The sun went down. The day was over. Students came out of the school gates.
They filled the streets. Their laughter was loud. They walked in groups and carried their bags. They went in different directions toward their homes.
Adam walked apart from them. He kept his distance. His school bag hung from one shoulder. His face showed a deep loneliness. It did not match the happy students nearby.
He glanced at some boys. They pushed each other and laughed. He let out a long quiet sigh. His shoulders dropped.
"Looks like I'm going to spend my entire school life alone," he said. He spoke the words to the air.
He lowered his head. His eyes stared at the ground. He walked away from the school. He did not look at the other students again. His steps were even and steady. He knew the way. He walked for a while and then he stopped.
An old house stood in front of him. It was a Japanese-style house. The wood was dark and old. It was not in good shape.
The wood was faded. It was splintered in some places. There was no paint left on the walls. It had peeled off a long time ago. Anyone could see the house was not cared for.
Adam walked to the main gate. The wood groaned when he pushed it open. He stepped into the small yard. "I'm home," he called out. His voice was flat. Only silence answered him.
He slid the front door open. He went inside the dim house. He took his shoes off near the door.
He walked deeper into the house. He looked at the kitchen. It was a dark room. No one used it. He took a deep breath. The air felt heavy in his chest.
"I had hoped that at the very least I wouldn't be alone at school," he said to the empty rooms. "But that didn't happen. I'm alone at home and I'm alone at school."
His eyes found a wooden shelf. A photograph in a frame sat on the shelf. It was a picture of a man and a woman.
They were smiling. Dried flower garlands hung over the corners of the frame. The flowers were a sign of remembrance. They showed that his parents were no longer living.
Adam stared at their faces for a moment. They looked happy. He felt nothing.
He looked around the quiet house one more time. The rooms were empty and still. He let out another slow sigh. "I'll make something to eat later tonight," he said aloud.
"I don't feel like making anything right now." The thought of cooking for one person was tiring. The thought of eating in the silence was worse.
He made his decision. He turned around. He went back to the entrance. He slipped his shoes back on.
He left the house and slid the heavy door shut behind him. The sound was loud in the quiet street.
He walked away from his home. He took a path that led away from the city. The houses became fewer. The road became a dirt path.
Soon he reached the bottom of a small mountain. It stood just outside the city. The mountain was covered in trees and plants. They grew thick like a green wall. A tall chain-link fence went all around the mountain. The fence was there to keep people out.
Adam was not other people. He knew a way in. He walked along the fence.
He looked at the familiar metal links. He found this way a long time ago. He stopped where the bushes and weeds were thickest. They hid part of the fence. He looked to his left. He looked to his right. No one was there. He was alone.
He reached down and moved a large bush. Behind it was his secret. The bottom of the fence was pulled up from the ground. It was just high enough for a person to get through. He did not hesitate.
He got on his hands and knees. The dirt was cool on his palms. He crawled under the sharp edge of the fence. He stood up on the other side. He was now inside the forbidden woods of the mountain.
The world of school and his empty house was behind him. The air here was different. It was the only place he did not feel alone.