Chapter 2 - The Gilded Box

To my brother Millinus,

This is Linum, your brother. I am sorry that we just left you like that. You must be worried about what happened to us that day. Don’t worry. Me, Sisel and Caco are fine.

I can not explain everything to you. But rest assured that we are in a safe place right now and we are happy with what we’re doing.

This might be cruel to say but this is a goodbye. I knew it would be cruel to you that we leave just like that, but it would be crueler of us to let you wait, because we know you’d wait.

We are not coming back. That is what we wanted to say in this letter, Not because we can’t but because we don’t want to.

You have always been the best brother in the world, but it always pained us how you wasted most of your life trying to raise us. It should not be that way.

You work almost every hour of the day just to provide for us. You always prioritize the things we need while sacrificing yours. You should be having a normal teenage life. You shouldn’t have stopped yourself from dreaming anything.

I hope you moved on with your life and finally lived.

Prioritize yourself this time and I will take care of Sisel and Caro.

I am sorry I could not help you hold our family before and that is why I am doing this.

It’s about time you lived your life too.

Live brother. Live happily without the burden of your family. That is all we ask.

I don’t know if we’ll ever meet again but we will always remember you in our hearts.

Your brother,

Millinum

For a minute, Mill did not know how to react to the letter.

He was initially glad that his brother finally sent him a letter, as it meant that they were fine or at least alive, but the contents of the letter was not the one he expected.

He was unsure what to make out of it but what he was sure was that his brother wrote it. Against his denials, he also believed it was a genuine message from his brother. Which only made him feel lost and empty inside.

He read it a few more times and finally all the words registered in his mind.

Tears welled up from his eyes but he stopped it before it fell.

He was relieved that they were fine, but he also could not stop feeling hurt. He was trying to understand why he was feeling it. He should be happy that they were safe.

Then it came to him that he was abandoned again, and for many times at that.

Why wouldn’t they come back? What was their reason? Was he… not worth coming back to?

Those thoughts circled in his mind. He was confused and angry then he was back to denying the contents of the letter. He was only able to come out of it when his phone started ringing.

He looked at it and it was Hiko, his friend who was a police officer.

He gathered himself and answered the phone, “Hello.”

“Hey Mill. Oh— it’s quite noisy in your line— are you at school now?”

“Yes,” Mill answered and went somewhere quiet. He was at the parking lot and a lot of students were coming inside the school. “Why?” he asked when he reached a secluded corner of the parking lot.

“Oh, I can hear you clearly now. I just found out it's your birthday yesterday. Belated happy birthday. Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Nuh, I don’t celebrate it. Thank you, but is something going on?” He knew Hiko would not call him for a simple birthday greeting. The police force had been very busy for the last months with all the disappearances going on and Hiko hardly had any time to even meet up.

“Actually, there is something I think you might want to know. I was at the Oxygen High yesterday, investigating something and I found something that might interest you. It’s about the sign you were researching,” Mill gaze turned to the symbol in the letter, “ I saw something similar at that school. You might want to check it out. I’ll send you the location and the picture after this call, you still work there right?”

“Yeah”

“Good. That’s all. Let’s celebrate your birthday later when I have time. Bye.”

Hiko did not wait for Mill and cut the call.

Mill waited for the message and after ten seconds of waiting, he received a message with a picture. It was a picture of a tree with the unmistakable logo of the Thousand Island expertly painted in its trunk.

He checked the message attached.

-Behind the auditorium

-At the sports dpt.

Mill thanked him and looked at the picture again. This was the only clue he had about where his siblings were. If they would not come back, then he'd come to them. He planned on setting them straight for pulling this joke on him.

He then planned to check the tree in the afternoon during his job at the Oxygen High.

He put the letter back inside his bag and attended his class.

*****

All throughout the morning class, Mill was absent minded.

Even when they have no class on one of their subjects, all he did was sit on his desk either doodling some random stuff on his notebook or looking engrossed at the sky behind the window.

It did not take a long time for his friends to notice his odd behavior. He was always diligent in his studies to the point that he was known to be obsessed with studying because whenever they had free time in school, he was always either reading a book or reviewing a paper.

“Had he gone mad because of his hair?” he heard Tommy, a student who was sitting in front of him, said to his seatmate, Jerome, while looking at him.

Tommy had asked him a while ago what happened to his green hair that was now black. He only nodded at him as a reply. He was not in the mood to talk.

“I think so,” Jerome replied. “You know how much he wanted to be a grass. But now that it’s black, he can now dream to be a soil”

Both of them burst out laughing at their jokes and Mill ignored them.

“Hey.” Tommy paused. “He must be really affected. Was the principal threat serious?”

“It shouldn’t be. A lot of students here had colored hair but they were never expelled.”

“Hmm. Maybe he got rejected by a girl?”

