Ziel unexpectedly felt safe. The man's voice soothed him. He nodded subtly. The man looked as if he had an idea of his situation. He held out his hand to Ziel. Ziel hesitatingly took his hand. He knew better than to trust a random drunk stranger but he made an exception. The man helped Ziel up and then handed him a few dollars, "You must be hungry then," he smiled, "it's not good to starve yourself. You have to eat something." He removed his outer coat and draped it over Ziel's shoulders then gently patted his hair. "It's cold out here. I was a kid once, too. I know how it feels..." the man looked at Ziel as if he was reminiscing.
The man walked back to the swings, sat down, then slept. Ziel's eyes widened at how calm the man was.
There was barely any light except for the dimming street lamp. The rain clouds gathered to cover the light of the moon. The first raindrop fell on the tip of the man's sharp nose followed by a continuous pitter-patter of the small raindrops.
Ziel slowly approached the man on the swing and nudged his shoulder, "S-sir..." he stammered. The man remained unmoving and even snored a little. Ziel was unsure of what to do.
He slowly removed the coat that was lent to him and covered the man's head with it. He sighed and said defeatedly, "It's raining... You shouldn't stay here..."
He has seen his grandfather get himself in all sorts of trouble when he's drunk. He started to worry about his grandfather. His grandpa may have done those things to him but he's still his grandpa. He's responsible for him. Ziel turned around to leave but the man caught his arms. He suddenly felt shivers up his spine. He remembered all the things that were done to him and immediately shielded his face. But instead of a harsh fist landing on his body, a warm hand patted his head. "I'm kind of tipsy. Will you help me get to my apartment? It's only two blocks from here." the man said, looking up at Ziel with hazy, amber eyes.
Ziel removed his 'shield' to look at the man. He felt helpless upon seeing the look on the man's face. It's as if he was begging himself to help him. Ziel had an intense sense of responsibility which, if not carried out, would result in unhealthy amounts of guilt.
At this point, both Ziel and the man were both drenched. Ziel didn't even hesitate before helping the stranger up. "Where's your house?" Ziel took the man's arm and made him lean on himself for balance. The man lifted his hand to point at a tall building, "There. F-fifth flouuur..." after saying those words, the man's head drooped down.
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Raziel stood in front of the tall building and stared at the locked door. He slowly let the man lean against the building and, with a lot of effort, tried to wake the man up. "Sir, I need the password for the door," he whispered. "Sir..." People were walking by and staring at him. Some looked as if they wanted to help but were sceptical after seeing Raziel's dishevelled state. Others straight up ran inside and shut the glass door. It was raining pretty hard yet no one stopped to help him. Ziel continued to try and wake the man, "Sir. Sir! At this rate, you're going to get sick!" he shook the man pretty hard yet the man slept so peacefully even under the heavy rain that Ziel couldn't bare to wake him up but he couldn't leave either.
"Young man." An elderly man stepped out of the apartment building, carrying an umbrella for himself and a closed extra one which he carried by his side. He opened the closed umbrella and handed it to Ziel. "Son, go home with your brother. It is raining."
"Oh, no, no. You misunderstand. He lives here, sir. He asked me to bring him here."
"Is that so?"
"Yes. I would not lie to you, sir."
"Well, what is his name? Maybe if I look up his name in the tenants' list, I should be able to help you."
Ziel paused and looked at the man, "He... did not tell me his name..."
"In that case, you should wake him up and ask him."
The elderly man paused and his eyes widened, "You do not know him?"
"I do not."
"Boy, why would you help him? What if he leads you to danger? Come, come inside and leave this dangerous man."
The elderly man took Ziel's hand but Ziel took back his arm. It was a sudden reaction and even Ziel was surprised. "I-I'm sorry... but... I can't just leave him. He needed my help. What if he gets sick?"
The man suddenly opened his eyes and saw a drenched kid and a worried elderly man talking. The elderly man shot him a look. "He's awake. What's your name?"
Ziel looked at the man who was sitting on the ground with his eyes slightly open. Suddenly, his head started to hurt. His body swayed and his vision started to blur. He could still see the man open his mouth.
"My name is-"
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He awoke. He was in the nurse's office. The bed he was on was drenched with sweat. He had no strength left in his body. It has been two years since he last dreamt of that memory. Before he collapsed, he was in the court for PE class. He saw something in the field which triggered his memory but he couldn't remember. He tried to get up but his body was aching. A hand stopped him and gently helped him lay down again. Ziel's pupils shrank when he heard a voice. "Rest some more. I'll be right here."
Somehow, that sentence brought back hazy memories. The man from six years ago welcomed him into his apartment and let him stay the night. At first, he was scared because he didn't know the man. Looking at the man though... he didn't feel dangerous. He decided to trust him. Raziel was right. The man wasn't dangerous at all. What was his name again? Ah, right.
Ash Cameron, was it?
Ziel's vision was still blurry but he can see the man sitting beside him, keeping guard. "Mmm..." Ziel whimpered. He tried to speak but even speaking hurt. The man rushed to support him, "Are you ok? Do you feel any pain? Where? How bad is it?"
Ziel only kept quiet and shook his head. "Are... are you..." he said quietly. "Mr Cameron? Are you Mr Ash Cameron?"
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