Maverick (Blank)
Chapter 3: Blank's Childhood (2)
Creak.
The door opened. The sound was indeed a bit loud, but that's what made this used bookstore feel so vintage.
A young man with round glasses passed by an old man sitting on a teak bench in front of the store. "Good afternoon, Grandpa. I'm heading home now."
The old man was quite surprised. He didn't expect the young man to greet him again at this moment.
"Ah, yes, take care, son..."
The young man smiled and continued his steps. And at that very moment, little Blank came out joyfully.
"WAAAAA!" shouted little Blank.
"Woi!" Grandpa yelled. He was so startled by his grandson suddenly jumping out from inside the store. "Are you happy now, my grandson?"
The little boy spun around with his book, his face flushed and his eyes shining like he had found a treasure map.
Then after stopping his spin, he said, "COME ON, GRANDPA, LET'S GO HOME!"
Grandpa replied, "YES, BUT DON'T SHOUT SO MUCH!"
"Hehe..."
The child's smile warmed and calmed Grandpa's heart again. A thought suddenly crossed his mind. (My goodness, you succeeded in being a father, and look at your child now.)
Grandpa approached Blank, who was still gazing at his book, and patted the boy's head. "Let's go home, it's almost evening."
The little boy nodded. His lips were pressed together, unable to speak. It seemed Blank was incredibly excited this time.
"Let's go, Gramps!" he said enthusiastically.
Grandpa pedaled his bike again once his grandson was seated on the back. They watched the evening as they traveled along a hill not far from the river.
A gentle breeze.
The boy's hair swayed. His face still couldn't turn away from the book he was carrying. Then Grandpa asked, "Did you buy that book?"
Blank shook his head. "A big brother with round glasses gave it to me."
At that moment, Grandpa remembered the young man who had greeted him when leaving earlier. (So he was a good young man.) Grandpa smiled.
"That's great. It seems like a good book."
His grandson was now so engrossed with the book that he couldn't see anything else.
Grandpa saw the sun beginning to set. Warm orange light colored their feelings.
Grandpa thought, (If this child grows up, will he be able to live a normal life too?)
Grandpa looked at the rocky road ahead. His mind began to speak again. (Son... when you grow up... don't try to find out about your family, okay...)
Grandpa smiled. He was truly happy that little Blank could grow up even without parents.
At that moment, Grandpa wished he could stay longer with his grandson—if he could endure this difficult condition.
Afterwards, the two of them arrived at an old hut with peeling walls on the outside.
"Yay, we're here!" said Blank. He then got off the bicycle and ran inside with a cheerful face.
Grandpa smiled at his grandson. He parked the bike in front of the house and then sat on a bench made of assembled bamboo as a seat.
Grandpa leaned his back against the wall. At the same time, Blank suddenly appeared carrying a notebook and other writing tools.
"Grandpa, let's study together!"
His grandson's invitation made the old man smile again and approach. "Alright," he said, making the corners of the boy's mouth lift and his eyes squint.
It was another evening that warmed Grandpa's heart.
{That was truly heartwarming. Now, let's look at the next day.}
---
The next day, Blank took the book to the playground. He entered a small hut that was a place he often visited now.
"Huh... not here yet." Blank was confused. Then he opened the book and looked at the notes he had made.
"The book is good. The brother from yesterday underlined and highlighted parts of the pages." With a happy expression, he held his chin and furrowed his brow.
The atmosphere grew quiet. He began thinking about the book he was reading. "What does this mean, I don't understand."
As the silence filled his small room, suddenly the door opened a little and—
SLAM.
"BAAAAA!"
Blank was scared half to death. "WOI!" He gasped for breath.
A girl with short black hair giggled. It seemed she really enjoyed pranking Blank.
"Haha, you're so funny."
Their ages weren't far apart, and they seemed quite familiar with each other.
"Seriously! What if I get a heart attack!" Blank yelled at the girl, though this only made his friend even happier.
"Alright, alright. You're already here, so fast."
Blank listened and answered, "I'm usually the first one here." He grinned.
"Hoo, is that so. You must really like waiting for me, hihi."
The little girl's giggling was met with a "NO WAY!" from Blank.
Then the boy sighed. He reopened the book and invited the girl. "Come here, I have a good book."
The girl approached. "Really?"
"For real. Try reading this, but do you know what it means?"
The girl looked at the sentence Blank pointed to. She covered her mouth with one hand like a detective thinking hard.
[White can be interpreted as good, black can be interpreted as evil, but when black and white move in rhythm together, nothing is truly good or evil.]
"AH, I DON'T KNOW! IT'S CONFUSING!" the girl said with a sour face. She continued, "Why are you underlining texts like this anyway?"
Blank just answered, "It wasn't me. I was given this book." Then he said, "A big brother with round glasses gave it to me."
The girl placed her hand on her cheek. "That seems like a book for adults. We're still kids, of course we don't get it."
Blank nodded. "That's true. And it's really thick too."
"How many pages?"
Flip.
"504."
"Ah, I'm already feeling lazy."
Blank shook his head. But at the same moment, the girl said, "Hey."
The boy glanced at her. He saw a serious look on her face. "Yeah, what's up?"
The girl sat and curled up. "I'm going to move houses."
Instantly, those words made Blank fall silent. His face couldn't show any expression other than a twitch of his eyebrow. "What?"
The girl smiled slightly, but it wasn't the happy smile she often gave. "My parents are officially divorced. I have to go with my mom to her country."
Blank widened his eyes. He couldn't accept that statement and tried to say, "But... do you have to move?"
