....
The sky is very gray today
...
there's a reason for that
...
surely, there must be
...
air Pollution... or something like that
...
i can't really remember what it was called
...
do you have any guesses?
...
Ed?
...
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A human youth stood idly against a lamp post, right next to a crosswalk.
The wrist watch marked 7:47 p.m, though Edward could tell it must have been about an hour forward, he forgot to change it since summertime had ended back in October.
The streets were fairly unocuppied at the time, a nearby lampshade flicklered a bit against the sunset setting over in the horizon. It's not often the sky looked so pretty on a casual winter afternoon, and yet, something about it all gave him a particular sense of unease.
He waited for the traffic light to change, even if there was not a soul in sight, excepting the bored cashier of a small convenience store visible from that side of the street.
He made his way across the street, slowly nearing his destination, a lone bus stop near the exit of the suburbs.
he still couldn't get it off his head.
It had been going on for a couple of months, this was this particular sensation that seemed to follow him around wherever he went.
He initially thought he was just feeling a bit agitated about the whole deal of waiting for his brother to arrive from work on weekdays. Being home alone all day wasn't really something he particularly enjoyed, or at least not as of these last few months.
But even while being accompanied by his brother back in their house, that little feeling just wouldn't go away.
It was starting to bother him quite a bit.
Still, he was able to distract himself from time to time, catching something to see on his brother's old computer, checkong on Levin, a brownish stray burmese cat his brother had adopted, or doodling on a small journal he'd gotten his hands on after he had done a little bit of cleaning in his father's room.
He sighed, and walked up to the bench right next to the bus sign and sat down as comfortably as he could get.
His watch marked 7:50 p.m
"Anytime now"
He took a peek at both sides of the street, while he fidgeted with his fingers.
A single drop of cold sweat went down his forehead, just as he heard the sudden, quiet rustling of some trees right beside the bench.
" just think of something else"
He dug in his right pocket a bit urgently, taking out his cellphone and quickly scrolled down his contacts, and getting to his brother's number.
"...Definitely not that."
He backs down on that and squints his eyes at himself, slightly embarrassed he was just about to call his brother just because he heard some weird noise out on the street.
Edward shook his head, straightened his back a little and looked in both directions again, the distant silhouette of a bus calmed him down distinctly.
His brother, Arthur, worked weekly as an electrician in a neighboring city. while maybe not too ideal by any means for his own life plans, that was the safest and simplest way to mantain him and his brother ever since they started living by themselves.
Having just recently left college , and oficially gaining a degree as an engenieer, it had been clear to him that he was to be responsible of their home's income first and foremost.
Edward did briefly consider getting a small job on afternoons after school, if he could be of any help, but Arthur was very particularly against the idea for some reason.
He said he "wanted to let him keep enjoying his student life before just getting the whole working deal".
although Ed didn't really get what he was trying to say at the time
the large transport stopped right in front of the metal sign, a mechanical screech pierced his ears shortly after.
Arthur, amongst a small group of workers, came down the bus's steps.
He bidded farewell to the few others as they dispersed to the sides, and shortly after stood just in front of Edward and looked at him silently for a couple of seconds, trying to get a reaction.
"...What?, you waiting for somethin' man?, or shall we go?"
The two walked back home together, as accustomed.
The trip from the stop to their house was particularly brief, so Arthur still was unsure why his brother would so often decide to go back and forth whenever he came back from work.
He also wondered why he had become so tense.
Some paranoia, perhaps, it should be decently normal after the thing with dad.
"Have you already packed your stuff?" Arthur asked, while he turned his head to his brother.
Edward looked up at him, with slight confusion
"...Oh, right, we're moving with mom aren't we...?"
"You haven't then"
"I... i haven't. sorry, i... i've been a bit busy"
"With what exactly?, i told you i already talked with your school's principal about the situation, you don't really have anything to worry about anymore, at least on that front"
"Yes, i remember, it's... not that"
"What is it then?, saw something on the pc?, did something happen to the cat?or...
is it about that feeling again?"
"What feeling?" Edward blaintily tried to play it off
Arthur stared indifferently at Ed as soon as he finished his sentence, but then looked away again.
