Glass Ceiling

That evening something incredibly strange was happening. The clouds were racing across the sky, alternately hiding and revealing the silver moon. The city had not yet plunged into complete darkness; it was just barely covered by the first breath of the familiar evening twilight. But already, the gaze of the teenager, walking along unfamiliar paths, was lost in the labyrinth of streets and roads. It was fascinating to occasionally see the young moon against the pale blue sky, not black as it usually was.  The teenager stopped by the sidewalk, turned off the loud music in his wireless headphones, and flicked his scooter on the grass. Oh, those wireless headphones are a brilliant invention of mankind! It was incredibly convenient and enjoyable to experience music as if it were playing directly in one's head, without paying attention to those wires that constantly got in the way — especially when you were on the move. Especially on a scooter.  The familiar melody was momentarily interrupted by a notification from the app, indicating the end of the rental time. The teenager knew that he had almost covered half the city today, so €15-20 should definitely not be the cost for all this time. It would be good to have his own scooter someday, he thought. Not a bad thing: very calming and clears the mind, erases thoughts, and even provides a bit of distraction. "Is there anything so incredible that it can 'distract' from the death of one's own parents?!" flashed through his mind.  A dreadful thought, a mournful voice — internal, perhaps? — which once again reminded him of the terrible tragedy that took three lives at once. Mother, father, little sister... The teenager still couldn't grasp the fact that he would never see any of them again.  So sad, so terrifying, so painful... Why was the whole family in the car, and only he survived? Only he! Even the taxi driver who was just doing his job died. The culprit of the accident, the truck driver who was alone in it, also perished, but that didn't make it any easier. "I should have been with them. With all of them, wherever they may be now!"  The teenager had no clear concept of either heaven or hell and, in reality, he had never pondered about any of it — there was no need for that. As if from an old movie, memories flashed in his mind from different moments of life when the topic of the afterlife somewhat floated to the surface. Sometimes it was about some religious holidays, sometimes it was about popular esoteric theories that had been around for decades, sometimes it was the stories of an aging grandfather who had experienced clinical death and personally seen paradise, angels, and god.  They say the grandfather simply went insane because he told very illogical and inadequate things. Supposedly, the earth will soon be divided into two parts, and a particular category of people will move on to build their lives in that newly created world—a terrifying, oppressive world filled with injustice and tyranny. According to his words, two deities are supposed to accomplish this, aiming to create some kind of new space without evil and cruelty.  The teenager recalled how other neighbors laughed at the grandfather because they couldn't see any logic in his stories. How could one create a world without cruelty, while at the same time dividing the planet into good and evil? That's what Aunt Samantha said, who lived literally across the street from the grandfather's house and was constantly annoyed by the influx of listeners who came to learn about the journey to the afterlife.  Meanwhile, Albert, who lived almost at the end of the block but surprisingly also knew this story, firmly believed that the idea of an ideal world was a foolish and naive utopia. Some openly mocked the grandfather, some tried to engage in heated debates with him, and some were incredibly frightened and constantly asked him for new details about this encounter with god.  But no one remained indifferent… Mum used to say that everything was God's will, and only He, that spirit in the sky, decided what would happen and how... Dad agreed but added that God never decides things for people; He simply does what we collectively desire. He takes human wishes into account. Mum...  Dad...  The memories were interrupted by a phone call. The teenager pressed the button on his headphones (another advantage of them) to answer. Even though he didn't want to talk to anyone... At least, not with anyone alive. He didn't know who was calling him because his phone was still in his backpack behind him.  "Go ahead," he said dryly, not realizing how hoarse his voice had become after a long period of silence.  "Harold, how are you?"  A trembling female voice echoed through the earpiece. She was so worried, so concerned about him - almost an adult boy who had recently become an orphan. Why did she care so much? Couldn't they just leave him alone at his 17 years of age? He was almost grown up, with the right to work independently, at least partially capable of taking care of himself. Why did he need these caregivers and... foster parents? Ugh, how it irritated him! "Parents"! What difference did it make how many beautiful words society used to christen this dreadful process of handing him over to other people when the only parents he had would never be able to speak to him again?  But he didn't need anyone else… "Coming back," Harold replied, his index finger poised on the earpiece, ready to finally end this untimely call.  "Tell me, where are you? I'm in the city, I can pick you up by car."  As if he needed any more of this... Not a little kid anymore, he thought. Just as he was about to respond politely with something like, "No need to worry, I can manage," the woman seemed to have read his thoughts and quickly spoke up:  "Harold, I'm not taking care of you like a baby, nor am I controlling your every move. The thing is, I went out on some errands and I'm on my way back home right now. So I thought, maybe you'd like to join us and have a peaceful ride instead of walking several kilometers in the darkness and cold. It's not a problem for me."  Harold was going to retort. What a blatant manipulation! He could clearly see that they just wanted to have him home as soon as possible... In his new home, as Ingrida, who was waiting for his response at the other end of the line, and her husband Justinas, kept mentioning.  Why do they need him?  Why, oh why?  Why didn't anyone consider his opinion when they were talking about adoption, or rather when they simply informed him that he now has foster parents? There they are, those two. Why…