* Three days ago -
“Good morning Valtsomu! I hope you are as happy as I am to spend another day in the wonderful city of shooting stars, where any dream is possible! Now, onto our main story of today, it seems like a group calling themselves T.H.V. has been making a ruckus about town, all sorts of juicy rumours have been spreading about a ‘Safe Haven’ which has had the whole city abuzz. They’re offering permanent protection against the ley lines for anybody interested! But between you and me, my beautiful audience, I wouldn’t trust a noble’s word more than my neighbour’s chocolate chip cookies. The damned thing had raisins in it! Now over to you, Astra.”
“Yumo, for once in your life could you close that damned mouth of yours and just tell them the news normally?”
“Astra?! We’re on live television, you can’t call me that! You must call me Astro, and together we are the Asteroids! Destroyers of falsities and protectors of dreams!”
“You never take this seriously”
“Yes, I do! We’re ridding the world of great evil with our stellar storytelling and awesome friendship!”
“What are you, five? We’re supposed to be a serious channel focused on revealing the truth, not pandering to barely conscious newborn babies.”
“Aww, did somebody wake up on the wrong side of the bed? Do you need a hug from your best pal?”
“Yumo, I swear to Roma.”
“It's my ultimate mission to spread joy! You cannot stop me.”
“Get your hands off me!”
The argument slowly faded into the background as Galis stared at the cracked monitor hanging in the corner of the diner. Two adult men were fighting over what was supposed to be the daily news. The one on the right wore a bright blue suit and tie, his demeanour cheery and upbeat, and he was trying to hug a much more tired and angry-looking man in an identical outfit who currently had him in a headlock. It seems like even as he changed, The Asteroids never did.
Shaking his head, Galis turned away from the broadcast and looked out into the streets from the large window he sat next to. He had been waiting for quite some time and had taken to staring at the new constructions which had been built to pass the time.
After surveying the dark grey streets for a while, his eyes caught sight of a restaurant on the far side of the opposite street, almost hidden by the nearby streetlamp.
“Lakasha’s homemade Belorith.” He mouthed to himself, reading off the words on the store. It was cute, tasteful and a welcome change from the dusty, repetitive roads. Which meant it would be gone in roughly a week, maybe less. Nothing like the place he was seated at, Toadin’s. The place was ancient to the point where it was entirely plausible that the diner had been around when the city had first been built.
Galis glanced at his watch before remembering it had broken well over two days ago. He had meant to get it repaired, but at this point, he was considering whether it was even worth the effort anymore. Not many people are bothered with mechanical watches nowadays anyway.
Luckily, he was saved from worrying about the time as the person he was waiting for walked into the restaurant. He was alerted when this happened as a copper bell fell to the ground with a loud clang, cracking the white tile it fell on.
“Sorry! Sorry!” A large, grizzled man stomped into the main room from a sliding door near the back of the diner. He quickly picked it up, along with the shards of broken tile on the floor. “Please, take a seat, that’s the third time today the damned thing fell, let me fix this, then I’ll be right with ya.”
It was Toadin, the owner of the establishment. Galis never spoke to the man properly, but with how often he visited the place, on occasion, Toadin would give out discounted meals whenever he was in a good mood. Oddly enough, there weren’t many other regulars and Galis had pieced together that the owner had to be making money some other way since there weren’t ever enough people to keep the business running normally. It was probably why he felt comfortable not charging full-price meals in the first place.
“No need to apologise.” A polite voice replied, “Please take this to repair the damage I caused.” The newcomer then handed a small sheet of dull, gold foil over to the owner who snatched it out of his hand greedily.
“Thank you kindly, sir, this will go to a good cause,” Toadin said with a huge, fake smile. Then he rushed back to where he came from before another word could be uttered.
Galis heaved a deep sigh while watching the interaction, after the owner had left, he slowly raised his hand to wave over the person who had just walked in. Upon spotting him, the newcomer walked directly to where he sat and slid onto the couch opposite him.
“Good evening, son.”
“Hello, father.”
