[October 13th 2010, Croatia]

Michael was hiking with his brother Liam and their grandpa Samuel “Look!” He screamed when he saw a small opening in the mountain startling both Liam and Samuel.

His grandpa took a quick look, but kept walking. “Looks like some animal’s home.”

Liam crawled in with his phone as a flashlight. He stopped midway and yelled “It looks pretty deep!”

Michael was the same height as his brother, but he was skinnier so squeezing through was not a problem. He was impressed by what was inside, the cave was twice as tall as him, but so long that even with a flashlight they could only see the darkness.

Samuel wasn’t happy that they had left him outside. “I can't fight through that.” He sighed to the boys.

The boys had already started walking deeper into the cave. “We’ll just go a bit deeper!” Liam yelled back to their grandfather, but not that long after they got startled when Samuel grabbed and scared them.

He then took out a proper flashlight from his backpack and started jogging deeper, leaving Liam and Michael behind while giggling to himself. “That wasn’t funny!” Michael whined to him, not happy about grandpa’s surprise.

They kept walking deeper and deeper into the cave, there was nothing on the walls, nothing on the roof or floor and it had stayed the same size for over a kilometer. Until finally they hit a dead end. Michael was very disappointed that they had found nothing, but Liam noticed something in the rubble that was the end of the cave. “It’s not the end.” He said as he was pointing to the top of the rubble where there was a hand sized hole.

Both Michael and Liam tried to first see through it with just the flashlight, but the hole was way too small to peek through, but since it was hand sized Michael was able to take a picture.

“Let me see.” Liam said as he took the phone from Michael. “What is that?” His face was almost touching the screen. He showed the picture to Samuel and Michael. Samuel reacted very hastily, he crushed the rocks around the small hole to make it large enough for himself to get in. Michael and Liam tried to see what was in there, but Samuel just ran past them holding something in his hands.

Michael looked concerned as he tried to yell to his grandpa “Where are you going!?” They got a very faint response from Samuel who was already far enough that they couldn’t even see him when they pointed towards that way with the flashlight. “Go home. I’m taking this boy to a hospital!”

Liam and Michael shared a shocked look with each other, neither of them really knew what to say so they just stood there shellshocked. Liam took a look at the cave. “Heal, look.”  He said to Michael who was amazed when he saw the perfectly spherical cave, they both jumped down there and took a good while looking around, but there wasn’t anything else there it was just a spherical cave. Since there was nothing they headed back home where dinner was waiting for them.

“We found a person inside this really round cave next to the blue lake and grandpa ran away to a hospital and and and…” Michael was speaking so fast that their parents barely could understand what he was even saying. “I haven’t even heard about any child missing.” Their father John responded trying to calm down Michael who had way too much to say. 

“I’ll call dad later and ask him more..” Said Lara, their mother trying to change the subject.

Liam noticed that they didn’t believe what Michael told them. “It’s real,he can show the photo.” He interrupted his mother’s sentence which also made their parents share a concerned look with each other.

Michael showed the photo that he took of the inside of the cave, the picture was unclear, but it was well lit enough that the person laying right in the middle of the cave was distinguishable 

“Did you recognize him at all?” John asked from the boys.

“No, grandpa just ran away with him.” The boys simultaneously chanted.

Lara immediately went to another room to call his father while John tried assuring the boys that since he was taken to a hospital everything would probably turn out alright.

Liam wasn’t much concerned by it at all, but Michael could not get his mind off it, even when at school the next day, he kept hoping that they hadn’t found a dead body, so right after school was finished he headed straight to his grandpa’s place. He saw that Samuel’s car was there which made him assume that he was home, but the door was locked and when he knocked on the door nobody answered. After a while of waiting he went to the back and snuck in through a window that he knew was never locked. The lights were on in the living room, but nobody was there at first until Samuel walked to the front door from the basement.

“Grandpa!” Michael yelled startling Samuel. “Holy shit you startled me. Why are you here?” he immediately responded while looking out of the window.

