A lone car drives through the empty street road, streetlights flashing past it's windshield in a steady rhythm, each glow swallowed by the darkness as quickly as it appears.
*Sigh*
"They have been becoming more and more daring, ever since this city has changed the hands controlling it. What are the officials in UAC thinking handing this city to them. At this point the city will be overrun by the criminal gangs and drug addicts."
"F*ck!"
Brian slams his hand on the steering wheel in frustration, he releases another breath of sigh before controlling himself.
'No, Brian no don't ruin this day for him. This is his special day, you can not ruin it for him.'
He slowly parks his car in front of an old decaying building, with all kind of graffiti on the walls covering the paint. The paint which had seen better days, degraded over time turning to whatever the color was to dull grey.
He looks at the digital clock on his windshield, 5:40am.
"There is still time." he takes out a pack of cigarettes from a glove box, only to stop still for a moment and put it back into the glove box. He exits the vehicle after sometime and stops in front of the building, observing it with nervous gaze.
'Hah, why am I so nervous. You can do this man, you are going to change yourself. You will be a better man than him.'
'He will not turn out like me, I will not allow him to stray from his dream. No, I will support him, He will be better than me.'
With determination in his eyes he takes steady steps towards the building, with a hope in his heart.
***
"Woah"
Brian observes him, seeing the fascination in the child's eye. 'If only she looked after him better, and saw how much potential her son has.'
Turning his attention back to the child, "Happy Birthday Arwin."
I prop him up better, so he could view the sunrise better. "So what do you say kiddo, like the view?"
"I.. I love the birthday present, Brian."
Brian winces at being called by his name, but pays no heed to it. "Hah, you think this is your birthday gift? You are hurting this old man's heart, kiddo."
*Achoo*
Seeing Arwin sneeze, he turns towards the balcony door. Taking him inside, the warmth permeating the building. Only to feel the kid struggle against his hold. Turning his attention to the kid with a questioning expression.
"I wanna walk on my own foot. I can walk, I am old enough."
"Haha, whatever you say little man." Only to see angry gaze directed towards him, as he ignores it and lowers Arwin down, letting him walk on his own.
I match my walking pace with him, to allow him to sate his curiosity while walking towards the elevator. Pressing the button, I look down. "You wanna look more? We can walk around the place and explore it bit more."
"No."
Seeing the inquisitive gaze of Brian, he explains a bit more.
"I have a study session about programming with Axel. So I have to go back."
'Yeah, if you spend all the time stuck in small apartment, you would definitely need something to occupy your mind. If I was a bit more like him, I would have been in better place. I... no if I was in his place, then I would have just wasted my time watching different cartoons and shit.' I could only nod at the kid's self-discipline.
As the elevator's door closes and feeling the elevator going down, I couldn't help but question whether Ambra had congratulated him for his birthday but knowing that woman, it seemed implausible for her to even care for Arwin.
"Arwin has your... uh,"
But trying to ask a seemingly normal question felt heavy due to the upbringing he had. Feeling the attention of the child falling on him he could only change the question, "Who named you Arwin, kid? Not trying to tease you but personally I like the sound of your name."
Seemingly his eyes lit up from the question, only to have the expression of pondering. "My name... you see actually no one named me, so I gave myself a name, just like I named our robot Axel."
'Great, Brian just great, you just had to step on a goddamn mine. You could have asked any other question but you had to ask this one of all things. Think, think how can I turn this around without hurting him.'
"I.." Just as he was about to console him, he could only see a proud expression on the child's face. A child who has just turned 5 years old, a child who according to his age should be acting spoiled and needy, a child who should have been given deep love and care from his parent, was given naught, not even a name, name which is a seed for an identity.
But here he was, a precocious kid who was mature beyond his age and had self discipline beyond his peers.
"Do you know the meaning of your name kiddo?"
Seemingly his expression's freezes, as he turns to Brian, "Uh... No?"
Well he is still a kid alright. Brian's smirks a bit, but just as he is about to say, the elevator door opens slowly with people standing outside in their normal office worker suit.
I put my hand on him and we walk towards the exit, he seemed to look behind him as if to remember the interior of this lobby.
"You wanna come here again? We could visit this place whenever you want."
Like lightning, his head immediately turned to face Brian. "No! no, I.. uh its just I think this place is so big and has so many people. Its a bit uncomfortable."
Brian had a hint of understanding, a kid whose whole world was just a tiny apartment, one among many in the building he had lived in for 5 years was now able to step foot in the outside world. A world which is many times bigger than the tiny apartment, but also different and foreign from the world he had spent his whole young life in.
As both of us stepped outside the tall office building, feeling the warmth leaving. I look up at the sky which had turned lighter shade of dark blue as the sunlight seemed to spread across the sky, I turn off the lock on my car as we get in.
"You see, your name has roots in old Germanic language meaning an 'Honored friend' or 'Warrior friend'. and I can see you have that warrior in you." he speaks trying to encourage him.
Although hearing this Arwin's expression turns bitter for a moment before he goes back to his poker face. This change in expression does not go unnoticed by Brian. Only for him to turn his attention to a message on his phone.