He watched the man opposite him wearily, as usual, his father was dressed up to the nines. A large beige overcoat covered a black suit underneath, all rounded out by his dark and polished shoes. Upon seating himself, his father removed a white fedora and scarf, setting them down on the seat to his right.
“How have you been keeping?” His father asked him, placing two interlocked hands on the table.
“Just fine, like always,” Galis replied, with a small smile.
“I see…Have there been any work issues? Last we spoke, you were still entangled in that awful collection job outside the city despite my warnings against it.”
“No, I quit that job a few months ago after I got all I needed out of it, no need to lecture me again.”
Galis saw his father’s brow relax every so slightly at his words.
“That’s good to hear.” His father unwound his hands and rubbed his knuckles lightly.
A beat passed between the two as they surveyed each other. Galis hadn’t seen his father in a while, but time had done by him well, he looked barely past his prime if you ignored the light creases in his forehead and eyes whenever his face moved. In truth, he was closer to middle age but you would never see anybody call him such.
“Yup, I’m fine now. So, you don’t have to worry as much.” Galis said.
“I’m never worried about you, son, I know you’ll do great… But that doesn't mean you didn’t take an unnecessary risk by leaving the city walls. No good parent would be happy seeing their child working a job with such a high mortality rate.”
“I didn’t have a choice.”
“You did!” His father partially raised his voice, resting a clenched hand on the table. For a brief moment heat burned behind his eyes, but as quickly as it had appeared, it vanished as he slumped back into the couch. “…you did.”
Galis’ face hardened. “I made the best decision available, we both know you’re hardly getting by on the money you saved. I wasn’t going to be responsible for making my father a homeless man.”
“And you believe that killing yourself out there would have been a preferable alternative?”
He winced, “I handled myself, and whatever your gripe was, it's over now that I’m no longer living out there.”
Galis was met with silence as a response.
Heavy footfalls echoed next to them as Toadin walked up to the table amidst their conversation. The owner had a large grin plastered on his face, and a pencil and notepad pulled out of his apron.
“Well, if it isn’t my favourite customer! What can I get for you today, Isaac?”
“Toadin, you watched me walk in.” His father deadpanned.
“I know, I know. Just trying to lighten the mood, you and your son seemed mighty down, so I figured I’d dust off some of my old charm and take your order in person this time.”
Isaac nodded, before turning to Galis. “I’ll be paying, is there anything you want?”
“I’ll just have an expresso.”
“All right, I’ll take a hot cocoa.”
Toadin, who had been writing down their orders and nodding, let his pencil droop slightly once they had finished speaking. “You fellas going to get anything else? Or just the two drinks? We have a discount on sausage rolls, by the way, in case you guys didn’t know.”
Both father and son shared a glance before the former spoke up. “...I’ll take one of those as well, then.”
“Excellent!” Toadin bellowed out a hearty laugh. “I’ll be right out with your food then.” The owner then scurried off.
“You just couldn’t help yourself, could you?” Galis shook his head lightly.
His father smiled for the first time since he had entered. “I’ll have you know I hold a deep love for burnt sausages wrapped in stale bread.”
“With hot chocolate at the same time?”
“It’s an acquired taste.”
That got a small chuckle out of the younger man, whose laughter slowly faded into a worn smile.
“…I’m sorry I didn’t contact you sooner, you have every right to be upset at me.”
“Nonsense. Maybe matters could have been handled better, but for now, it seems like everything turned out for the best. You can support yourself monetarily, and I don’t have to worry about my son potentially dying every night.”
“I guess so.”
Isaac clasped his hands together, his posture relaxing slightly. “Now that the matter has been settled, what have you been up to since we last spoke? Have you been keeping in touch with any of your friends from school?”
“Father, that was over a decade ago.”
“I’m simply asking. Social interaction is imperative for a rich and fulfilling inner life. Why, just last week, I met with my old lin instructor. Such a driven woman, even in her old age, she still carries the passion of teaching that not many can hold on to. Of course, I have long since dropped the instrument being more of a jazz man myself, but it was still lovely to meet her and talk about current events.”
