บท 1: Ardeon
Have you ever heard of Santa Claus?
I'm sure your answer is yes. Everyone seems to know about a fat, bearded man who somehow managed to get into the chimney to deliver the gift, undeterred by his own stomach that could explode at any moment. Now, have you ever heard of the Ardeon?
I'll bet your answer is no.
*
"Levent!! Stop playing roller skating in the hallway of the apartment! You're setting a bad example for the kids here!"
The screams of my neighbor, Mrs. Chloe, a true housewife with four beautiful daughters, were the morning I always got. I'm sure she woke up early and waited for me at the door to yell at me like that, every-single-day. To be honest, I liked the way she screamed. Because I don't have a mother to scold me every day, so with Mrs. Chloe around, now I know what it's like to be scolded by a mother.
I continued to glide across the white floor of a smooth loft. There is such a pleasant sensation when your inline skate can slide without pedaling so hard. I brake by positioning my right foot in a horizontal position, then bring the wheels against the floor and drag them slowly. I stopped right in front of the open middle elevator. There's an apartment guard inside, Chad, who has given up years ago to scold me into sliding down the apartment on an inline skate.
"Morning, Chad." I greeted him, with a smile. But Chad just glanced at me. For your information, Chad, he gave up on me, but that doesn't mean he's being friendly. I still have to try harder for it.
The elevator stopped a little later. Numbers showed that we'd stopped on the third floor, and I knew who I'd see behind the elevator doors that were now open. Sheera. Every time I see her in the morning, I know that I'm not different from humans. I have a feeling, I might fall in love. I'm just like the average seventeen-year-old boy.
"Hi, Levent." Sheera smiles at me. As she stepped into the lift, in a flash the smell of her fresh cologne filled this small room. It makes me smile big and breathe deeply. I don't care if it looks stupid. I like Sheera and I want her to know that without having to say it. Sheera parted her jet-black hair, and its fragrance was no less pleasant than her perfume, made me more and more infatuated. I don't mind if the elevator suddenly stops and we're stuck in it. Of course I wouldn't think of Chad as a real presence.
The elevator stopped at the ground floor, Sheera stepped out and I caught up with her. I slithered down my inline skate to catch up with that sweet girl, who walked gracefully. "So, you going to school today?" I know my question is stupid, clearly Sheera is wearing a uniform. I just wanted to talk to her, but I didn't know what to say.
"Yes. Of course I am. And you will be... Playing around?"
Sheerah's brow furrowed, perhaps she feels her question was unkindly heard. I nodded reluctantly. I wouldn't say I was going to work, because my job isn't a normal job at all. Sheera looked at me with her clear, round eyes. Those are eyes of a good kids.
"You know, Levent, I've told you so many times before, but I---" I slide to pass her by, turn around and drift back. Now we're face-to-face, and I'm not waiting for Sheera to finish her sentence.
"This is my life, Sheera. You don't have to worry about my future, if that's what you want to talk about." I interupt her words, with a smile which I practiced every morning in front of the mirror. A genuine smile that would give me a level of physical beauty, or at least I'd say so.
"I know it's your decision. But wouldn't it be better if you went to college or work instead of playing around like this?"
Sheera and I are stopping at the edge of the bus stop.
"Don't think about me. Just study hard, okay?"
I tapped her on the shoulder. Actually I really want to wipe her golden-brown cheeks, but the arrival of that flashy yellow school bus foiled my plans. Sheera headed to the bus door, then she turned to me.
"Enjoy school." I said, smiling and waving. Sheera waving back at me, and smiling again. A little bit. Then she came into the bus. I waited for the bus to pass and disappear around the corner, then I slid down to the skate park.
"Go back to work." I said quietly.
*
Skate park is always crowded by kids who aren't in school, or skipped school.
No good kids, says the parents who forbid their kids to play here. When my superiors sent me to this area, I thought so as well. But I was wrong. Well, not completely wrong either.
I drove down the steps by sliding backwards, and then I went to my best friend. A guy my age, blonde with ratty hair, and a skinny build. "Martin." I call his name, then I fall down to sit next to him.
Martin hit me in the shoulder, "Just in time to take Sheera to school?"
"Yeah." I answered, with a stupid smile. I am observing the kids practicing with their skateboards for a while, and then I am recalling the list I had made yesterday.
"Where am I going today?" I asked then. Martin stood up, and I followed him to the back of an artificial, arched cliff. Martin put out an object like a crayon. I'm sure it is a crayon, but Martin insisted it wasn't. He called it Kayola. I think Martin just made it up.
Martin chalked the white Kayola onto the drab concrete wall. He wrote down a place name. Then, when he finished writing, a piece of wall about the size of a door, fell to the ground and left a black hole. Slowly the hole faded away and formed a painting of a road of asphalt with a row of houses beside it.
"Twenty children. You have four hours. As always, the house with the gold sign on it. Your limit is the golden fence."
"Understood." I nodded, then slid into the picture, toward a road of asphalt that was quiet and illuminated dimly from the street lamp.
***
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