Contrary

Chapter 3: The old man

Lil's Point of View

There are many things that happened last week, and maybe that day is the worst day of my life, because I got a wound from the bad boys, and not only that, my parents were also fighting because of me. How can I stop the discrimination of the other people? Those who will rejoice if they see others suffering from pain that they have caused.What is it in me that they are doing this? Maybe it's because I'm poor and they're wealthy, maybe it's because I'm nice and patient, maybe it's because I don't fight back.

Sometimes I am discouraged from going to school because of those bullies, but I also think that I can't be successful if I don't continue my schooling. How can I help the poor and innocent people who are oppressed by those wealthy and wicked people if I can't be successful? I'd rather hurt than feel nothing at all.

My mother is already in the kitchen at this time. My mother wakes up early every day to prepare our breakfast, while my father is still lying in his wooden bed. I jumped from my hard bed and rolled my sleeping mat. I donned my white slippers and went towards the kitchen. I am not mistaken, because I saw my mother preparing the vegetables to be cooked.

She is wearing her old coat and fitting jeans. They seem to fit, but I know that she can't fit into her jeans anymore because she's worn them for many years. If her size hasn't changed, then she is not a human. I am hoping that my mother won't go hard with the thing that she's doing. Though I know that she has other loose clothes to wear, maybe she chose to wear a very fitted one rather than a very loose one.

I go towards my mother and hug her from the back. Just to make her feel how much I love her, and to give her hope. Her untied hairs seemed to creep and tickled my face.

The memories of my childhood are coming back. I remembered when my mother was always playing with me. With those games that never disappeared from my mind until now, it's just making me more confused if my mother is hiding something from me. Because every time I played with her at that time, I was so confused about why her hair was creeping, and it made me laugh as it tickled me. At that time, I was just playing with my mother's hair because I didn't have anyone to play with. When I grow and grow, I am thinking if it is possible that a woman like her can control her hair if she wants it to do so.

I am not an inquisitive boy. Though I have many questions about my family, I am just keeping them in my mind, and after many days have passed, I will forget those questions, especially if there's an opportunity to ask my parents.

She removed my arm around her. "Good morning, child," she greeted. "Do you want to eat something?" She asked while groping the chopping board on the wooden lapboard above her head.

"Good morning too, mamma," I replied. "I can eat anything that you've prepared. I will just go to the bathroom to bathe myself."

"Okay," she said while chopping the vegetables on the wooden chopping board.

I go towards the bathroom and take a cool bath. After I take a bath, I get the towel that's hanging on the clothesline inside the bathroom, I dry myself and wear my uniforms.

After a few moments, I went outside our house and started walking down the quiet street. I saw my neighbors cleaning their yards, trimming the tall, green grass, and watering their plants and flowers. The streets are shaded by the tall and huge structures that block the lights of the sun. There's just a limited amount of transportation in our place. There are no vehicles, just carriages. Though our place isn't influenced by the modern world, everyone here doesn't feel any difficulty in life, except for me and my family.

As usual, the bad boys that are seen in the streets are here again. I'm not lucky today because they are so many and big. Two of them were going towards me and trying to push me again. I tried to punch one of them, but he was so big that he couldn't feel any pain from my punch. He was going to punch me back when there's an old man who is going towards us.

The old man is wearing old and porous clothes with some stains on them. I'm just looking at him, just like he's mesmerizing me. I came back from my consciousness when the boy slapped me in the face. "Aw!" I exclaimed.

"Hey, why are you looking there?" the boy asked. "Are you waiting for someone that can help you?"

The old man raised his hand. Suddenly, the boys disappeared from the place.

"Who are you?" I asked curiously. "Please don't hurt me."

"Don't worry, I will not hurt you," he replied. "I am here for an important reason."

"What is it?" I asked while holding the straps of my backpack.

"Do you want to be a hero?" he asked seriously. "Do you want to help those innocent people from the bad people who are oppressing them?"

"Hero? Help the other people?" I asked curiously. "Are you joking?"

"Do I look like I'm joking?" the old man asked seriously while opening his hand. "Look at this, this is the power that I am going to give you."

I saw a bluish cloud that was floating above his palm, and it mesmerized me again. I just came back from my consciousness when the old man suddenly closed his hand. I realized that he was not joking, that he had power that could make my dream come true, to be a superhero.

"Okay, I will accept your offer. I want to have that power," I said. "To become a superhero, so that the bad boys will not bully me again."

"Whahahaha!" he laughed like a demon. "I will only give this to you if you agree with my condition."

"I agree with everything. Just give me that power," I replied.

The old man opened his hand again. The bluish air floats towards me and it enters my ears and nose. I felt pain and it made me look down and hold my head firmly. I felt that there was something that was creeping down my veins. After a few seconds, I feel no pain anymore. Instead, I feel like I'm full of vitality. As I looked up, the old man had already disappeared from the spot where he was standing.