He begins to drive his car, although now there were more cars on the road.
"Now you just need to make friends. You can't just stay holed up in that apartment, you need to explore the world a bit as well you know."
"I am just 5 years old Brian, how am I supposed to get out of the apartment without my mother stopping me, not to mention someone could kidnap me. I have watched scenes like this happen in the movies you know." offering an explanation as well as reasons to not step out of his house.
"Haha, if all the young kids were like you then people would be more prone to having kids." he sighs a bit. "Don't worry I will take you outside and you will be safe with me, so no one will kidnap you. Not that you will let yourself get kidnapped, you are too smart for something like that to happen."
He looks at Arwin with amusement in his eyes. He parks his car near the gate of the playground they had just visited earlier, as he gets out of the car and gestures towards the slide where young kids seemed to be playing.
"Go on, make some friends. You gonna need them later in life, you can not learn everything from a book kiddo. Its time you actually experience what life is all about."
Arwin peers into Brian's eyes with puppy eyes trying to convince him, but he just shakes his head and gestures towards the playground. Seemingly accepting defeat knowing Brian won't change his stance on this matter, Arwin gets out of the car with reluctance and drags his feets towards the playground.
"Go to the kids playing on the slide alright. and try to have a talk with them, maybe even play with them I have got a holiday today. and don't go near the people sleeping on the benches maybe they will kidnap you and run away."
Arwin looks back at him, as Brian gives him a thumbs up as an encouragement or was he just doing it for his own amusement, only he knew.
Seeing the little child walk on his own feet, a kid who the first time I saw was just a baby who couldn't even speak but was ever so quite and silent, that nothing could make him cry. Atleast I never saw him cry whenever I visited her house, to see that little baby grow up so fast and now able to walk on his own feet not to mention be capable to such fluent speech only made it much more exciting to see what he would be capable of if he was allowed to grow in a more supported environment.
If she does not want to support this young sprout then I will, I will support this precocious young child, help him and guide him away from any dangerous pit traps this condemned city uses to trap the youth.
Brian's attention falls to message he received from them. He looks around the benches and goes near a person wrapped in thick patched up clothing sleeping on a bench under a tree. He sits in the little space left on the bench near the head of the person sleeping.
"Znamię sztyletu? (Mark of the Dagger)?" came the question from the sleeping man.
"Wierność znamię. (Mark of Loyalty). It's Brian noose, where is the package."
"Eh, go to the Worksman's car garage and get your car fixed there. They will give you the package."
Brian grunts as a confirmation, as he observes Arwin talking to some older kids larger than him.
"When are you going to leave this city Brian? I always hear you shit talking about leaving this place and spending holidays in more temperate region."
Hearing no reply coming from Brian he continues, "You know there going to be a big delivery happening in few months. I sniffed this information from others. If you want a part in it I could ask them to include you. Hey, you listening?" he feels Brian moving a bit on the bench.
"Hm? yeah. A big delivery is coming, and whoever they are have commissioned your ass to pick few runners who have never been caught or are not under the city official radar. That seems the gist of it. but I want know few things and have conditions."
"Hey, man I just pass along a message. I don't know who is the customer, but if I knew I would have told ya, Of course for a price."
Brian could feel the man smirking with his crooked teeth under the mask from his tone.
"Shut it, you know I don't give a shit about such things. I want to know when is the earliest I would have to move. You know to make preparation."
"Hmm, I would give ya 5 months at the earliest or 7 months from today."
"I.. Hey! knock it off." Brian immediately stands up and shouts, freezing the sleeping man as he lifts up the eye cover and to peek at who Brian is shouting at.
A very short kid seemed to be standing up against a group of larger kids, while another one was laying on the ground behind the short one.
"You had a child!? Oh come on bruv, you did not tell me? I thought we were brothers."
Brian seemingly ignores the comment as he sits down, while keeping a watchful eye on the kids.
"Which one is your seed, eh brother?" as the man also watches the kids.
Brian looks at him with deadpan expression, to which the man changes the topic. "If you are signing up for the party then, you better stay low until I give you a message. Take low risk deliveries for a while, no big deliveries and once we do this delivery we could go to another city for better prospect."
As the man once again lowers the eye cover and goes back to sleep.
'Hmph, ever the hopeful fool. Better prospect? how would we survive in a new city we know no one.' he observes Arwin talking to the larger kids. 'New city, huh?'
As Brian is pondering on future prospect, Arwin was experiencing his first real conversation with children his age, well this body's age.
***
'Ah goddamn it. Why did I listen to Brian. Oh, go on and make some friends Arwin, you are gonna need them in life, he says. Well now how do I deal with a bunch hotheaded kids.'
I look towards Brian for help, who is sharing a bench with a sleeping man. Only to see him giving me a thumbs up.
'Why the hell are you giving me thumbs up, help me godam...'
"Hey, where are you looking at, tiny squirt." one of the taller kid seemed to speak seeing that Arwin's eyes were somewhere else.