Galis listened patiently as his father began to recount more and more of his past experiences. Despite constantly asking about how he was, Isaac had a bad tendency to rant whenever given the chance. But he didn’t dislike it, Galis loved meeting his father, and just being with him would lift his spirits even when he was unsure of himself.
Some time passed, and their food arrived. While the son sipped on a drink that was more soil than liquid, his father looked down at his food and grimaced as he gingerly took small bites every so often.
“By Roma, they should update the menu; I’m starting to think that these recipes were made using sticks and rocks from the prehistoric era,” Isaac complained “Or at least hire a better cook.”
“I don’t think Toadin’s ever going to do either of those, a customer asked him something similar last week while he was drunk. He then spent the next several hours screaming at them at the top of his lungs, saying something about a waste of money and keeping it ‘old-fashioned.’”
“Well, if these meals become any older, he might have to hire an archaeologist.” His father responded gravely.
“Agreed.”
They both continued to eat and drink in silence. Isaac turned to face the window outside and looked out into the darkened streets of the city.
“…Say, son.”
“Yes?”
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“Do you still feel inclined to become a musician?”
“What brought this on?” Galis stood a little straighter in his seat.
“Not anything in particular.” His father continued to stare out of the window. “I simply want to know what my son wants to do with himself is all. It was only three years ago when you wanted so desperately to follow in my footsteps and become a renowned artist, yet you began talking of it less and less each time we spoke.”
“I just grew up a little is all.” He shrugged, “You can’t have everything in life.”
“Even so, to just give up on your dreams so easily? What about the Sanada? The instrument I bought for your birthday, where is it?”
“I think I left it in the cabin we built, but I haven’t used it all too much recently.”
“How come?”
“I’ve already told you, there’s no point in pursuing it as my career. The city’s been tearing itself apart more than usual lately, it's not like back when you were young. Nobody sees the need to attend concerts or watch musicians when radio exists, and there are more pressing concerns.”
Isaac fully turned to face his son. “Make results, not excuses, Galis, we shouldn’t shy away from a touch of hard work simply because it brings us difficulty. If you put in enough effort people will see talent, they always have.”
He felt his skin prick in annoyance. “You’re showing a lot of compassion for a society of people who won’t even leave their homes out of distrust of one another.”
“That is because there is good in everyone Galis, I have seen it.”
“Well, I haven’t, and going down that path is only going to cause me more trouble than it's worth.”
His father pinched the bridge of his nose and exhaled deeply, “We don’t run from our problems, son, hardship is nothing in the face of determination.”
“Determination isn’t enough, father, at least not this time.”
Isaac fixed him with the same stern look he had grown to know over the years. It wasn’t one of disappointment or anger, but rather a look to convey a message. I know you’re better than this. It said, but he knew he wasn’t. Galis had tried his best and come up short, and that was just how things were, there was no use in trying to make his father understand.
“My son wouldn’t give up that easily.” His father said firmly. Standing up from his seat and pushing away his plate. “Or do you intend to simply live your life in fear like the other residents of this city?”
“…Of course not.” Galis lied, watching him move.
Isaac picked up his hat and placed it on his head, “Then pull yourself up by your bootstraps, son, nothing good in life is ever easy.”
Galis didn’t respond, simply staring down into his empty coffee cup and tapping the table idly with his left hand.
His father pulled out a silver pocket watch and, after a few moments, snapped it shut. He gave a brief nod to the café owner who had been walking around taking more orders and then turned back to his son. “This conversation has been enjoyable, Galis; I hope we can speak more often now that you intend on staying in the city. With that said, I must be off, I have a rather busy schedule today.”
“Alright then, goodbye, Father.”
“Take care of yourself, son.”
Galis watched his father leave without a word, staring at the door to the exit for some time after Isaac had left the premises.
‘He checked his watch after standing up, he had already decided to go.’ He thought bitterly, ‘Father must still be upset at me over my last job, but he won’t show it.’
