotherhood, since the other two entered their 20s, they hardly communicated much. Not to mention the tension with the old man back home about their hair.
(Author's note: In African American households, free forms of expression when it comes to hair are deeply frowned upon by the older generation. It can sometimes be much more serious than you'd think.)
Although it was not super serious, the old man still cared a lot about this, which is why they'd prefer to run around outside and only come back home late at night. They also had work, so in summary, Sunny and his two older brothers drifted apart in their adult lives.
amidst his thoughts, he had already arrived at the accursed supermarket that he so desperately bragged about quitting soon many times.
Out of the corner of his eye, Sunny noticed a figure pushing carts outside.
"So, the old man is working today!"
This old man, not to be confused with the other old man back home who is Sunny's father, is someone Sunny admired a great deal as much as he disliked this place.
"Haha, old man Adul, how have you been?"
Old man Adul was a man in his 50s with a very spirited gaze and a broad, wide smile. He also stood at 6'4, eclipsing Sunny with his lanky figure.
"Not bad, brat. One of my kids brought good news to me the other day!"
"Could it be that you're about to be a grandfather?" Quipped Sunny, half-jokingly.
"Well, I'll be damned, brat-"
Just as they were about to continue, another figure cut in.
"Yo, Sunny!" said Keys as he sneaked up behind the two.
Doing their handshake as usual Sunny turned to old man Adul "congrats, you gotta show me pictures of the little tiger when the time's ripe."
after exchanging banter with Adul, Sunny walked off into the store with Keys.
"You sure hang around the senior members of this place a lot, Sunny."
"Man, it's really fun talking to them. I don't do it as a formality, but I genuinely find it worthwhile."
"Yeah, I can understand Old man Jean that is at the other door, but Adul seems far too respectful for those kinds of 'topics.'"
"Damn, bro, I'm not that much of a pervert. Besides, one Master Roshi is enough for this store," Sunny shot back.
"Master Roshi is really an apt nickname for that old man," laughed out Keys.
"The reason I like hanging around Adul is that he's truly one of the people I respect."
"He's just a magnetic person, in the sense that even though he's at that age, there isn't a day he doesn't seem to praise me to the high heavens-"
"Well, well, no wonder."
Sensing Keys' disdainful glance, Sunny coughed.
"My ego being stroked is not the point. The point is that old man Adul lives without regret and is really good with words. Every single day he comes to work with a happy smile as if even at that age he has accomplished everything he could in life, and if death came for a chat, he would happily serve the tea. I admire him deeply," said Sunny seriously while looking at Keys.
Ten seconds after, though, he burst out into laughter, and so did Keys.
"Sheesh, say no more. You glazing supreme general"
(Author's note: Glazing is an internet slang, kind of like bootlicking)