The Love of the Sun to his Moon (BL Omegaverse)

Chapter Three: The Artist

Libulan’s Point of View

It’s been, once again, a tiring day. The sun is about to set so I need to go home. I started picking up the paintings I have painted myself from the ground. As an aspiring artist, life has been hard; especially when Mom died a few years ago. My Dad… well, he kicked me out of the house the day after I graduated high school.

At first, I have been crashing in my friends’ houses to sleep in. I did a couple of odd jobs to survive. Right now, I have been staying in a small room in an old apartment complex. You know, the kind of place where they would shoot those horror movies. Old, dim, dusty, full of cobwebs, and smells like your ancestors. That kind of place.

How did I end up being a painter, you ask? Well, that exact moment is still vivid in my memories. It was back then when I was in High School when I first touched a paintbrush. It was in an art class. My Art teacher asked us to paint a scene. I could still remember what I have painted; a scene of the ocean. My Mom’s from a country in the east where there are supposedly seven thousand islands. From the sound of that, I could imagine thousands of beaches, too. From that day on, I fell in love with the way how soft the bristles of the brush are, and whenever I mix paint on the pallet; it has always been a magical experience for me. Painting has saved me from becoming mad. I always think I have a hard life, and so, painting took me to a farther place. A safe haven, I guess. My former art teacher saw the passion in me; so, he took me in as his assistant on the weekends. Besides the money, he’s also kind-hearted enough to give me a couple of art supplies which for the life of me, can’t afford with my current situation.

I made my way to the center of the city where the big church is located. It’s Wednesday today, and they usually give free food. I’m not really homeless but I really need to survive. Every single penny I earn counts. I would love to work full time especially in the bar where Frank is working but it’s too bad that they’re not accepting any applications at the moment. While walking, I remembered what Frank has told me a while ago; that crazy idea of his that I should just meet a rich alpha, give him a child and have a better life. Would that really get me out of this hell? Am I that really desperate to escape this life of mine? All these thoughts of mine are like waves that just hit me. As soon as I arrived at the place, Sister Agnes greeted me with a smile. She’s one of the few people who know my life story. In return for the food that she gives me, I gave the church one of my paintings.

“Lance, you’re just on time,” she said as she handed me one of those paper-wrapped sandwiches. “How are your paintings?”

“I have sold a couple or two today,” I replied.

“God has given you the gift of art. Everything will be better in time.”

“I hope so,” I muttered as I gaze at the old church’s structure. Sister Agnes has been inviting me to attend the church every Sunday morning. I’m not sure if she knows that we’re not really on the same page in terms of beliefs. However, I faithfully attended the service, listen to the priest, and his sermons. It’s the least that I can do for Sister Agnes’ kindness. I remember my Mom used to come here with me. She said that God was everywhere and faith is one important thing for her. I believed her and prayed to God for us to become happy.

But what happened? He took her away from me.

He took that one person who loves me unconditionally.

And now, I really don’t know what to believe in already.

The wind blew and withered leaves from one of the trees nearby started to dance on the wind as they fall one by one.

“Fall is ahead,” Sister Agnes said as she watches the leaves with me. I nodded and smiled. Since I was a little boy, autumn has always been my favorite season. “You told me once that you prefer autumn more than summer.”

“Yeah,” I affirmed.

“Well, that’s strange,” she replied as she eyes me with a strange look and said, “Most kids would choose summer over autumn since there’s no school.”

“But I’m not a kid anymore,” I reminded her as I giggled.

“To me, you would always be that young boy who always comes here every Sunday,” she said. “Well, off you go now. It’s already getting dark. You know the kids could get dangerous during the night.”

“Thank you for the meal, Sister Agnes,” I thanked her.

“Hold on,” she stopped me before I take a step. I watched her picked up another of the sandwich and handed it to me. “Here take this.”

“B-but I already got one,” I replied, showing the sandwich I already took a bite with.

“I know. This is for breakfast,” she insisted as she shoves the sandwich on my other hand.

“Oh, well. If you insist,” I gave in. “I might as well just take it. Thank you.”

