Maverick (Blank)
Chapter 5: Blank's Childhood (4)
[Father, I beg you, don't let that child search for anything about his family.]
Blank was startled when he saw that sentence. He began to ask, "What's going on?" with a face full of curiosity.
Even if it was an instruction from his father, it meant the deaths and everything he had ever known were not true.
He then stood up and began searching for other clues. He climbed a high cabinet and opened all the available drawers, but couldn't find anything related to his family.
"It's useless. Besides this letter, there's nothing else."
His face scrunched up again, and he sighed. Then he placed the letter inside his notebook.
"If Father wanted that..."
He looked at his notebook.
"Then that's what I must do."
Blank then put his book back on the table.
He walked out but accidentally saw the large mirror on the side of the room. He saw himself with swollen eyes and dark under-eye circles. "You're pitiful, huh," he said to his reflection in the mirror.
Then he lowered his head, and his hand pressed against the glass. "But nothing will change."
He walked out to go to the bathroom—his goal was to clean himself and return to his room to rest.
At night, Blank was seen alone in his room, reading the book 'Shattering the Status Quo' while facing a painting of his grandfather.
"Even if you are struggling, no matter how much the world oppresses you, reality will not change."
He placed a hand on his cheek. "Gramps, this book is like explaining my situation, huh," he said to the painting of his grandfather.
Flip.
He slowly scrolled and noted some important points from the bold sentences left by the young man with glasses.
He continued reading. "To escape the system, you need your own thinking. Nothing can be expected except yourself."
Blank sighed. He then leaned his shoulders back on the wooden chair and looked at the ceiling.
"Huh... what should I do now."
The little boy then walked out of the room to get a glass of water.
Creak.
He opened the door. There was only a living room with a musty smell of termites, decorated by dim lights inside the house.
He sighed again. "I'm confused..." Then he went to the kitchen and poured water from a small tank into his glass. He sat down and began drinking.
Pour...
Gulp gulp.
He swallowed a few sips of plain water, which was almost finished in the small glass. "When drinking, you must sit, otherwise you might choke."
That was something his grandfather used to scold him for—drinking water while standing.
[2 Years Ago]
"Wah, I'm thirsty! Grandpa, water!"
Little Blank was 9 years old. Grandpa, who was sitting reading the newspaper, stood up and poured water into a glass.
Pour...
Grandpa extended a hand holding the glass to him. The little boy took it. "Yay, thanks, Gramps!" Grandpa smiled.
Then little Blank started to drink, but Grandpa stopped him. "Hey, don't drink while standing. You might choke."
Instantly, Blank sat down nicely and nodded his head. Only then did he slowly swallow the water.
Gulp gulp.
Grandpa smiled. He saw his grandson was growing up. But when he looked back at the newspaper, his face looked quite sad, with a weary gaze.
Blank looked at his grandfather. "Grandpa, what's wrong?"
Grandpa just smiled at him. "It's nothing."
Then the old man folded his newspaper and placed it on the cabinet. "Grandpa has to go to work now, okay. If you go out to play, remember to put the key under the doormat."
Blank nodded. "Yes, sir!" While giving a salute to the old man.
Grandpa smiled. "See you later." While waving his hand.
The little boy also waved his hand. "Bye, Grandpa!"
Grandpa left. But actually, little Blank was curious about what his grandfather was reading. Because he was small, he looked for a way to get the newspaper up there.
Blank looked around. Then he found a slightly rickety wooden chair in the corner of the kitchen. He walked over and tried to lift it.
Hop.
He tried to lift it. Suddenly...
Crash.
His arms weren't strong enough, and instead, the chair leg fell and hit his toes. He screamed, "Ouch!" While holding his painful foot.
Then he groaned, "Ah... this hurts..." But he still tried to bring it back by dragging it.
But he thought, (If I drag it, the floor will get damaged.)
Then Blank looked around and saw a wide tablecloth hanging on the door.
"Ah, I have an idea."
Little Blank spread it on the floor and began lifting the chair again, but he placed it on top of the cloth.
Drag.
Blank pulled it, and it proved successful as the cloth slid smoothly even with the chair on it. But actually...
"Ah, still heavy. This is taking long. My back hurts."
Still, the cloth was only to help avoid damaging the floor. Weight was still weight.
After finishing, he then climbed onto the chair and reached for the newspaper. He opened it and read the last page his grandfather had read.
"Man with initials A*D disappeared after jumping into the sea."
He didn't understand why that news made his grandfather sad, but that's what he remembered now.
[Back to the Present]
Morning had arrived. He was seen waking up in his bed and turning his body.
Crack crack.
The sound of stiff bones felt loud. It was normal when the body had been still for too long. "I slept for so long, it turns out."
Then he opened the window and saw the sun had begun rising, decorating the countryside. Its color was white with a yellowish tint, with a dark sky fading in the opposite direction.
Blank then looked around him. His gaze focused on a piggy bank tube on top of the cabinet.
Shake shake.
He tried shaking the tube, and it felt quite heavy. "This must be Grandpa's savings."
But Blank returned it to its place and walked away. "I have to earn money today."
Before leaving, he cleaned himself first and prepared tea in the kitchen. He remembered how to make tea as his grandfather had said.
[Just prepare hot water, use this tea bag, put one in a glass, wait 5 minutes, and it'll be good.]
That was his late grandfather's saying. Then he opened a small cabinet in the kitchen and saw a blue box. "Oh, here's the tea."
Blank boiled water, then poured it into a glass and dropped the small packet containing tea into the water.
Plop.
Then he waited while preparing some leftover bread from the previous day. He reopened a few cabinets and prepared it as breakfast.
"Today's breakfast is bread and tea."