The two looked at each other, shook their heads, and burst out laughing again. They then continued making fun of him but no matter what they say, he did not react.

He just felt tired and spent. He kept thinking about his siblings, about what happened to them, and kept speculating scenarios in his head.

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He had spent almost a year working nonstop to earn money in order to buy the house but what was the point now? If the one he was waiting did not even plan to come back when they could?

Was their life with his father that good? What about him?

He had incessantly thought for the past year that something happened to them. That they were forced to leave with his father. He even held on to the fantasy that something was wrong with the video just to cover up the nagging thought in the back of his head that they left him.

That they left their brother who had spent most of his life taking care of them even if he was tired, even if he wanted to just be a normal student, even if he wanted to just sleep the same hours normal people do.

He had tried to be a responsible brother, even when he was just still a kid inside, and anyone would say he was successful at it. But why did they leave him behind? Why did they not wait for him?

He was also their father’s son, and despite how he hated his father, he still felt hurt that his father did not even consider taking him with them?

Did his siblings choose to leave him behind? What happened to them that day? He wanted to find them immediately and asked them why. But he knew he couldn’t. He felt useless, as well as helpless and powerless. Maybe that was why people always leave him.

He stayed like that all morning until he was able to come back to himself at lunch break.

He was walking on the second floor corridor of his building when he stopped on one of the balconies that overlooked the school’s parking lot and the streets beyond it. There, parked illegally on the side of the highway directly in front of the school was the familiar black car who tailed him this morning, with the man standing beside it.

He couldn’t see the man’s features from this far but he could see that he was now wearing a black business suit and was looking in his direction.

Mill furrowed his brow and wondered what was the deal with the man. He was now starting to get annoyed with his behavior.

He didn’t think the man meant him harm, though. He had been in a position where he could have done something to him, especially at his grandmother's house but he did not do anything that time.

He was also very public, if he wanted to commit some crime, it would do him good not to be seen by bystanders.

If it was another day, Mill would not have cared, but he was not in the mood all morning and he was also hungry. The combination of the two would easily poke his temper.

If the man did not stop bothering him, then he had to do something.

He then went to a cheap stall behind the school where they sold cheap vegetable dishes to have his lunch. To his annoyance, as he was lining up, the black car appeared and parked itself on the street across the stall.

There were a lot of students lining up for the stall so Mill had no choice but to wait. Then he felt someone staring at him. He looked behind him and saw the man now standing behind his car and was staring at him blatantly.

“Hey,” a student behind him said, “I think the man’s looking at you.”

Fed up with the man’s behavior, he nodded to the guy behind him, left the line and walked towards the man.

“What do you want?” Mill confronted.

The man, who looked like he was in his fifties and had a huge beard on his face, only stared at him and did not answer. His face was devoid of expression.

“You have been following me since this morning. What’s your deal, sir?”

The man still did not answer.

Mill looked up to the sky and closed his eyes, trying to calm himself. He then turned back to the man after the urge to punch the man lessened, “I don’t care what’s your deal sir, but stop following me. I have a friend who was a cop and I will call him if you still don’t stop.” He turned back then went back to the line.

He gave the man a last glance and the man was now looking at his watch. After a while, the man entered the car and drive away.

Figuring his warning had an effect on the man, he finally pushed him out of his mind and waited for his turn to order.

Mill had just finished his lunch and was walking towards the back gate of his school, when he saw a familiar black car from the streets sped up in his direction, stopped a few meters away from him and then went ahead of him and parked near the gate.

The bearded old man came out of the car but this time he was coming towards him.

The man stopped in front of him and stood there on his way. He looked down on the watch on his wrist and did nothing but blocked Mill’s way.

“Sir,” Mill said patiently. “What’s your deal?”

Now that Mill had his lunch, he was more amenable and wanted to resolve the man’s deal. He still had an hour till his next class so he could spend time figuring out this man.

The man only raised his hand and Mill understood it as for him to wait.

Mill waited for almost a minute, his patience slowly dwindling, but the man did nothing but stare at his watch.

He started to think that this was a prank and was about to go past the man when the man finally looked up from his watch.

“Good afternoon Mr. Blythone. I am Gregory Finach, a senior executive at the Oxygen Foundation and your grandfather's ex-butler,” the man introduced himself and offered a hand.

Mill took it absentmindedly and gave the man a skeptical look. “ My grandfather? What… grandfather? I don’t know any grandfather.”

As far as Mill knew, the only grandparents he had was her grandmother. He never met any of his other grandparents, as they were already dead before he was even born.