Galis looked back at the empty plate and mug opposite him, deep in thought. Things could never be easy, could they?
*
It was almost midnight when he stepped outside Toadin’s, a drizzle of rain had begun to pour down, making the cobblestone pavement he walked on glisten in the faint moonlight. He walked past the homemade Belorith restaurant he had seen earlier and saw an entire chair lodged halfway through the glass. The insides of the store were also a complete mess, with busted furniture, more broken glass and torn wallpaper. Huh, seemed like giving it a week had been an overestimate, not that he was truly that surprised.
‘What lunatics.’ The fear of death drew closer almost every day, with no insight as to when the next attack on the walls would be, and a significant period since the last one, people were wound tighter than ever. He’d seen groups of people break down into mass hysteria over even a simple dog whistle just two days ago; it was utter insanity.
As he kept his trek, he felt the broken cobble slowly transition into smooth pavement as he left the older, less well-kept districts of the south quad and made his way further into the city.
There was not much point in staying out at such a late hour; it was the end of the week, and the late-night crowd had flooded the streets, making walking a chore. Say what you would about the overly paranoid populous of Valtsomu, but when the leylines were deactivated at night, every living being and their mothers were roaming the streets. Not that Galis cared much, he had work the next morning, after all.
He followed the path that would lead him back to his apartment when he spotted an interesting shop in the corner of his eye. It was painted dark green and slightly stood out among the black concrete surrounding it, looking into the store, Galis spotted a multitude of flowers which glowed with an almost prismatic sheen.
Curious, he walked across the street and stood in front of the florist.
‘I should get some as an apology.’ He scratched his chin in thought. His father had grown to love flowers ever since his grandmother had passed, so it might be a good opportunity. While Galis didn’t exactly have much money, but he could always skip eating the next day.
He took a step forward and reached out to open the door.
“Thinking aboutss buying from ol’ Renny’s huh?” a slurred voice said from under him, interrupting him. Looking down Galis saw a homeless woman in a knitted cap holding her legs against her chest and sipping from a small green can.
A GeneBev addict, they were more common now with how often the city was under siege. Most people just turned to drinking their problems away.
“You shouldn’t drink that stuff it will kill you,” Galis responded to her with a hint of concern.
“Then izz doing what I wan’ it to.” She retorted. “And ists none of your buisnesss.”
“Just to let you know.” He responded with a shrug.
“Huh, Guesss you’d be the caring type, since your looking at Renny’s stuff.”
“Guess so.” Galis reached out a hand to walk into the shop.
“…Waits.”
Galis felt the woman grasp at his trousers with wet, sticky fingers and resisted the urge to shake her off.
“Ma’am I’m busy.” He managed through gritted teeth.
“You didn’t anssswer my question.”
“Which one?”
“Whys you going into Renny’s? She gots weird stuff in there, izz dangerous and you donts look very strong.”
Galis slowly pulled his leg back to break away from her grip. To which the homeless woman gave up without much resistance, sipping again on her drink.
“It’s a damned florist, and besides, you’re the one who told me to mind my own business.”
“I dids?” The homeless woman looked down at herself shocked, “But why?”
Galis pinched the bridge of his nose and elected not to answer her question, walking into the store. He could deal with homeless people, but drunkards always had some sort of screw loose and GeneBev addicts were even worse. Although it always felt as though everybody in this city had some sort of mental problem.
“Hey! Come backsss!” The woman called out to him, but he had already wasted enough time on her so he walked in without another word.
Stepping into the store, he found himself staring at a wide selection of plants, the kinds of which he had never laid eyes on in his life. What stood out the most was the vibrancy and abundance of colour, which almost exploded along the shelves, used to the dull black and gold outline of the city streets, Galis hadn’t seen that much colour since he first stepped foot outside the city walls.
“Hi! hi!” An equally colourful figure ambushed him from behind a potted plant. Galis watched in shock as a woman wearing a woolly purple sweater managed to violate his personal space at record speed. “Welcome to Renny’s flourishing! how may I help you?”