He then began to enjoy the warm, fragrant tea in front of him. The aroma brought calmness to his heart at this moment.
After finishing breakfast, he then looked at a paper on a notepad. He was preparing something for today's work.
{Let's see how little Blank works.}
[10:00 AM - 12:00 PM: Picking Chilies in the Garden]
"Whew... it's so hot today..."
Blank wore long clothes in today's hot weather. He was seen picking chilies one by one and then placing them in a rattan bag.
Then, after he finished the first part...
"Why did you pick the small chilies too?"
The man shook his head while little Blank scratched his head.
He lowered his head slightly. "Sorry..."
The old man was initially annoyed, but since it was a child, he understood. "Alright, it's okay. There are still 4 parts left. Pick the ripe ones like this." While showing a large, firm-skinned chili.
Blank nodded.
Continuing to pick chilies, he walked through the garden, but—
Thud.
He tripped on a stone. But his face turned panicked. "Oh no..."
His hand broke several chili plants in front of him. Then he tried to fix them, but—
"Hey kid, what are you doing?"
The old man from earlier saw him now. Blank was scared and closed his eyes. He turned around and apologized. "Sorry, sir, I..."
The old man saw several of his chili plants were damaged. He understood why the boy was apologizing. Then he sighed. "It's alright, be careful next time. Don't be careless."
Blank understood those words. He then continued picking chilies with more careful steps.
After some time, he brought the last basket. So after this, he would receive his money and return home.
As he was about to approach the hut, he saw the old man being visited by his wife and child. They brought him food. But at the same time—
Grrr...
Blank's stomach growled. He held his stomach with a slightly bowed head. With steps starting to tire, he said, "Sir, this is the last one."
The old man smiled. Then Blank approached to place the rattan bag at the side of the wooden hut with a pile of old brown palm fronds on its roof.
Then the old man reached into his pocket and gave him some money. "Here's $3 for you."
Blank took it. "Thank you, sir."
Then he walked out of the garden with hunger in his stomach.
"Hey kid!"
The old man's wife called him.
"Yes, ma'am?"
The woman smiled. "Come eat first before you go."
Blank asked, "May I?"
And was answered with a nod and a smile. That made the boy happy, and he returned to the hut.
"Take as much as you want."
Their child also watched Blank. He ruffled Blank's hair. "Hey, how old are you?"
"I'm 11 years old."
"Oh really? Still small but already wants to work."
"Yeah, see that. You've graduated, when are you going to work?" asked the father.
The son tried to dodge. "Well, haven't found where the fortune is yet, Dad."
The old man sighed. "Pfft."
Munch munch.
The mother smiled seeing Blank eat. "Haha, this child eats so heartily."
"Eat a lot, so you'll grow up fast, haha."
Blank answered with a broad smile that covered his view. It was a sincere smile from the little boy.
He was grateful for today, because he didn't have to buy food and could work at the next place after finishing.
[1:00 PM - 2:30 PM: Peeling Onions]
Blank was now sitting with several grandmothers who were peeling onions on the front porch while chatting.
Sniff.
One of the grandmothers looked at Blank. "Hey kid, are you crying?"
Blank turned his gaze to her. "No, Grandma, I'm not crying."
Then she answered, "But then—"
"Ah, no lah, ha... ha..."
His mistake was peeling the onion too close to his nose and eyes. Then what was heard was—
"HACHOOO!"
Blank sneezed.
Then he rubbed his nose, but... he accidentally got it in his eyes.
"HAAAA, IT BURNS!!!"
He screamed. All the grandmothers suddenly gathered around him noisily.
"Eh, help! Quickly, pity the child!"
"Oh my, a little kid."
"My goodness, always something..."
[3:30 PM: Going Home]
Creak.
Blank opened the door to Grandpa's house. Now the silence began to feel present within him again. He always remembered Grandpa's welcome whenever he came home, but now it would never be heard again.
The little boy sighed. "Whew... I'm tired, but I smell. I should bathe first."
At the same time, as Blank was about to clean himself, someone in a black shirt and long pants got out of a car and arrived on the village road.
He took out his phone and called someone.
"Hello, I've arrived here."
[Good, just follow that address.]
The young man walked while talking on the phone. "This is going to be the longest mission I'll ever work on. It's taking up so much of my youth, you know."
[Well, what can you do. But the money is enough for you to retire for life, right?]
"Yeah... yeah, sure... but yesterday my partner broke up with me because I asked for a 7-year break. She said it's too long, crazy, like that..."
[Well, what can you do, your girlfriend is impatient. Later when you're 31 and the mission is over, plenty will stick around.]
The young man sighed. "So heartless... I'm telling you a sad story here."
[That's a sad story? I'm confused whether to laugh or vomit.]
"Your words are so mean..."
[Hahahaha.]
The young man stopped walking when he read an address with the number 20. "By the way, I've arrived."
[Oh really? Alright then, see you in 7 years. Good luck!]
Blank, who had finished cleaning himself, now looked clean and smelled of papaya fruit from his body. He was now sitting in the living room, leaning on an old sofa that looked sunken.
He was reading a name that was almost completely faded. But that name was very important because—
[Age--Ardo Da-]
The writing was damaged. Blank thought to himself, (This is the sender's name on the letter to Grandpa. This should be Father's full name, but it's unclear.)
Knock knock knock.
Blank was startled. A knocking sound came from the entrance door. Then he walked over and opened it.
Creak.
Blank stared at the face of the young man in front of him. He looked tall, around college graduate age, and dressed neatly. He smiled at the boy.
"Who are you?"
The young man pulled his lips up and narrowed his eyes. He said something that made Blank's eyes widen and his brow furrow.
[Hello, little brother. I am your older brother.]