…
"Oh, I see."
…
After the conversation about the old man, the two continued their meal. As El ate his second portion of meat along with other dishes and finished it, he looked up to the man who was already on his tenth portion, with all the dishes being different types.
And even till now already more than an hour had passed, he was still going strong with it, making El speechless.
'Is he... starved or something???'
El even had already waved goodbye to the kind mother from earlier, whose cute sons and daughter had curiously looked at him, while hiding behind their mother's legs.
After that mother was done with her and her kid's meal, she left, purposely passing the place where El was sitting. She took the time to ask El if he was fine while eyeing occasionally at the man who ignoring their interaction. At last, she patted El's head before leaving, causing his heart to flutter.
After waving his shy goodbye, the corner of El's mouth raised involuntarily.
Suddenly, El's eyes caught onto something. Originating from the inside, El noticed a staff member at the eatery struggling to bring numerous package boxes in a large transparent plastic bag to the side of the restaurant. Then, two children revealed themselves from the shadow of that alleyway. El raised his eyebrows. Not out of suspicion. But because the two children were looking pale and sickly. The two were a girl and a boy around his age right now. They wear tattered clothes with many messed up lines of stitches. The boy had fading red hair, while the girl had the same color as him – which was black hair.
"Umm, excuse me sir?" said El, pulling the attention of 'the man' seated in front of him, from his 'Oh so big feast'.
After taking a swig of his beer and swallowing a mouthful of food inside his mouth, only then did the man respond to El's back. "… yes, what's up boy?"
"Is it normal for people living in the city to look like that?" El said, discreetly using his finger to point at the boy and the girl who was now happily opening the package. And it was food. They use the utensils made of plastic to eat it on the spot. El could see that female staff hurriedly taking chairs from an empty table, and then asking them to sit, which the two hardly complied with. After much persuasion and faint angry noises, only then did the two reluctantly sit on the chairs. The guests whether on the outside or the inside, were hardly looking at them, as if it was such a common occurrence.
The man himself turned his head over his shoulder. After a second, he turned back to El.
"You mean them?"
"Yes," El said.
Still with the fork in his grasp, the man explained, "They are people from the underside…"
"Underside? What do you mean? Are they like, living under the city? The underground?" asked El, curious about the topic.
"Yeah, you could say so."
Frowning, El raised a question again. It seems that the meaning behind the man's words earlier was vaguely bad. "You didn't tell me the whole truth. I'm sure of it. Please tell me what you mean by 'people from the underside', sir?"
"… things happen. Some people falling out of favor. Their children. Descendant. Is the one who pays the full price," pausing for a few seconds, he resumed, "They are all also called, 'rodents'. People who were purposely neglected by the whole empire, just like a rat on the street."
"… … you mean. They are just like me and the villagers."
"Hmmmm. Hypothetically, yes. It was like… If the village you lived in before is positioned as the number three, the worst place to live in the whole Threa. Then the underside is number four in that list."
"… what is the number one and two then?"
Subsequently, for a whole minute, they left in a staring contest – until El couldn't hold it any longer.
"You won't tell me, won't you?"
"Yes. If you wanted to know more, you know the rows of books in the room where you sleep, right? Read it all. You will gain a basic understanding of the history of the empire we are currently in."
Shrugged his shoulder, El replied, "Alright then…"
"How long till you finally finished with your meal, sir?" now, El pointed back to the matters at hand. It was close to two hours already since the first time the man ate his meal.
"Calm down boy. Here, let me tell you something. As I am someone who has lived way longer than you, I'll give you some advice!?? A worthy advice… you need, to always enjoy your food as long as it takes if you have time, especially if you are later to become an adult like me. That, is the basis of how you're going to enjoy life, you hear me?"
El only heard the half part of what he said, with his attention again back to the two children. Meanwhile, the female staff were already back to work.
A few moments later, five more children emerged from the dark alleyway and proceeded to take the packaged food that had been placed on the table. They all then eat it with relish. One of the children looked so small and fragile but still had the same sickly look as the other kids. Rather gaunt cheeks, along with dark circles under their eyes, remind El of his sleepless wary night, not only from the mosquito but also from the two elders who initially sheltered him.