"If you had told me it bothered you so much before, we could have done something about it by now" Arthur exhaled and "It's a real problem, Edward"
"I know, i know"
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
The rest of the day was rather uneventful for the two. They got home, showered, had dinner and went to sleep as always. Edward would be lying to himself if he said he didn't find this mundane, but at the same time he deeply feared that something about it could change, again.
By the time it was midnight, he couldn't force himself to sleep.
He Stared quietly at his window, trying to think about anything that didn't devolve into just how uncomfortable this felt, as if he knew the moment he stopped paying attetion, the feeling would just creep back into his head.
Eventually, he couldn't hold his eyes open and drowse off.
it was kind of weird,
he can't really remember when was the last time he dreamt of something, as much as he wanted to.
At last, morning came up.
Edward was familiar with this routine. He got up and came down to the kitchen, where a plate of whatever his brother had cooked before going off to work was set in the middle of the table.
This time it was a couple of burnt french toasts and a small fried egg.
A certified Arthur classic.
He then got changed, washed his face in the bathroom, and brushed his teeth.
Remembering whatever his brother had told him yesterday, he finally encouraged himself to pack up his things.
His hands moved methodically, sorting through clothes, gathering school materials, and carefully selecting books. Each item found its place in bags and boxes, the room gradually growing empty.
Oddly enough, a sense of relief washed over him as the room transformed into a series of neatly packaged belongings.
It was something he hadn't experienced in a long time.
In a matter of minutes, only a few personal items remained – a small pocket watch and a collection of old photos. He slipped the watch into his pocket, giving a fleeting glance at the nostalgic images before carefully stowing them away. Most of the pictures where of his childhood, while a couple featured his brother alongside their father.
As he examined the images, he couldn't help but wish he didn't know as much as he did about his father – a recognized, successful entrepreneur and owner of a sprawling insurance company. And, From what Edward could piece together, an unimpressive husband and an absentee father.
Yet, despite it all...
Edward walked away from his room, involuntaringly frawning a little at thath train of thought he was taking just moments ago.
The only thing left was feeding Levin.
Who he hadn't seen around the house at all.
He looked inside a couple rooms before a loud thumping from the house's ceiling gave him an idea of where the feline could have gone
"Well, great... i'll leave the food on her plate just in case"
He walked out of the back door of the house into their decently sized, but equally cluttered backyard, a selection of worn furniture, and just general trash cluttered a good percentage of it.
finding it a little strange, he looked up at the sky for a bit.
For some reason, it looked particularly gray today.
"It almost looks like it's going to rain..."
He moved over to the cat's little plastic plate, and deposited a generous amount of aliment on it.
At the very sound of the little treats falling on the plate, the brownish cat came running from inside of the house, and rapidly turned to the food and started eating it.
He looked down at Levin, a bit aliviated.
At that very same instant, a sudden realization sent a Shiver down his spine.
"...But then, who's on the roof?"
The sound of something heavy falling right behind him struck his ears gently.
That sensation, that sensation of unease he had been feeling constantly for so long, abruptly punctured his mind.
He did not have time to turn around, before something cold and blunt impacted against the side of his head with unmeasured force. He almost didn't feel it, as the shock from the event numbed his being to the very core.
He must have passed out after the hit.
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...
...It's cold...
...
He slowly regained a tiny bit of his senses.
The only thing he could perceive at the time was the frigid, stale air all around.
His head ached, and something warm dripped from the side of his forhead.
After a little while he began to feel his limbs and torso.
His body was tangled inside something maleable and thin.
Like a bag
And then he started feeling motion.
And hearing footsteps.
He was being dragged in a bag
He did not have the will or the minumum stregth to move or struggle.
It felt like a fleeing moment of quietude
right before a bitter death
However,
it was taking a bit long.
The air, cold and dry, brushed against him.
The motion around him kept going, with a steady pace.
but nothing else was happening at all
then, he felt something twitching, something over him.
It seemed like whatever holding him struggled a little.
the bag was slipping from it's grasp.
and then he just fell
..
he rolled down downwards on something that felt like a cliff
there was a thin layer of liquid... or something similar
and then he just
fell on something hard
but at least it wasn't nearly as cold around him now.
...
and that feeling went away
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