Marls is off from the academy, walking on new soil. He smells the rain that the wind carries from afar. Oddly, it feels refreshing. The city is painted grey by the sky. He expects the streets to be gloomy but is pleasantly surprised when he feels solitude with peacefulness.
Looking down at the paper, he sees a snippet of the city map that gives him directions from the academy to his flat. Even though it's not far away, he still hopes he has his bicycle around to reach his flat quicker. But alas, he has to deal with it by walking for now.
After looking at the sun setting, he hurries himself to his destination. He can only wonder what kind of people here will rise at night since he is not risking it.
There is a sign in front of the building. "Lady Margaret's Boarding House". He opens the door silently. After making sure the hallway is empty, he enters.
The hall is around 2 or 3 meters wide, with half of the left side used for the stairs to the second floor. Forward, he will meet a small kitchen and a dining room, while the door to the living room is on the right side. The wooden floor is covered with a dark grey carpet spanning from the entrance to the kitchen. The walls are light brown, decorated by trellis wallpapers top down.
According to the note he has, his flat is meant to be on the second floor. He finds it a little bit odd that the place is very silent. It only adds more worry to him. He tip-toes to the second floor and then looks for his room number. A sudden loud but muffled thumping noise comes from behind one of the walls. It relieves him that this place is not some haunted abandoned building. Except that noise doesn't come from humans...
Inserting the key into the keyhole, the door opposite to his opens.
Ah, crap...
A sweat drips down from his chin. He hesitantly turns to his neighbor and sees William! William, in turn, is also surprised to learn that Marls is his new neighbor.
"Mr. Marls..?"
"William?? You live here?"
The sound of water being boiled recedes when William turns off the stove. He pours it into a teapot, which fumes venture around the room, presenting its refreshing yet relaxing aroma. Marls is sitting on William's kitchen chair.
"Tea?"
"...sure,"
On the table are several cups stacked on top of each other. William takes one of the cups and places it in front of Marls, then him. After pouring the sweet-smelling tea, he sits down.
"So... what was that with Professor Fachnan earlier?" asks William.
"Well, he was simply giving me a key to the flat, but..."
William raises his eyebrow.
"He also wants me to join The School of Illusion."
"The Professor wants you to join the academy..?"
"Yeah. Well actually, they gave me a choice. I can live normally here, or I could join the academy, subsidized by the kingdom."
So they're planning to do that... I guess it's easier to supervise if he is close to the academy.
"Well, I'm planning to just live normally honestly."
William jumps, he almost spits out his tea.
"What did you say..?"
"Ah, it's okay. This is just not the kind of thing that I really want to do." He shakes his head off.
Only the kitchen light is turned on right now. The living room is next to the kitchen without walls separating them.
Marls looks over the living room window, while William stares concerned.
"I'm fine with how I was, and I think I'll do fine with how I will be in here. I still hope you will succeed though!" He smiles at William. William isn't moved by his words.
"What were you doing before coming here?"
"Me? I had a job. Worked on a stall, and then a night shift on a minimarket. Oh in case you don't know, minimarkets are just some kind of a shop or a kiosk."
"And then?"
"Then what? That's all."
Marls is stunned for a second, recalling something important.
"Oh no... that old man is going to worry a lot.."
"Old man?"
"The stall owner."
"You worry about the stall owner? What about your family..?"
Marls turns and stares at William for a while, before he looks down at his tea. He sees his reflection in it.
"Well... they're gone. Was an accident. But It's okay! don't worry." He gestures both his hands forward, anticipating a reaction from William.
William is taken aback. "Oh... I'm, my condolences to you..."
The conversation stops for a bit.
"But, is it painful?" He asks out of curiosity.
"What? Of course!" He looks at William as silly. But after seeing his reaction, Marls processes what just happened. "Wait... are you an orphan?"
William scratches his head. "Yeah... they were gone when me and my sister were just a baby. I don't even know what my parents' face looks like. But in a way, it helps me cope."
They both maintain eye contact for a while until William looks away.
"Hng... I guess that's one thing we have in common now."
William giggles.
"Ah! Sorry, I slipped."
"What? it's fine! Don't be sorry. I have moved on anyway." Says Marls.
"You probably wonder how could I attend the academy. That happened thanks to Professor Hitchson and Professor Beatrix."
"Professor Beatrix?" Marls shocks.
"You seem to not be surprised about Professor Hitchson,"
"Well! I could imagine him being generous. But that orange-hair lady?"
"I know she seems carefree at first. But she is a caring person too. Though I manage to enter the academy because of my talent in levitating things."
"Ahh... I see. Not everyone can use magic?"
"Nope."
Silence ensues.
"Wait, it has been this long, but where is your sister?"
"Oh, she's in her room. I said I wanted to greet our new neighbor and she immediately ran away. But I could never thought it would be you, so... welcome!"
"Hey, thanks, man. I hope things go fine tomorrow."
"You have plans tomorrow?"
"Well yea. As I said earlier, I've made up my mind, I'm not entering the academy."
William scowls. "Ah really? Don't you want to at least see what's on the academy?"
"Eh, not interested."
William squints. "That kind of unfortunate to hear..."
"Well, I can't be bothered."
"But if you manage to finish the academy, you'll get a much better job though!"
"If," Marls implies.
William sighs in response to that. At least I tried convincing him...
"I wish you the best for you in the academy though, and the race! Right, the race! Can other people watch it?"
"Oh, definitely! The race will start in the academy. A lot of people would buy tickets to come. If you want one, I definitely could get one for you."
"Ay! Thanks a lot!"
"Yeah, you're welcome."
He sighs. "It was nice talking with you."
William stares at him and nods. "Nice talking to you too. I wish you the best with whatever plan you'll do after this."
"Yeah! It's getting late. I should go back and see what's in my room" Marls stands up.
"Okay-" Marls' hand reaches for the exit.
"Marls,"
Marls turns his head. "Yea?"
"I just want to say, don't hesitate to talk with me if you have something weighing you down."
Marls stands still. His heart somehow feels lighter.
"I-"
"Thank you. I will" He smiles, before closing the door.
Marls' stomach growls.
"Shit... I just remembered I haven't eaten for the entire day."
He looks outside, and seeing how the sky is dark, he backs off.
I think I could last til tomorrow.
He unlocks the door and pushes it open. The silence feels stronger after he has his first real talk after a while, but he quickly gets used to it. The room layout is quite similar, except mirrored. The first thing he finds after opening the entrance is the kitchen, and to the left side of the entrance, is the living room.
He locks the door and then Walks to a one-person sofa and sits there. His eye raises a bit in realization.
I didn't bring Mom's and Sarina's photos.
He sits there in silence.
"I wonder if I will forget their faces someday."