The girl nodded. That clearly meant she and Blank had to part ways, and perhaps this was the last day they would play together.
Blank and the girl had known each other for 3 years. He remembered that the girl used to be very sassy and didn't accept him back then.
But when Blank often came to this park, she was simultaneously present.
[Conversation 3 Years Ago]
Blank was seen drawing stick figures in the dirt—the same place as now.
Blank's gloomy face was suddenly startled by a little girl's voice. "Hey, what are you doing?"
Blank just glanced. "I'm drawing."
The girl, who was previously a bit far, when Blank answered, approached him and questioned what the boy was drawing.
"What are you drawing?"
Blank was silent for a moment. His lips were slightly pursed. Then there was one small stick figure and two large ones. "The small one is me... the big ones are Dad and Mom."
The girl scratched her head. She didn't understand and then approached Blank, looking at the large stick figures.
"So why are you drawing this?"
Blank put on a sour face again. "I just want to know. I've never had a dad and mom since I was born."
As Blank was brooding, the girl watched him. Then...
Scratch scratch.
"Hey! What are you doing!"
The girl messed up the two large stick figure drawings, then said, "So these don't exist anymore, right?"
Blank was annoyed. His face turned red and he almost wanted to explode. But at the same moment, the girl also drew.
Scratch... scratch...
Blank's attention was diverted. The girl suddenly made similar stick figure drawings.
"For me, this big stick figure hits the other one, then they fight, and this small stick figure runs away from home."
Blank was shocked. He listened to her words. It was clear that the girl in front of him had eyes that were welling up with tears.
That made the situation a bit awkward. Then Blank pulled the girl's hand towards his secret place, which turned out to be the small hut.
"Hey, what are—"
The girl was dragged inside. At the same time, Blank said, "Here, you'll have family."
The girl was confused. What did the boy in front of her mean? Then she asked, "Who?"
Blank stretched out his hand. "Me."
The girl's face flushed. She looked at Blank, who had said something unexpected, especially as the boy smiled broadly with his eyes closed.
The girl gave a shy but sincere smile. She also stretched out her hand. "In that case, I'll come often."
Blank was happy. Now he had a new friend, because on ordinary days like this, all the other friends were at school, while he couldn't afford to continue his basic education.
"Promise?"
The girl raised the corners of her lips with red on her cheeks. "Promise!"
[Back to the Present]
Blank was still staring blankly at the surrounding area. His vision was slightly blurry. But then the girl in front of him clapped her hands once.
Clap.
Blank was startled. He finally refocused.
"Hey, don't space out."
The boy shook his head. "Hey, you're not lying, right? This must be another one of your pranks."
Then the girl instantly fell silent. She shook her head. It was clear that she was telling the truth now.
Blank lowered his gaze. "When are you leaving?"
The girl was silent for a moment. She clenched her knees and pursed her lips. "This evening."
Blank was shocked. He spontaneously asked, "That soon?"
The girl only answered with a nod.
Then the girl stood up, extending her hand to Blank. "Let's take a walk for a bit before I go."
Blank had no choice but to follow. That meant this was the last moment he would have a close friend for now.
Blank was seen walking with the girl. They drew together, explored the river, and even took someone else's mangoes.
On the other side, Grandpa was seen fishing. He was waiting for a fish. "River, give me a fish. I need to eat, oh dear..." Even so, the river couldn't answer.
He looked at his wallet containing a photo of him and his grandson. His eyes blinked slowly and he let out a long sigh. "My grandson needs to eat well tonight."
But at the same time, a person with a taller, more athletic build stood behind Grandpa.
Tap tap tap.
The sound of footsteps grew closer. The man was seen answering his phone.
[Is this the last one?]
"Yes, this is the last one."
Grandpa heard and looked at the man. "Can I help you?"
Sharp eyes from the man stared at him.
---
At another time, Blank was seen accompanying the girl and her mother, who were about to depart and get into a taxi.
Even though Blank was there, the only one who saw him was the girl. Her mother didn't care about his presence at all.
Slide.
Then the taxi arrived. Blank took a deep, heavy breath. But at that moment, a girl approached him.
"Hey."
The girl extended her hand. "Let's meet again someday."
Little Blank smiled. "How? We'll be in different countries."
Then the girl held both of Blank's cheeks. "Is your life over yet? We can meet when we're adults."
Blank was surprised. He could only listen to her words and answer, "Haha... alright... I will become rich and will meet you again."
Hearing his words, the girl smiled widely. Then suddenly her mother pulled her hand.
"Eh!"
"Come on quickly, we don't have time."
Blank could only watch. He then slightly bowed his head before...
Kiss on the cheek.
Blank smiled broadly. His eyes were perfectly closed, and it was the most sincere smile he had given to the girl. Of course, that made the girl's cheeks blush and she smiled.
"See you again!"
Blank waved his hand and replied to the girl's words.
"See you again too!"
They both smiled at each other, and this was their farewell.
Vroom.
After the car left, Blank felt empty—especially when remembering their moments together for the last time.
[Eva... see you again. Maybe... far from now...]
Blank hurried home. He wanted to read the book with his grandfather alone, because it was already too late in the evening after wandering outside.
When he was almost at Grandpa's house, Blank was shocked. Why were so many people coming to his house?
Then a man approached Blank in a hurry. He was panting, and his gaze focused on the boy. Both his hands grabbed the little boy's shoulders.
The words made Blank's eyes widen and his mouth open slightly.
[Your grandfather... right now he's... dying.]