|| PROLOGUE ||

“My parent’s manor burnt down, but I didn’t do it.” Taelyn A. Jackson may be a know-it-all 5-year-old child who doesn’t know the extent of his marvels. But burning down his own manor? His parent’s manor? One may call it a pure absurdity. 

12.00 AM

A starless black-pitched sky plunged the world in darkness. Shrills, shrieks, and screams erupted from within the house. Unfamiliar burning odors and fumes sized up with suffocating smoke coming from every side. Although the boy may be small, he is fearless. He pushed through halls of doors as flames crawled up behind him. However, before the flames could just etch into his thin skin, he leaped out from the front door in time before another explosion erupted behind him. He scurried away quickly to regain his balance and moved far enough to witness it all. 

The Jackson manor being completely drowned in the roaring fire. He eyed everything slowly. Although his lips may quiver, his eyes were widely fixated on everything. Was the idea of all his pets, maids, and notebooks being burnt caused him this much uneasiness? Or was it the fact that he now saw his own parent’s black silhouettes standing ominously together in front of their bedroom’s floor-to-ceiling window with red narrowed piercing eyes, directly at him? Maybe it was his imagination again. His hands reached into his pocket and gripped his last medicine bottle. But this was his first time seeing something this ‘different’. Maybe it was real. He was 5 when this all happened. But to see your own parents not making any single effort to get out, standing ominously holding hands & hugging one another like one of those newly wedded couple pictures. Except for this time, they look far beyond happy. Their faces seem somewhat tired; although the eyes may be oddly piercing red, they look as though they’re about to faint. He was petrified. His skin, face, and hands were as cold as the freezing night. Sweats collected and glided over his widened eyes as his mind raced to find the most logical explanation. What? When? How? But most importantly, why? But before Taelyn could call out his parent’s names, the firefighter pulled him away. ‘Kid, it’s dangerous being this close, let’s get you far enough from here.’ Since when were they here? He struggled enough to glimpse back at his parent’s window. 

They were melting. 

It was subtle, but he could make out their body’s slightly melted skins. Menacing red eyes dropped in the most depressing and almost pitiful way.  For the first time in his life, he screamed. And it was loud.

NOOO! PAPA! MAMA! 

Tears won’t stop. He squinted, sniffed, and cried out for his parents. The firefighter told him to calm down and that his parents will be alright. Utter bullshit, but for a five-year-old child, who wouldn’t want to believe it's true? “THEY’RE THERE! CAN’T YOU SEE?” he cried and told the firefighter where his parents were. However, he wasn’t listening. When he finally broke free to look back and point at his parents’ window to show the firefighter, they were gone. Confusion. Broken fragmented words and mutters started filling up his brain, suffocating and overloading him until something just registered in his mind. He’s an orphan now. What will he do? He wasn’t especially close to any of his paternal and maternal relatives. Uncle Morande? Aunt Josephine? 

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Quickly.

THINK.

If he remembers carefully, no one ever visits him. Especially family members of all people. ‘Damn it, wait a minute,’ as his stomach gave out a small croak. Didn’t he just eat a small sandwich? He's really craving for some grand cheesecake right about now. 

12.50 AM

The firefighters managed to water down the flames completely. The glorious yet eerily towering manor that once stood proudly on this private property with no one to bask in all its glory has now simmered down to its tiny smoldered broken parts laying helplessly upon the wet sodden ground. 

FOCUS. 

“Right. Parents dead. Nowhere to live. Now, what?” as he realized his parents were dead, he wiped away his last tears, squinted hard, and rubbed his temples. He was definitely not going to an orphanage or foster home that’s for sure. That’s obviously beneath him. Moreover, they don’t serve cheesecake Fridays...right? But what if they do? I guess it’s tolerable to some extent. But back to the matters at hands here... how in the living world will he survive? 

As that last thought looped and tinkered around in his small brain, an old wistful man approached him. He looks around 80, but based on the way he was walking normally with his back straight, feels like he doesn’t age over 50. A surprisingly pleasant white mustache. Like one of those eccentric mustache up-tilt styles back in the early 1900s. A fairly close resemblance to Salvador Dali’s. Now Taelyn wondered if he was to become a famous artist now who went crazy before his fame finally took off. One silver monocle hangs from his left eye. 

“Greetings, I couldn’t help but notice that your manor burnt down. If it’s of any consolation to you, I was the one who called the firefighters.”

“Thanks,” said Taelyn, nonchalantly.

The elder nodded. Turned and stared at the burnt down manor. “It was a lovely manor. It’s really a shame to see it all gone to waste. I was contemplating to overtake it someday once you all had left.”

“I guess we both lose.”

“Well, for me yes, but not so quite for you.”

Taelyn eyed him weirdly.

“I’ve been your neighbor - “

“Wait, what? Since when?”

“Hmph? Whatever do you mean?”

“Like since when? This is private property and we have no neighbors here. Wait. WERE YOU THE ONE BURNT DOWN THE HOUSE?” as he said it loudly.

“SHUSHHH! IMBECCI-! No, you imbecile, it was not I who have done this sacrilegious deed. If it was me, I would have killed you all and let the house unscathed.”

“Oh yeah. Ew. You have a weird fetish for big manors or something old pop?”

The old man noticeably deeply sighed and rubbed his temples. 

“Listen here, you intolerable brat. I’m here to make an offer. Now would you just shut up and listen?”

Taelyn’s eyes widened with curiosity and moved his head closer to the now irritated old man. 

“I’ve been your neighbor since the day you were born, you don’t ought to remember much, but I was a dear friend to your mother. I used to accompany her like my daughter whenever your father travels for a long period of time. While you...you were doing your own thing I suppose. I’ve promised whatever happens to them, I will take care of you. Until the day you can do so yourself. Therefore, I’m taking you under my wings so to speak. But I would understand if you like other relatives or associations to take you rather than a dingus old man like me. So, what do you say?”

Taelyn eyed him intensely. He looked back at the manor with a somewhat sentimental look on his face. There was a high chance that the boy would say no. Objectively, the old man would be the prime suspect for the manor being burnt down. His timing was too coincidental. But for some reason Taelyn sighed, annoyingly loud. Enough to make the old man annoyed once more.

“On one condition..only if I get to have my cheesecake Fridays. Of course not every Friday, but I would like to say most Fridays. Do we have a deal, old man?” he stretched out his little hand ready to shake.

The old man is clearly disturbed with Taelyn’s demand but gives in with a slightly warm tugged smile. 

As they both shook hands, another explosion erupted from the house. What a stupidly hilarious coincident.

1.00 AM 

Taelyn was clearly undisturbed as he asked, "By the way, WINGS? Where in the godforsaken universe do you keep your wings hidden then?”

The old man was clearly shocked with his mouth wide open, pointing shakily to the manor as he tried to balance his crane, looking back and forth to Taelyn and the burnt manor. 

“Oh, that was probably the furnace or something.”

“Don’t you want to see if your parents are alive and well?!?”

Taelyn’s mischievously grinning eyes and a slick smile slowly turned dark and gloomy once more as he turned his head back to the manor. 

“I saw what I saw, and they’re never coming back,” as he held his tears in. He quietly moved towards the old man and burrowed his face into his black trench coat. He didn’t care that he was a random old stranger. He just needs someone to hold onto. Only to hold. The elder was startled, unsure what to do, he randomly cusp the boy’s head and caressed his head. It was a very cold night for such a massive fire. 

No one made it out alive from that manor, but Taelyn.

At least that’s what they’ve said, right?

END.