It was midnight. The old men made him stay at their home, as it was not safe outside for the time being. He stretched down to doze off, but there was no dizziness in his eyes. He observed the old men remained awake as well. One kept guard outside the door while the other watched out of the window.
"Are you not going to sleep?" he asked them.
"You should sleep," suggested Tangent without turning his back. "You need rest as your body demands it."
"I do not feel sleepy at all," responded Kenny, staring at the lantern above his head. "Hey, tell me, is your every night the same as this?" he asked.
"It is," answered Cosant from outside the door. "The lives in this neighborhood is same every day. Also, it is the same for everyone. In this unbalanced world of today, starvation is something which equalizes us."
"Does the organization not help you with monetary means?" wondered Kenny.
"What do you expect from an outlaw organization which is a declared terrorist group?" responded Tangent. "They are not some big-shot corporation with profits to pay their employees and do charity work. We stick around and fight voluntarily, not for money, but for the people."
Kenny closed his eyes as he could understand them. It was a voluntary struggle against the oppressor. "Why did you choose to fight against them?" he asked both again.
"Do you really want to know?" asked Tangent.
"Yes."
"I will stroll around for a while," told Cosant, walking away from the door. "Do not stay up for late. I will be back in around an hour."
"Alright," replied Tangent, turning to Kenny with a melancholic face. "His daughter died during The Second Defiants-Skultar war. He had to move here forcefully to save his wife and son from the catastrophe that befall upon a large number of humans during that time," he told, referring to Cosant. "They were not involved in the war, but the skultars targeted his city and committed a genocide on the pretext of sheltering their enemies."
Kenny's eyes overflowed with grief when he heard it. He realized why Cosant had gone for a stroll. He could not hear about the misery he had gone through.
The Defiant-Skultar wars. Kenny had heard about them. It was a disaster which resulted in forming the ghettos around Kanugo city. Kanugo slum area was one of them. The people who had lost their homes and fled because of the destruction caused by the wars had settled around the peripheries of the city. He learned about the pain they had suffered from.
Tangent glanced into the eyes of Kenny. "The population in these slums is increasing day by day. You, too, have escaped from something and ended up here."
Kenny turned his eyes to him, indicating that he had hit the spot.
"I would not ask," continued Tangent. "Do not worry. But I would tell you about me." He glanced up with a sorrowful face, probably reminiscing about the past he had struggled to forget for so long. "I am already old and I do not know how long I have left to get along. It is better that I should share my experiences with someone." He glanced back at Kenny. "You are one of us now. So, maybe it is you whom I must express."
Kenny stayed silent and just watched him patiently.
Tangent shifted to his right and picked up a shabby-looking wooden box. He opened it and took out a photo frame. It was an old piece. The worn-off material, and the dust, showed it clearly.
"This is the only picture I have left of my wife and son," he said, tearing up, moving his fingers on the picture. "She was so pretty and young. And my son was only six when a fireball demolished our home."
Kenny took the photo and looked at it. There was young Tangent, his hair black, a thick and dense mustache, and he wore a black suit. On his left was his wife - short stature, black open hair, thin face and a lean body, and she wore a white floral dress. They had a boy between them - big eyes, a mischievous-looking fellow whose sharp nose matched his father's, and face matched the mother, and he wore knee-length pants and a t-shirt. It was a black-and-white picture, so he did not know exactly what color they wore.
"I was at work when I got the news of a conflict between two armies breaking out near the city. I hurried to my family to see if they were safe," continued Tangent, tears tumbling down his cheeks. "It was already too late."
Kenny felt sorry for him. "I am sorry."
After remaining hushed for a few seconds, Tangent gave off a laugh. "It has been long. I do not even remember most of the occasions I spent with them." He took the photo from Kenny and put it back in the box. He kept aside the box where it belonged and gave off an embarrassed smile. "Pardon this old man for turning your night all gloomy." He stood up, trying to act cheerful. "You can go to sleep, young Kenny. I will look for Cosant and come back. We have work tomorrow, as we have to brief the organization about what had happened earlier."
Kenny nodded, but did not speak a word. He slid down and shut his eyes to sleep. But his mind ran on and on, and did not let him enter the realm of dreams.
The second-hand suffering he had taken in from the past of old men and the countless people around him in the slum area had caused his eyes to go sleepless. It reminded him of his own suffering because of which he had moved to this city. He remained that way for a few minutes, but bolted up in exasperation when he could not sleep. "Damn it."
Suddenly, he discovered a man in a dark uniform, which he recognized to be the investigator's uniform from the stars above the pocket, staring down at him. "Huh?" he reacted in puzzlement.
"I am sorry for disturbing you at this hour," said the man, squatting down.
Kenny had his breath stop for a moment. "Why is he here? Did they find out my connection to Hagambo Dryer's death? Where are uncles Tangent and Cosant? Did they do something to them?" He was in a state of panic and had many questions surging into his head, but still he tried his best to not show it to the man in front of him.
"I do not know if you are aware of it, but we are investigating the murder of a wealthy businessman which happened in this city," said the investigator with slick-back hair and a thin bony face.
"I have heard about it," replied Kenny, trying to act calm. "It was everywhere on the news."
"I see," reacted the investigator, "then I will directly come to the point. Have you noticed someone suspicious around here? Any movements or rumors…"
"No, I have not," responded Kenny. "If there was something, I would have known."
The investigator exhaled. "I see." He stood up. "I am sorry for bothering you this late at night. I suppose you were having trouble falling asleep. Any problems lately?"
"Some of my personal problems. Thank you," responded Kenny, wondering when he would leave.
"I see." The investigator turned to leave. "Alright, I will take my leave now." He halted midway at the door. "By the way, how did you get those wounds on your body?" He signaled to the bandages Kenny wore.
"I had met an accident earlier," he replied, getting alarmed to not accidentally blurt out any hint of his involvement with a skultar.
"I see," turned back the investigator and stepped away to leave. "Alright, have a good night."
Kenny pursued him with his eyes and saw him entering Marya's house. He gave off a sigh of relief as he understood he was just doing a regular investigation. They had still not figured out the case.
After a while, Tangent and Cosant both returned and found Kenny sitting up.
"Why did you not sleep yet?" asked Tangent.
"An investigator was here," told Kenny.
Cosant raised a brow. "Did you…"
"No, I did not mention anything. He was just on a routine investigation. I told him I knew nothing, and he just left."
Cosant exhaled in relief and sat down. "They harass the people in these areas knowingly time to time. There is no reason to barge into the houses of people at midnight. They could have done it in the daytime."
Kenny noticed Tangent was lost in thoughts. "What happened, uncle Tangent?"
"Ah, nothing," responded Tangent, breaking out of his thoughts. "I just wonder why an investigator alone would enter this area at midnight, which is known for hate crimes against skultars."
"You are right, but they have done it earlier too," said Cosant, spreading down at the place he was sitting. "They do it periodically to provoke the people, and also us. They have also gained a reason now."
"You are right," Tangent said, scratching his head. "I might be thinking too much."
Kenny nodded at his words and slid down to fall asleep again.
"Orange will meet us at dawn," Cosant mentioned before turning his back and retiring to sleep.
***
There was someone who smirked, walking away from the slum area. It was the investigator who had inquired to Kenny earlier. Suddenly, there lit a fire followed by an explosion below his feet, and he flew away.
"What was that?" Kenny wondered when he picked up a low blasting sound, which seemed to come from somewhere far away. He did not pay much heed to it and slept back after looking at the old men snoozing like babies. "Whatever."