The fabric of the car was as soft as the clouds—not like I have ever felt clouds, though imagination does give you a sense of the sensation.
The man whom I call the smoking knight hadn't spoken a word.
Well, I guess, why would he speak to a boy whose clothes were ripped and face covered in dirt?
It wasn't my fault, though; the savages in the crowd had done it.
My hands started to tremble, my heartbeat loud, my breathing getting heavier.
I was staring at his face too much. He had the kind of face you could stare at for hours.
The roads were in harsh conditions, and I always lost my balance on roads like these. Well, I didn't want to slide in the knight's direction and get his clothes dirty; they looked so expensive.
Well, I am a smart kid. I grabbed the pouch of one of the seats and tried to balance my body with it.
I am so smart! Miss Mary taught me well!
A sudden pothole. A sudden shift.
(RIIIP!)
I could hear the sound of my so-called smartness. The pouch was ripped, as was my hope of impressing this knight.
(Huff! Huff!) My breathing got louder. He was going to throw me out of the car, or even put me in jail!
He was staring right into my soul. He was going to kill me with his sword.
"There are candies inside that pouch you ripped. Eat them."
He was smiling. Do rich people smile when someone breaks their stuff?
"I aaam s-sorry," I stuttered due to my nervousness.
His eyes were gentle this time—total opposites to the eyes I saw at the speech.
"You are stuttering. Are you feeling cold, little one?"
"No, sir! You need not worry about me."
His gaze drifted to the other pouch on the adjacent seat. He grabbed it with his hand to take something out.
Again, a pothole.
(RIIIIIP!)
I could not believe what was happening today. The man had ripped the second pouch from the seat!
A small cloth, the size of a handkerchief, fell into his hands. He unfolded the whole thing in a second, and it expanded into a blanket.
What type of sorcery was this knight using?
He carefully wrapped the blanket all over my body, covering me from every possible airway. I felt like a packed burrito.
I could smell a strong strawberry scent on him with a hint of an ash-like substance. I thought he would smell rough and tough, like the other knights in the stories.
He put his hand on my head and gave me a soft pat.
"You can't control the things you are going to rip. Choose wisely what you want to put your hands on."
Why was everyone today in the mood for giving advice? People, I am a fourteen-year-old!
Well, he had made me quite comfortable, and I was eager to ask him so many questions. I felt like Sarah right now.
I held my breath and spoke with all my might—though my voice was still small.
"Why did you do that?"
He rested his head back against the seat of the car.
"Be more specific, kid. I don't like questions with no meaning."
"Why did you smoke at that event? Weren't you there to apologize for that?"
"It's a very simple question, kid, and it gets an even simpler answer: To show who is in charge!"
"What? I don't understand."
"Oh, you really are a child."
He opened one of his red eyes and stared at me. He had done this twice now.
"In any situation in your life, there is always the person in charge and the person who has to obey. Both come with perks of their own. The man who obeys gets stability and an illusion of purpose. The man who is in charge gets to be free of all illusions; he is the master of himself."
The words came out of his mouth so swiftly and in such a way that I would even consider him a great storyteller.
"There are disadvantages too. The person who obeys does the obeying thing his whole damn life, like a horse or a donkey, in the name of religion and leaders. As for me who likes the other path, we are at constant risk. Humans don't like humans who can accept that they are flawed beings!"
"Also, the people in charge get to be much cooler—like me."
He had a smug smile on his face while he said these cheesy words.
I fixed my aim and fired my next query.
"Aren't you scared? Scared that people won't like you?"
"Kid, I don't care what they like. People even like Satan. Never let people be your moral compass."
"As for being scared of them, I am scared of no one. Do you know why?"
I started searching my brain for the answer.
"Because you are one of the best knights in the country?"
He smiled once more, as if impressed by what I offered.
"Yeah, that too is a reason, but I also have one more thing in my arsenal: My Zenkaichi ability."
My eyes twinkled as I heard him say that word. Miss Mary had told me about the awesome abilitiy or the powers of having a Zenkaichi ability, I too had read in my history books about it.
"What is your Zenkaichi ability? Please, please tell me!"
I was bouncing in my seat due to my excitement.
"It's called 'The Smoker's Luck.'"
To be serious, the name was lame, but it somehow sounded cool coming from the smoking knight.
"Till I have a cigarette in my mouth, I can't be killed nor defeated—at least in single combat."
That sounded so cool. I didn't know how it was possible, but it was a sweet ability.
The rest of the journey went pretty well, though it got actually boring when the knight slept the entire time.
When we reached the police station, the knight carried me like I was a baby and handed me over to the policemen.
I was departing from him and going to wave goodbye when he suddenly came close to my ear.
"Tell Miss Mary she's doing a good job. You understand, right, Erebus?"