The Last Place

The Throwing small pebbles continued to hit his body. The young man was curly up on the rough ground, his arms wrapped around himself. As if protecting him from the relentless throws. Even though it seemed futileness because he could feel the pebbles hitting his head, even he had a headache. "Come on! Weird kid! Fight back! Just like this, you're already dying? You're a weakling!" "Weak Reagen! Weird Reagen!" "If the father is crazy, the child must be weird, right?" "Father Reagen is crazy!" "Father Reagen is crazy!" "Father Reagen is crazy!" Their cries grew louder when they did not get a meaningful response. Reagen, the boy they bullied, didn't leave somehow, even if it was to get back at their taunts. Well, of course, it made them get mad because yet they had not seen a significant reaction from Reagen. The pitiful face with scratches to the cheekbones and the forehead woke up. He stared at the boy his age, who had ruined his whole day, for the umpteenth time by bullying him like that. His dim eyes continued to stare at the shoes in front of him. Showed by the same owner who has bullied him since he first started school. Reagen closed his eyes tightly when a sizable pebble hit the corner of his eye. Making him hide his face again in the folds of his arms, which still faithfully hugged his body. "Reagen! Come on, stand up, have you just huddled there?" said one of them. "Yep! Or maybe you want to wait for the late hero to help you, huh?" added another. The boy grabbed a small pebble and threw it at Reagen's head while shouting, "No one's going to help you, you don't have any friends, do you guys?" Almost everyone there nodded in agreement. Without any guilt at all, one by one the people who bullied Reagen left from there and, of course, didn't forget one last throw. "Let's go, guys! Let Reagan wait for his Monday-morning quarterbacks. Obviously, he won't want to help a weird kid like Reagan. Will never see, the overslept hero will run away at once, because of what?" "Because... Reagan's father is crazy!" together they answered. Their shouts in unison were the last ones, after which there was no more cheering and throwing. Reagan dared to open his eyes, and with a shaky breath, he tried to get up. His eyes closed as pain ran through his body. The rough wall behind him served as a backrest. He straightened his legs, feeling stiff because he was curled up too hard and seemed forced. It was so tingling that Reagan couldn't feel his legs. Reagan laughed at him for the umpteenth time they bullied him, and even then he couldn't retaliate. The corners of his eyes would twitch even more in pain, because of the bruises he received. His hands fell on each side of his body. The burden of his life felt heavy that afternoon. Reagan looked around in a place rarely passed by people. "Hero? overslept hero? " Reagen mumbled a little. He didn't know what the late heroes meant about the friends who had bullied him earlier. Reagan smiled sadly as he remembered those who had bullied him earlier as friends. Reagan only wanted to be recognized by his friends, but he never managed to make friends with them, even just getting closer. Curses, taunts, and pebbles tossed him first. Until now, he had absolutely no friends, even just someone to talk to. He didn't have one. Reagan was just a growing-up child living with his mother without a father figure in him. Excluded because he was considered strange, like his father who had disappeared without a trace, and no one knew about his whereabouts. Although many rumors said the strangeness of Reagan's father, he really hoped his father was willing to come back into his life. His eyes opened, staring at the sun that was slowly setting down. Rest after giving light to this world all day long. The beautiful light looks even more charming from down here. The tall reeds added to the arid landscape that afternoon. With very slow movements. Reagan struggled to his feet with his hands resting on the wall. His legs hurt as he let go of his foot on the wall after being able to fully stand on his own. Looks like his ankle was injured again. And this was the part Reagen likes the least. After that, his mother would surely blame him. As he walked in front of a crowd of people who didn't know what they were doing, Reagen heard their scornful whispers again. "Gosh, look, there's Reagen." "Where?" "That! Geez, why is he walking like that?" "That boy must have done strange things like his father." "Can madness be passed down by parents?" "Why do you ask like that? It's definitely him! His father is just crazy and keeps doing strange things, then he dies in an unnatural way!" "Eh, but is it true?" "Which one?" "The one whose father died because of the plantation fox?" "That's true. Even everyone here knows the truth about it. There's no way the entire population would lie together for useless things like that." "It must be because of the strange things he does!" "Definitely! Looks like Reagent will die the same way!" "Hahaha, that's right! Even the father is strange, let alone the child, isn't it?" The whispers and laughter that reached Reagan's ears made him quicken his pace. But he did not want to look weak in front of the people who mocked him earlier. He blotted out his sweat violently, not caring about the pain when the hem of his soiled shirt hit the wound. He sucked in his snot with a rough breath after that. This youngster was exerting himself to run and didn't want those people to laugh at and mock him any longer. In his head, he just wanted to be home immediately, then met the only person who kept him safe. When he ran while closing his eyes, suddenly his body hit a person's body. Bug!! The young boy stepped back away slowly from the strange man encountered at that time, yet the giant stranger instead walked over towards Reagen as if gaining human prey. Suddenly Reagen's breathing stopped, and he found his body stiffened, unable to be moved because of the fear. The giant squinted his eyes as if he couldn't believe that he had met the owner of the land watched by him. "Reagen?"