The hallways of hexagon 10 were not as beautiful as those formed by the main hexagons' bookshelves. The materials were equally luxurious; however, the white marble was easy to stain, and no one bothered to clean the outer hexagons of the lower floors.
The floors of hexagon 10 were dusty, the walls stained and scribbled on, and the angel lamps were broken with only a few functioning. It was not uncommon for Adam to walk through dark hallways to reach his home.
Adam's breathing was somewhat labored from all the running. But upon arriving at hexagon 10, the boy calmed down and walked slowly through these dusty corridors. Although the area seemed much scarier, the reality was that this zone was much safer for Adam, as all the neighbors knew him and looked out for each other.
Finally, Adam reached the door of his house. The wooden door was broken, so he didn't need a key. Pushing it slightly, Adam entered to find his father inside.
The room was entirely made of marble, but all the lamps had been replaced with the bluish mushrooms from the cave. The walls were entirely scratched and stained with cave mud, seemingly trying to hide the white color of the marble.
Some scribbles and paintings were scattered everywhere, but there weren't many things in the room. In fact, the room didn't have a single piece of furniture, and all the objects were simply thrown onto the muddy floor.
In one corner of the room, someone was squatting, covering their head with their arms. They were dressed in a white robe, covered in mud and patches. However, the robe was in such bad condition that it only covered some parts of their body, leaving several tumors on the man's skin exposed.
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The person squatting looked very similar to Adam. Under the light of the mushrooms, they seemed to have red hair and freckles, and they had blue eyes just like Adam. However, their eyes were dimmer and somewhat whitened, as if they were about to go blind. Additionally, the area around their eyes was somewhat dark like a raccoon, suggesting some eye condition.
Adam closed the door, and the light from the lamps stopped entering the room. The person squatting raised their head and looked at the young boy who had just entered, somewhat uncertain. Upon meeting the man's gaze, Adam burst into tears and ran to hug the person dressed in rags.
—We did it, Dad! No one noticed!— Adam cried out while hugging his father.
But his father didn't return the hug and remained silent, trying to remember who this boy was, but he seemed unable to do so. Nevertheless, Adam didn't mind and kept hugging him while crying.
—Did you go to school? Do you have the yellow book, right?— his father asked in a weak voice, finding it difficult to speak and not fully recalling why the boy called him 'Dad,' but he did remember that he used to help him.
—Yes... Yes, I have it here— Adam replied with a smile, taking out the yellow book from one of his robe's pockets —The teacher gave me the task to ask for your help to read the first page of the book, and then I'll try to read the rest.
His father took the book and looked at the first page. As he saw the organized characters, tears began to fall from his face, but he didn't speak. He stayed admiring the pages for a while, then closed it and handed it back to Adam.
—With this, you'll be able to read... You'll be free— his father said, crying between tears —I never was, but I never stopped trying to become a free man... But I failed again and again... Always failed. Take good care of it and learn its language...
—Yes, Dad! Can you help me with the assignment?— Adam asked, somewhat concerned and not fully understanding his father's words.
—I can't read any language...— his father replied, somewhat ashamed —but your teacher will teach you everything you need, just tell him that your father is too busy with work to help you with the assignment. Trust me, he won't ask any more questions if you say that.