Chương 108: Scarlet Paint (II)
"Young man, I was wondering if you could spare some of your time." The old man motioned him towards him.
Kiyro pointed towards himself and glanced around to see if anyone else was present. "Me?" He answered.
"Yes, who else would I be talking to but you?" The old man mumbled, "Do you see anyone else?"
"No," Kiyro went silent. He walked towards the old man wearily. He wasn't sure what the old man wanted, nor did he like that the old man snuck up on him. "What can I help you with, sir?"
"Ah yes. Yes." The old man slushed around the mop in the bucket of unclean water. He squeezed the mop and shakily handed it to Kiyro. "If you don't mind, I would appreciate it if you could help me mop that spot near the wall. My back has been hurting me these couple of minutes, so I cannot bend over to get the last stains."
Kiyro turned towards the spot where the old man was pointing. He saw a spilled coffee on the floor with the cup opened wide. Damn, people can't clean up after themselves for the mess that they created? He was peeved at whoever spilled the coffee on the floor. Cleaning after grown adults was not something he wanted to do, but he noticed that the old man was hunched over with his arms on his hips and his face cringed with pain. The scene before him infuriated him more at the person who had left behind a spilled coffee.
He couldn't help but feel sympathy for the old man. He remembered when he had injured his back and couldn't move for a whole week. The pain was immeasurable then, and he knew the old man was just starting to feel the pain.
Taking the mop out of the old man's hand, he quickly brought it over to the spilled coffee and began mopping the floor. "Don't worry. I don't mind sparing some time."
"Why, thank you, young man. I would have had trouble finishing up for today. My back was starting to just intensify in pain. Until you came, I had trouble moving."
"I'm sorry to hear that. But, I truly understand what it is like to injure your back."
"For someone so young to injure your back. You must be careful. Your back is your life."
Kiyro smiled and chuckled. "As you can see. I'm doing well."
The old man smiled. "You remind me of the time when I was still young. Even though I still have a youthful mind, those energetic days, my body has aged." Although he coughed a couple times as if something was stuck in his throat, "I still strive for my dreams for a better tomorrow."
"I'm surprised that you still think that way."
"Kuhuhuhu," the old man chuckled and, right after, had difficulty breathing.
"Are you alright?" Kiyro asked, concerned that the old man might keel over and faint. He stopped what he was doing and was about to go towards the old man but was stopped by his raised hand.
"It's alright. This usually happens a couple of times a day. But, young man, remember this: A dream is a dream. Everyone can dream and hope for tomorrow, but a dreamer can only stay in the clouds. Nothing will be done if you only dream. Only a rare few make their dreams a reality." He paused to take a breath. "I have gone and traveled and done many things. So many things that even I did not expect myself to ever do. These experiences are valuable, even if they were for that moment."
"But then, how did you end up as a janitor?" Kiyro listened attentively to the old man's speech.
"Ah yes, a janitor. It's only a temporary job, more like a request I have taken as a favor from an old friend. When my job is complete, and my use for this place is no more, I, too, shall fly towards my next adventure. Even thinking about it makes me antsy with anticipation."
"You seem to have so much energy in you. Why don't you share some with me?" Kiyro chuckled and enjoyed their light-hearted conversation.
"If only I could."
"What do you mean that a rare few people go after their dreams? I thought everyone does."
The old man stared back at Kiyro with a solemn face. His eyes cast down with sorrow at the message he would give. "It's because we only dream and are afraid to take that step forward. When roadblocks come and we fall from our failure, we forget it is just a test. Then we lose all reason and hope, thinking our future is over because we failed and our dreams are hopeless. We forget our motivations, the drive that first pushed us towards that dream, and we fall into endless repetitive motions and events. We become so comfortable in what we do that we are afraid we will lose what we have to gain something better. We must give up something to gain something else. We can not have both. Our selfishness gets in our way, and our fear of the unknown stops us in our tracks. We fear for all the things we have gained for the dream we wished dearly."
"Then what do we do? How are you able to still continue to go after your dreams?"
The old man brilliantly smiled. In Kiyro's eyes, he seemed to grow a little bigger and glow with light. He couldn't help but rub his eyes, wondering if he saw things.
"Never give up." The old man bent forward towards Kiyro. "When the world throws mud at your face and makes you fall, you get up and wipe it clean. If you have nothing to clean it with, use your own clothes. The world will constantly challenge you to see if you are worthy of your dreams. It will throw stones, sticks, rocks, storms, and even upside down. Every time a new challenge arises, more contestants fall from failure and loss hope. They give up thinking this is the end."
The old man folded his hands, and his eyes brightened alive. "But for the rare 1% who were beaten up, ragged with ripped clothes, and even have a couple of broken bones, they still crawl out to reach for what they believe is rightfully theirs to achieve their dreams. So young man, what is your dream?"
Kiyro thought for a moment about the past months that had transpired. He had left home wanting to run away from the problem instead of thinking it was to chase after his dreams. He had arrived in Atlanta looking for a new job and was not lucky enough to land a job. Then he threw himself into the gaming world of Growth, looking for a chance to gain money, but failed to enter the contest. Now he was given a temporary mission that only brought a set income.
He now had a set idea of what he needed to do, but his end goal of living peacefully in his own house was still far away. "I want to own a house and live peacefully with the one I love."
"Is that all that you want to accomplish?"
"What else could there be?"
The old man laughed. "I don't think that would make you completely happy."
"How do you know? You are not me?"
"I do not need to know you to understand that humanity is never satisfied with just one thing. Once you complete your goal, what next? In a couple of years, you would be itching to try something else or gain something new."
"I have never thought of what's after."
"Not a lot of people do."
"Then what should I do?" Kiyro was struck with the realization of what would come after. He thought that his dream goal was the end. There was nothing more to it than that.
"That is up to you to find out," the old man laughed, startling him out of his momentary daze.
"Kid. There is more to you than you believe. All you have to do is believe."
"Excuse me?" Kiyro was confused at his words. He wondered what the old man meant. He was deep in thought on what to say and do. Already his head hurts from overthinking. He thought he heard his mind go pop as his mind went completely blank.
"Kiyro?" A female voice called out towards him. He turned around to hear who was calling him.
"Eve?" He noticed her waving him down as she power-walked over to him.
"What are you doing?" She asked. "Is that a mop? Where did you get that?"
"I was helping an elderly man with cleaning the floor. He had a bad back, and I thought he
needed some help."
"Elderly man? Where?" Eve walked around him, confused. "I don't see him anywhere. I only saw you?"
"I swear he was talking with me a moment ago." Kiyro dropped the mop in complete confusion. A loud clatter rang throughout the hallway as he scanned around, looking for the elderly man.
"Hello? Old man?" He called out.
Kiyro walked over and peered next to the other hallway. "I swear he was here. How did he disappear so quickly?" He was stumped on what happened before him. "He was standing right here."
Walking over to the old man's spot, he pointed down towards the ground. "It's nearly impossible to run down both hallways in under a minute."
"Are you alright?" Eve asked, concerned. She walked over and placed her hand on his forehead.
"You don't have the summer cold, do you?" With her other hand, she placed her hand on her
head.
"Your forehead is slightly warm. You might have a slight fever."
"I'm not delusional-" Kiyro's voice was stopped short when a message appeared in front of his Alive gear.
You have found an easter egg by talking and helping out an unknown elderly man. From your good deed, an easter egg has been sent to your inbox.
Kiyro quickly clicked over to his inbox. He knew he didn't see things and what happened before him was all real. A small egg with a black feather in his inbox was neatly designed on it. His finger hovered over as the bold letters of the egg's name were shown. Easter Egg.
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