The person in front of him seemed to be a store attendant who wore what looked like an entirely hand-knitted outfit and sported bright pink dyed hair, which fell down her shoulders and halfway across her back. She stared at him with enthusiastic eyes, and he saw that just under her collar was a small sticker which read: ‘I’m Obelia, ask me anything!’
“Could you back up a bit?” He asked, raising a hand.
“Oh, Roma! I’m so sorry, it’s just that not many people buy flowers nowadays! So, I got a bit excited.”
Galis quickly peeked behind her to see that the store was mostly empty, save for a few couples and an older gentleman. Nearly all of them looked as stunned as he was, staring at the various flowers which practically grew out of the floorboards.
“Makes sense, considering the state of things. I don’t think flowers are anybody's top commodity.”
“What state of things?” Obelia looked at him oddly, slightly tilting her head.
“…The war? And the constant bouts of mass hysteria? You know, the ones which are always causing riots in the streets?”
“Oh, right those.” She responded with a tinkling laugh. “Almost slipped my mind, guess I’ve been attending to the flowers too much, I get lost in my own little world sometimes.”
Galis rubbed his forehead tiredly. It was too late for him to be dealing with the strangeness of Valtsomu, best he just picked up what he needed and left.
“Sure.” Galis offered, taking a step past her, he had learned some time ago that it was best not to question these kinds of things. He watched her trail behind him as he walked further into the store in his peripheral.
“So! Were you looking to get anything specific?” The store attendant chirped, keeping pace with his strides.
“No, not really.”
“Well, we have a sale on gardening equipment if you’re thinking of starting one, and we also have a discount on Platinum Velvet, which is a great flower for giving to any special someone you might have!”
“I’ll pass on those, thanks.”
“Then what about the Midnight Smoke? It’s one of my personal favourites in terms of home decoration, and since it’s a cactus, it hardly requires any effort to maintain!”
“I’m good.”
Obelia began to deflate like a forgotten balloon after some more of Galis’ curt responses, “Just tell me if you need anything, then.” She ended up heaving a sigh and turning around to walk away.
“Now that I think about it, I would like to ask you one thing,” Galis called out to her just as she began to walk away,
“Of course! What do you need?” The store attendant regained some of her lost energy.
“How do you all stay in business without many customers?”
“A-are you sure you don’t want any flower recommendations?” Obelia asked, slightly surprised and also dejected.
“I think I can handle it.”
“…Alright, well, if that’s all you want to know, then I’ll tell you. It’s not very complicated, though; we have several contracts with relatively large funeral companies that are constantly buying out our stock, so keeping things running isn’t exactly tough. In fact, this shop is actually here out of my own personal want than anything else.”
“You own this store?”
“Well, I don’t own it per se, but I am a big part of it.” She replied with a grin. “I helped make it after all.”
“I see.” Galis rubbed his chin in thought. It seemed like there truly were more people dying in recent times. He had seen the matter on the news, but it had always felt distant and numbing. Like it was covered out of necessity rather than anything else. At least on the main news network, some of the smaller stations like the Asteroids went into those kinds of things in greater detail but he never watched for long.
He had his own life to take care of.
His next line of thought was cut off by a loud BANG! Originating near the entrance of the florist. In walked a swaggering man in a sharp black suit. His heels clicked on the floor as he walked up to the store attendant.
“Get me a bouquet of Black Diamond Immediately; I’m in a hurry.” A high-pitched voice rang out. Galis watched this stranger with a long, jutting chin and slicked-back hair begin to shoo away Obelia, similar to how one would a stray animal.
“Oh, just a minute sir! I’m with another customer, but I’ll see to it as soon as I’m finished.”
“Did you not hear me miss? I am above your station, fetch me what I requested at once and make sure I don’t have to repeat myself.” The man sneered.
“Sir, please have some patience.”
“Make me talk again and I’ll see to it that this entire store is razed to the ground.” The man snarled.
Galis felt his blood run cold. That detached speech pattern and oblivious arrogance was something he was all too familiar with.