From that recollection of the past, filled with fatigue, hunger, thirst, and then danger, El began to feel hungry again, even though his stomach felt like it was going to burst from how much he had already eaten.
Suddenly, the first girl with his black hair turned her sight to El. Their eyes locked at each other for a few seconds, until that female girl nudged at the first boy on her side. The boy had a serious look on his face.
The trio then glanced at each other. Observing. Evaluating one another.
It all ended when El caught a sneer from the boy, who subsequently turned his face away from him. The girl follows after, this time without a sneer.
...
At last, eating his last bite, the man was finally satisfied.
After paying all the bills, he left with El, who did not forget to steal one more glance at the 'kids from the underside'. There, his emerald eyes met the girl's and the boy's eyes again.
While the girl showed no expression on her face, the boy sneered at him again for no reason. Shortly after, he looked away from El.
'What did that even mean?' El tilted his head to the side, genuinely confused about what that meant actually. He tries to mimic the boy and then shows it to the man while walking on the street.
"Sir, sir. What did this mean?" El said, with his mouth awkwardly trying to sneer.
"What the… what are you trying to do? Don't tell me you are sick?"
"What sick? I'm not…"
"Then don't do it. There is this disease called stroke."
"Stroke?"
"Yes. One of the late symptoms is exactly like what you did?"
"Symptoms? What are symptoms?"
"Symptoms are something that you did earlier."
"What did I do?? What do you mean exactly?"
"It means. Ummmmh, it means being dumb…"
"What? Dumb? I'm not dumb," El stated, retorting back.
"What you did earlier is being dumb," countered the man with a side-eye glance.
El's mouth was simultaneously shaped into an O. 'Oh, it means that boy is being dumb then. Such a pity…'
El then said, "I see. I'm actually not being dumb. I am just mimicking someone from that restaurant."
"Then don't do it if you didn't want to be dumb. The dumb label isn't as good these days."
"What do you mean?"
"Nothing."
"Sir, I have to say this. But it seems, you really like to not finish your words or likes saying something unclear."
"Am I? I am always finished things though."
"Huh???"
"Nothing…"
"Right…" El rolled his eyes again.
"By the way, where are we going right now?"
"Where? To the area where there is street food, of course…"
"Street food? You mean, we eat again?"
"Of course. After a little walk, we eat again. You kid especially needs to eat a lot, so you can grow big, strong, and tall like me."
"Oh, umm… okay then… it's still free right?"
"Don't worry, your sir here has a lot of money…" the man said while hitting his chest twice with his palm. His expression was now obscured again by the mask.
The two then share the time, together. Eating various street foods.
One time, El dazedly looks at a harmonious picturesque where a young mother who holds her son's hand, shares an ice cream with him. Soon after, the father of that family tapped playfully the mother's shoulder, making her flinched from surprise. The two soon bickering playfully, with their son didn't even bother with them. Instead, the child was busy looking left and right.
There was no doubt from the child's expression, that if the mother's hand were not grasping the child's hand tightly yet gently, he would be running away by now. El knew it quite clearly because he could feel the child's desire from his current position – and that was to run around in this market, away from his parents.
El does not know why and what came over him at that moment, but watching that happy and cheerful family...
Was pretty painful for him.
Out of nowhere, El's shoulder was also tapped by a big hand.
"Hey, kid. Here, try this. It's called ice cream. It's really good."
"Oh… thanks," said El while once again, dazed, looking at the man with his intimidating appearance, who towering high in front of him. There were already two kids crying from simply seeing him here on this street.
"What kid? Something's on my face."
"No, you just… look cool."
"Oh, I am indeed amazing. Pity, I'm already old now. If only you saw the young me…"
"Uh-huh…" El swiftly lost interest after he started to 'go into the stories' things. After only a day of spending time with the man, El had a general understanding of one special trait of the man.
And it was.
'He brags a lot,' El thought. Even then, his eyes curved, not only from the delectable sweetness of the ice cream but also because of the man. El secretly smiles, while stealing glances at the man.
'Is this what it feels like… to have a father? It's not bad. It really is not bad at all…'
…