“Was he alive?” Michael asked, ignoring Samuel’s question completely. Samuel looked out of the window again before answering Michael, slightly hesitant. “Yes.” he then responded.

A sense of relief rushed over Michael, even if he barely even saw him just knowing that they could have found a dead person was making Michael not get any sleep. Samuel came closer to Michael and tried calming him.

The moment of silence that it had created was cut short by some noise they heard in the kitchen. “Shit!” Samuel uttered and immediately ran in the kitchen with Michael right behind him. Michael saw a person with really long hair and way too big clothes looking at himself in the mirror. “Who is that?” He immediately asked Samuel. 

“That’s who we found in the cave.” Samuel responded. 

Michael was dumbfounded and tried asking questions, but was stumbling with his words. “How is he fine?” He finally asked clearly. 

Samuel Hesitated at first, but he wanted to be honest with Michael “Someone I know came to mend him.” 

Michael quickly realized something was wrong “Why isn’t he at the hospital?“ He asked Samuel.

“I think you should go home.” Samuel said, looking out of the window again.

“But why isn’t he at the hospital?” Michael asked again.

This time Samuel didn’t hesitate answering “I didn’t take him to the hospital.” He was trying to end the conversation as quickly as possible.

“Why?” Michael asked.

“I had more faith in the person who mended him than the hospital.” Samuel responded even quicker. 

Michael didn’t ask another question, but was shocked. He had always been told to have faith in doctors, but now his grandpa was saying that he didn’t have faith in them. His head was full of questions, but before asking any of them Samuel grabbed him and tried making him leave.

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“You should go back home.” He insisted.

Michael refused and asked “Why?” 

“You really shouldn’t have come here today.” Samuel said, completely ignoring Michael while simultaneously pushing him out the front door.

Michael grabbed the door frame and asked Samuel again. “What’s going on?” 

“JUST GO THE FUCK HOME MICHAEL!” Samuel yelled. Michael immediately let go and Samuel closed the door right after him.

Michael was in shock, he had never heard his grandfather yell at anybody, he saw the boy they found through the window still looking in the mirror, making different faces, he then started running back home, but ran past a mysterious looking man, Michael ran a bit slower and looked behind to see better what the man looked like, but he only saw that man’s head over his grandpa’s yard walls. His curiosity won him over once again so he sneaked closer to eavesdrop, he could just barely hear the conversation.

At first he heard an unfamiliar warm voice talk. “He seems a bit slow.” 

But then he heard his grandpa’s rough voice. “I swear I got him to speak a bit, he only remembers blackness.”

The warm voice continued, “Well Mike can figure out what’s wrong with him, I’ll take him to Belgrade.”

“So, about our deal?” Samuel asked.

“Look, I respect your hustle, but I can’t make that decision alone. Kire and Iro don’t like you.” The warm voice responded

Michael was peeking through the window and got a better look at the mysterious man. He was tall and was wearing a baseball cap and sunglasses. He turned to look straight at Michael and immediately ran out the front door after Michael who jumped over the yard wall. Michael felt something like a bullet fly right past him, he also heard the man say something.

“How did they find me?” The man grumbled as he picked up a rock off the ground.

“WAIT! He’s my grandson.” Samuel yelled to the man. “Michael, get back here!” 

Michael stopped running and awkwardly walked back.

He heard the man speak. “Guess you aren’t that soulless you kept your family from us.” He had taken off the sunglasses and Michael saw that he looked like he was 30 years old and had a stubble beard.

“I’m sorry Vince.” Samuel responded to him.

Vince responded back to Samuel calmly. “Don’t be, that’s the most humane thing I've seen you do, but what do you want me to do about your grandchild? I can't put faith in him to not tell anyone.”

“Take him to Mike.” Samuel quickly responded

Michael had walked pretty close to them, but was still keeping a couple meters of distance, it wasn’t much of help because Vince quickly closed that gap and grabbed Michael’s hand which made him pass out.