“It’s Mr. Donoer Blythone, Mr. Blythone. I am-”

“Wait,” Mill cut him off. “I think you got the wrong person here.” As far as Mill remembered, his grandfather’s name was not Donoer, it was Danniel. And if it's Blythone, then it should be his grandfather from his father’s side. But according to his grandmother, this grandfather of his was a poor farmer who died from unmedicated heart complications. How could he even have a butler? The man must have mistaken him due to the similarity in names. “I don’t know any— Donower Blythone? So you might have been mistaken. Goodbye then.”

Mill was about to walk past the man but then he thought of something. He doubled back instead and faced the man again. “And sir, I think your behavior since this morning was very rude. I don’t think it was appropriate for you to follow anyone and make them think you’re a creep. You look respectable,” he gestured to the pristine outfit of the man, then he pointed to the man’s car, “and you look like someone who has a decent job. Why are you even following me this morning when you could have approached and asked me back then. You might not have wasted your time. Please don't do this again.”

Mill couldn’t help himself from lecturing the man. If the man had a business with him or with someone, he should have talked to them immediately, not stalked them throughout the day.

The bearded man or Mr. Gregory only patiently stood there all throughout his talk, a small smile now hanging on his face. “Thank you for telling me that Mr. Blythone, it was just an old habit of mine. I’ll make sure to remember your words next time. Anyway, I am sure you are Mr. Blythone’s grandson. In fact, we actually met each other when you were very young, you’re a very healthy boy even back then.

“With regards again to my displeasing behavior of following you around. I apologize for that. In fact I have been following you since eleven last night— at your job at the Mildings and I could have approached you then but a mistake happened. I was actually tasked by your grandfather to give you something four hours before your eighteenth birthday. But I mistook it for 4:00 am today. It was apparently pm, so I have no choice but to follow you until 12:00 pm which is exactly thirty seconds from now.”

Mill was skeptical and alarmed by the man’s words. So he was already stalking him since last night and he did not even notice. For him, that was even an odder behavior. But the important part was that the man still mistook him to be someone’s grandson.

“Mister,” Mill gently said to the man. He was starting to think the man might not be fine in the head or was just dumb. “I think you really mistaken me for someone else. Both of my grandfathers were already dead, even before I was born. Also, my birthday was yesterday, not today. Maybe it was a different grandson who happened to have a birthday a day after mine but I don’t think I’m that grandson.” He gave him a patient smile. “The day is still not over, a certain grandson might be waiting for you today, but it’s definitely not me. It might do you good to check your facts next time. I hope you have a good day then,” Mill told him one last time then he turned and headed to the school gate.

Mr. Gregory did not reply and was currently looking at his watch, mumbling, “5, 4, 3 ..”

Mill had just passed Mr. Gregory when the man swiftly backtrack and blocked his way again, stopping him from walking inside the gate.

Some students who were passing by the gate looked at them with curiosity.

It was a good thing that the gate was big enough that the two of them did not block anyone’s way. Mill was about to reprimand the man this time, but his vision was then blocked by something. He stepped back and saw it was a black paper bag.

“Here you go. Mr. Blythone, and happy birthday in advance.” Mr. Gregory pushed the bag on Mill’s arm and speedily ran away from him.

Before Mill could react and stopped him, the man already entered his parked car and shot his car away,

Mill could only sigh.

He was now obligated to send the paper bag to the police department on his way home later.

Mill raised the bag on his face and wondered what was inside. It could be a bomb or a dangerous object for all he knew.

He opened the paperbag and all his plans to report it as a missing item dashed away from his mind.

Inside was the exact same box that he had found in his grandmother's house just this morning. Though now that he looked at it, it appeared to have a different design than the other box. Instead of the intricate sword design, the box was gilded with branches and leaves of trees. But other than that, anyone could easily mistake it as a similar box.

He checked its back and it also had a carved name in it. Unlike the other box which had his brother’s name in it, the box had a carving of a different name.

Millinus Searage Blythone

It was his name.

He fished out the box from the paperbag and below it was a key. It should be the key for the box.

He put the key and the box back in the paper bag and thought about what to do with it.

If it was really for him from his grandfather who was named Donower or Donoer then that would mean a lot of facts in his life were a lie.

Why was his grandfather’s name different? Why did they tell them he was dead before he was born? What was this box about and why was his birthday today when it was yesterday?

Seeing that he could not get any answers on his own, he planned to check the contents of the boxes when he’s back home later.

*****

A few miles away, a certain bearded man suddenly stopped his car in the middle of the highway. “Oh, I forgot to tell him to open the box immediately.”

Mr. Gregory contemplated for a while if he should come back and tell the young man about it.

His compulsive nature was telling him to but he decided not to. The cars behind him were now honking at him and he also had received an emergency message from his wife and from his secretary who both had been looking for him since this morning.

He could only divert his time this much for the young man. He had already delivered the box, that was the main order. The compulsion to finally attend his missed schedules this morning won, and he then continued on his way.