‘By Roma, there’s a goddamned noble in here.’ He realised, taking a few steps backwards away from the stranger who was adjusting his tie. Why was there somebody like that in the southern quadrant of the city? And more importantly, how far away was the entrance of the store? Galis was going to run the first opportunity he had.
Obelia seemingly realised the same and bowed wordlessly before disappearing into the depths of the shop in an instant.
Murmurs could be heard throughout the shop as the few remaining people had already begun to shuffle out of the florist. Knowing that running was a far smarter option than staying near a noble, nobody wanted to put a target on their backs. Especially with how volatile some of these arrogant people acted.
Galis was a step away from joining them when he caught himself near the large double doors and simply stared at the noble for a minute. He had no real reason to stay…well, except for one.
My son wouldn’t give up that easily.
Galis took a step forward. He didn’t plan on doing anything heroic, since there was no point in causing trouble if there wasn’t any. The best course of action was just to let the man collect his flowers and move on, but he had to say something. It wouldn’t be right to sit still and do nothing.
After a brief moment's hesitation, he tapped the noble’s back.
“Use some manners,” Galis said.
The whole world almost ground to a halt as time seemed to stretch and slow while the man in front of him turned around. Predictably, the stranger’s face was one of barely restrained rage as he glared at him.
“Excuse me?” A quiet tone laced with venom replied.
“You should have waited for her to finish.”
“Pfft, hahaha.” The noble gave a slightly deranged chuckle. He continued this way for almost a minute before calming down. “Listen, you’re young, and I can understand the need to impress a lady since I’ve done the same. That is why I’ll let it slide for now, but you need to get out of my sight immediately, or you will only have yourself to blame for what comes next.”
“I can live with that burden,” Galis replied, “Because I’ve only spoken truths so far. If I’m at fault for anything it's believing that somebody like you was actually capable of basic human decency.”
“Somebody like me?!” The noble spluttered in outrage. “You haven’t the faintest clue how far beneath me you are, I’ve pulled myself into the elite of society from nothing, from nothing!”
“And that exempts you from basic courtesy? I thought nobles were supposed to be proper, then again, a man-child like you probably isn’t fit to be one. You might as well be two children in a trench coat pretending to be an adult, or in this case, one big fool pretending to be a person of importance.”
The stranger stared at him, slack-jawed. “Never in my life have I met a more insolent brat.” He whispered in shock.
“I’m 25”
“Your age isn’t the issue, you brash idiot with no respect for authority.” The noble hissed, “I’m on the road to becoming one of the most powerful entities in Valtsomu, not just any regular noble. An. Elite.”
He pulled out a small rectangular case from the inside of his suit. Waving it in front of him like one would show a dangerous object to a baby and tell them not to touch it.
“You see this? You don’t even know what it is, yet with this, I’ll become a face you’ll never forget. I’ll be bigger than any of the families that lord over this pathetic excuse of a city, and once I am, you’ll regret the words you’ve said to me today.”
Galis wordlessly glared at the noble before turning around to leave. He had said his piece, and at this point, he should just leave before the situation escalated any further. They would punish him for insulting a noble, but he would be mostly fine as long as the confrontation remained verbal and not physical.
“I will make your life a living hell.” The stranger kept talking behind him.
He kept walking.
“I’ll make an example out of you in front of the entire city.”
He kept walking.
‘Just let it go, Galis.’ He thought to himself, nearing the entrance to the florist and reaching for the door.
“You have no respect, you know that? I’ve worked much harder than you could possibly imagine, yet you have the nerve to order me around? Go back and cry to your mother, brat, I’ll make sure she knows her son died because his parents couldn’t teach him how to behave.”
…
Galis swung his fist hard enough at the smug noble to break every bone in his face. His knuckles felt soft flesh envelop them as he almost caved his entire face inwards. He ripped the rectangular case out of his hand and kicked him in the stomach, sending the man sprawling across the ground.
“To die without regret is the ultimate goal in life.” Galis spat, “And I don’t think I’ll ever regret this, no matter how many threats you make.”
And with that, he walked out of the store.