“Carry along now, dear,” she said as she waved her hand. I waved back at her and started to walk away from the church grounds. The wind blew again; leaves are falling from the trees nearby. So, why do I like autumn that much? Maybe, it was because I could feel some changes in the atmosphere like there’s magic in the air, and those changes are quite mysterious and rather exciting.

Even now, I still get excited when I see the shorter days and feel the cooler nights, and as I watch leaves turn from plain green to vivid colors of gold and red. I continued walking farther away from the city’s heart until I reached a certain bus stop. While waiting for the bus, I looked around. There’s nothing new, and the things I see are still the same. There is one particular poster I have always been looking at; an advertisement of a toy company named FunCo. It’s for a toy line called Cerulean Plush Toys; a set of five plush toys. The general idea is a winged creature with a cute little version of it. They’re all cute but I have never seen them at the shelves whenever I come across the toy shop downtown. The one I like best is the winged tiger with its cute mini version of it. To me, it seems like a parent and a child. Nonetheless, I wonder why they stopped producing this toy line.

It didn’t take long when the bus finally arrived. I entered the bus, and then, placed my fare on the box before I finally made my way through one of the vacant seats. During the trip, I looked outside the window and stared at the view. The buildings started to light up as the sun returns to its slumber. Restaurants became busier as their patrons started to line up just to have a meal, bars started to accept customers, and people from their day jobs head home. It seems that the city never sleeps. I shifted my gaze inside the bus. There are a couple of people inside. All of them look they are, like me, already beat-up of today’s hard work.

After a few more minutes, we finally reached the residential area of the city. The place where I live is not really that grand. My neighborhood, as they say, is the armpit of the city. It’s a place where most of the poor people live. I stepped out of the bus as soon as we reached the next bus stop. From there, I just need to walk a little bit more until I reach a small alley.

As I walk down the familiar alley, I saw a couple of kids still running and playing outside.

“Hey!” I called for their attention. They stopped and looked in my direction. “Go home already.”

“But we still want to play!” one of the kids insisted.

“Geez, where are your parents anyway?” I asked myself in my mind. “Well, alright. But make sure you have to watch for the Boogeyman. Do you know who that is?”

“No,” they answered in chorus, shaking their heads. I sighed.

“Guess I saw that coming,” I whispered. “The Boogeyman punish bad children. He hides in the dark and eats children!”

They ran away as soon as I said that. I just do hope they could still sleep well tonight though. I just shook my head and continued walking. After a while, I could hear another pair of footsteps from behind me. I didn’t mind them at first but whoever is behind me purposely tried to synchronize our steps.

I suddenly stopped walking. I couldn’t hear the steps anymore.

“What the hell,” I whispered. This is really giving me the creeps. I turned around to see… no one. What the hell is happening?

No. This is just my imagination. I just continued walking again; moving my legs a bit faster. Once again, I hear the same footsteps.

“The hell,” I uttered. I almost screamed when someone touched my back. I suddenly stopped walking and froze.

“W-who are you?” I asked; scared by who this person… or thing might be. “What do you want from me?”

“I’m the Boogeyman,” answered a male voice. “You have been a bad boy.”

“I’m sorry,” I replied. I heard the person laugh. “Lance! It’s just me. Silly you.”

I slowly turned around to look. It was just Frank all along.

“What the hell, Frank!” I complained upon seeing his face.

“You really are a scaredy cat, aren’t you?” he continued to tease me. “You have the guts to scare those children away with the Boogeyman; yet, you’re scared of it yourself.”

“I am not afraid of an imaginary entity,” I clarified.

“Then, why are you trembling in fear just a few moments ago?”

“Who wouldn’t?” I argued. “Imagine walking alone in the middle of an alley when you just hear footsteps. And then when you checked who it is, there’s bloody no one. Are you kidding me?” I explained angrily.”

“Calm down.”

“Anyway, I thought you have to work at the bar at night."

“Well, yeah,” he said. “But I need to get something from my place first.”

“I see,” I replied. “I gotta go, then.”

“See you.”