One Certain Spring
My body felt formless and heavy, and the softness of the bed was upon my skin. And the steady wind moved upon my skin. And I opened my eyes, and there was sunlight. And I saw the sunlight, and it was good: and my eyes separated the brightness from the darkness. And I perceived that the brightness was the white room reflecting the sunlight and that the darkness was the brown crucifix. And I drew my arms close to my body, and rolled over. And my eyes were turned downward, and I could not see the star any longer; and I pulled my knees close to my chest, and sat up. And I heard the sound of my parents walking in the hallway: and I got out of my bed. And my parents called me out of my bedroom; and they closed the curtains over the window of my bedroom, to block the sunlight.
And in the hallway I saw the calendar. March 2026. Starting from the 1st. Move 1 square left. Add 1. That is the 2nd. No moving squares up or down. No need to add or subtract multiples of 7. Today was March 2nd, 2026. And my family was going to move the next day because...
The digital clock caught my eyes. And it was just past 7. And it occurred to me that my parents had woken me up early so they could prepare for the move. And I thought about how fast time went by and how I wanted to slow it down. And I walked halfway down the hallway. Then half of halfway down the hallway. Then half and half and halfway down the hallway. Then half and half and half and halfway down the...
"Good morning," my parents said in turn.
"Good morning too," I repeated.
"Did I wake you up too early?"
"No, it was fine."
I went to the living room and took my vitamins according to my routine. But I did not swallow them. It was because I hated the feeling of swallowing the large pills. It always felt like...
Thump! I was startled by the sound and swallowed the pill by accident. I could never stand bright lights or loud sounds. They always seemed brighter and louder to me.
"Sorry," my dad said.
"Some of the stacked boxes toppled over while I was moving them."
"Okay," I responded.
After the situation was over, I sat on the sofa and turned on the smart TV. And it displayed a beautiful vivid space photo. YouTube has done that whenever its user did not respond for a certain amount of time. My parents must have fallen asleep while watching videos with it because she...
"It's time for breakfast. Come here," my mom called me in the dining room.
"Well, today's breakfast is instant noodles. Sorry, I tried to prepare a better menu, but there were some constraints..."
She put it on the table while speaking. I went to the dining room. My foot caught on the charging cable and I softly kicked it away. When I looked at the clock, it was 10 past 7.
"Oh, it is fine," I said, receiving it. "They are actually better than most other menus."
"No way, they are too unhealthy. You will definitely like healthy foods if they are cooked skillfully."
"But I'm enjoying it anyway," I said while choosing my favorite variety show on TV. After making a choice, I skillfully throwed the remote control onto the center of the sofa.
"You're thinking of going out today, aren't you?"
"Am I? Would it be better for you?"
"You could stay if you want to help us, but I doubt if there will be anything that you could help us with."
"Okay, I guess I will leave today then."
"So, I thought that you could go and have dinner in the premium restaurant in the KA Commercial Complex."
"Was there such a place?"
"Yes, and it is actually quite famous. I remember you have to make a reservation to enter it."
I turned on my smartphone to make a reservation for KA Commercial Complex. The website kept making errors and I had to try several times until I successfully made a reservation. I saw the notifications for the messages in the group chat of the students at my high school and checked them.
It was half past 8.
It rained. The rain became heavier.
I entered the H Commercial Complex.
Charles. At half past 12, I entered the fast food restaurant. Someone called me from my back. It was Simon.
"There is a cafe I go to. Do you want to come with me?"
"Sure"
It has been 10 years since I entered elementary school. We talked about how our day has been. We watched news articles. We talked about it.
He called Theo and Kendrick. They came to a cafe. We ordered some drinks. The staff came and said "We offer our customers a free gift." We saw another staff member. She was young, probably a high school student. "How many students do part-time jobs?"
(At half past 6, I ate premium dishes at the restaurant which were unsatisfactory.)
I was back, both mentally and physically. Sitting in front of me, the CSC member was staring at me.
"Oh, you have come back," he said.
"Yes. Did I take too long?"
"Sorry, you must have been worrying a lot."
"It's fine. Don't you like the food?"
I found my home.