Une Jesoja [yūn he-SO-ha] walked through the streets at a leisurely pace. It was as if it would be his last stroll when he took in his surroundings; the dim streetlights, glittery pave walks, and the southwest winds of early November.
His twin brother, Nil, was heavily asleep, tucked in his thick fluffy blanket at home. It had been a tiring week for both of them, and they were obliged to rest as much as they could before tomorrow's final rehearsal. For the day after tomorrow is a most important day — the duo's debut concert!
Fans raged over this and over 15,000 tickets were sold during the first week, leaving them both nervous and exhilarated. They were really going big!
Smiling as he enjoyed his late afternoon's stroll, Une took a left turn and entered 4th Avenue, where several commercial establishments ran perpendicular to their street. One of which he often visited there was Flos Insulae, a flower shop popular among the neighborhoods in the city.
Its yellow dim lights, in contrast to the dark skies, were most inviting. Yet its bizarre, ethereal, but grotesquely aesthetics was enough to unsettle some visitors while attracting many kinds of artists.
One of their most criticized products was "Halved Cat". A wall decor featuring a cat's open stomach meticulously filled with a monotonous arrangement of differing blue flowers.
While it became the center of animosity for a great number of shoppers, several individuals who cared to read its story found the art to be beautifully melancholic. As it turned out, the piece was inspired by the story of a boy and his brutally murdered cat.
The blue flowers symbolize the boy's sorrow for his cat's fate.
Just as Une was to lift the entrance door, he noticed several pairs of eyes trained towards him. Only that a lady in an unspeakable hurry pushed through the storefront doors, interrupting the small scene.
Reminded of his purpose, Une went inside and ignored the stares. Such occurrences weren't rare for him. Yet obliquely, a feeling of caution lingered.
"Is it Mr. Jesoja?" An attendant wearing oversized glasses called over the counter.
"Yes,"
Une strode immediately in his direction, and the attendant laid a box in front of him. After he pulled the top and side sections of the case, purple and white florets protruded in layers from a stout rounded glass.
"It looks really nice—" Une burst into a grin, satisfied with the calming scent of lavender and white roses. "Grandpa should like it."
The clerk in front of him cocked one of his eyebrows, "Grandpa?"
Une turned at him and gave him a mocking amused face. "Yes, yes. I'll bring it to him this eve."
"My bad, I was assuming you'll give it to your girlfriend." The attendant slowly articulated each word he uttered as he sealed his package.
"Everybody assumes I have one," Une dismissed. "But I have none."
The nosy clerk stared at him dead in the eyes, unbelieving of what he had heard. "Alright, Lord Jesoja, stay single for me." He whispered then winked.
Both of them chuckled, and Une slipped a tip in the flower jar. "That,... for making me laugh."
With the large paper bag on one hand, Une stepped out of the flower shop and followed the same path back into their flat. He walked decisively, as if his every step was calculated. But out of the blue, he felt a vibration from his pocket that made him halt in his tracks.
From the other end, a groggy voice answered, "Une… where are you? I'm hungry."
When he heard his words, Une's face scrunched up. "Go hire a maid and a cook."
"No. That won't do," his twin lazily answered back. "Oh, aren't we visiting grandpa?"
Une confirmed that they will and told his 21 year old twin brother to feed himself.
"Alright, I'll just eat some eggs," Nil giggled.
"I'll be home in a few minutes," Une added in and hung up.
Feeling an unusual urge to watch his surroundings, Une turned around and looked up and down on the street and the houses. He went on walking after seeing nothing unusual and massaged his nose bridge.
After he passed by a few blocks, he started to hear a distressed cat meowing from a distance. He stopped for a while, locating where the sound was coming from, and it pointed to an alleyway one block ahead of him.
Une slowly walked right into the alley and found a long-haired cat on the pavement with one of its legs bleeding.
"Noo, that's a lot of blood. What did you do?"
The cat meowed angrily, but it couldn't walk.
Une set his belongings on the side and began to grope for his phone not knowing what to do, until he heard a male voice shouting, "Poppin!"
The man seemed to be far away, he thought. So he decided to call his attention. "The cat is here!"
He waited for the man to reply, but three minutes went by without a single word from him. So Une called again and waited at the end of the alley, hoping a figure would appear.
And someone did.
"I heard you. Thanks," the stranger said in an unaffectionate manner.
"You're welcome," Une replied straight away. "Your cat's bleeding. It looks like he stepped on something sharp."
He led the stranger into the alleyway and offered him help. But the man only handed him a luminous blue flower, which Une then took despite the absurdity of their situation.
"It looks beautiful, doesn't it?" The man knelt beside his cat and grabbed a handkerchief, unfolding it. "I can't let it go."
Une listened to him as he stared at the flower in his hand intently. The blue floret glowed before him as if it was made of light; it completely captivated his mind that he started to smell it and fell unconscious.
The cat remained agitated but was softly purring against its owner's chest.
"Well done, Poppin."