Michael woke up around 8 hours later unaware of that, inside a room with only a bed and a door. He immediately tried opening it, but it was locked from the outside. Then 10 minutes later the door opened and a different, shorter and younger man walked in. 

“Come with me.” The man said and walked out the room.

Michael obeyed and just followed after him into another room with a surgical chair in the middle, Michael passed out and the man sat him down on the chair, he then took out a chest on wheels out of a closet and opened the first drawer that was full of different surgical tools he picked a very thin almost toothpick sized rod that he poked under Michael's upper eyelid and into his brain.

20 minutes passed and Vince came to check how it was going.

“Hey Mike.” He greeted the man cheerfully.

Mike continued the operation, but still answered a question that Vince didn’t even ask. “This will take 2 days.”

“Alright.” Vince responded while nodding.

There was a small silence which was broken by Mike. “So who were they?”

“That is Samuel’s grandson..” Vince was cut short by Mike “Samuel Laray?”

Vince continued his sentence, but answered Mike first. “No Samuel Vesna, but I’ve no idea who that other kid is so I wanted to ask if you found anything about him.”

Mike took a long break from what he was doing to think. “Why do I not remember him?” He wondered out loud.

“It doesn’t matter, he’s a nobody.” Vince chuckled

“Oh.” Mike sighed. “Well, I didn’t run any tests on the other kid.” 

“Can you run them in your next session?” Vince asked

Mike agreed and Vince was already leaving, but was stopped when Mike asked another question.

“So where did you even find him then?” He asked

Vince told Mike that Samuel was the one who found him, which piqued Mike’s interest.

“Yeah I’m interested too.” Vince commented “I’ve to go, Run those tests!” 

[October 19th 2010]

Michael woke up in yet another room, but this time there was a lot of stuff around, he was in a teenager's bedroom, but he had forgotten everything. He had no memory of anything that had happened his entire life, he did still remember how to function.

He walked around the room and got startled when he looked at himself in the mirror, he didn’t know what a mirror was so it took a while for him to realize that it was himself. Michael then saw pictures on a drawer that had him as well as other people in them.

Michael heard a male voice yell “MICHAEL!” from behind and he immediately turned around to see a surprised man at the door. A young woman ran through the door and immediately went to hug Michael.

“We missed you two so much.” She cried.

Michael was very confused. He knew what birth was, but this wasn’t like that it felt he had missed a life.

“What’s wrong?” The man asked.

Michael was trying really hard to think of an answer. It took quite a while before he finally asked. “Who am I?”

Both the man and the woman looked shocked. “You don’t remember.” The woman asked, trying to hold in her tears.

“Remember what?” Michael asked, but he then realized that those were the people who were in the pictures. “Are you my parents?” 

The woman immediately started crying tears of joy. “Yes.” She cried out. 

Michael asked “What happened? Why don’t I remember anything?” which made the woman let go of Michael.

“You and Joy almost drowned.” She answered him.  

“Joy?” 

“You don’t remember your brother?” She asked

“No.” Michael said, shaking his head.

“Do you remember our names?” She asked again.

Michael only shook his head.

“I’m Janko, your dad and your mother’s name is Renja.” The man said.

Michael didn’t have a response so he stayed quiet until he said. “I want to see my brother.” 

“Of course you can see him, but he’s still in a coma.” Janko answered.

Janko and Renja took Michael into another room where the boy that was in the cave was laying on a bed. Michael didn’t see it, but both of them looked very nervous as they waited how he would react. They were both relieved though when Michael finally started crying and collapsed on the ground next to the bed.

“Hey, calm down sweetie, look if you don’t remember anything I understand this all will shock you so well leave you alone with your brother.” Renja tried calming him.

They both left and closed the door after them, but they didn’t just leave the room, they left the entire apartment and entered the one that was next to that one on the same floor where they finally left out a big sigh of relief.

“I think that went well.” Janko said to Renja.