章節 9: The Reality of the World
Next morning, a teenage boy emerges from a bedroom. He grabs a water pitcher and pours water into a cup before sitting on the sofa. Vermilion, awakened by the noise, rubs her eyes and sees the teenage boy sitting on the sofa, drinking water.
"I guess he's the other member staying in this house too," Vermilion thinks to herself.
"Good morning... I am..." Vermilion begins.
The teenage boy spits out the water, startled by Vermilion talking to him as he hadn't noticed her sitting beside the window.
"Who's there?" the teenage boy asks loudly.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to..." Vermilion quickly responds.
"A girl...? Carmella...? No, it's an unfamiliar face," the teenage boy thinks to himself.
"How did you get in here? Who brought you here?"
"Dr. Apgar brought me here..."
As the room is still dim, the boy walks toward Vermilion to take a closer look at her.
"I see, so you're a newcomer..."
"Yes, I'm Vermilion. Nice to meet you."
"Ermm... well, I'm Lyon... When did you start sitting beside the window?"
"I was just sitting and fell asleep there all night."
"Really? I distinctly remember not seeing anyone there..."
"Could it be because the room was too dark?"
"Probably..."
After they introduce themselves to each other, Lyon quickly rushes back to his room, leaving Vermilion speechless.
"Did I say something wrong and make him angry?" Vermilion wonders.
Lyon walks out of his room, carrying a key.
"Follow me... quickly," Lyon says, sounding a little excited.
"Alright," Vermilion replies.
They both leave the house, and Lyon climbs up a stair to the rooftop, with Vermilion following closely behind. He uses the key to open the door and walks to the middle of the empty rooftop.
"Is there anything out here...?" Vermilion asks.
Lyon remains silent, looking at Vermilion, and then points his finger to the sky. Vermilion looks up and sees the sun rising, a breathtaking morning city scenery reflecting deeply in their eyes.
"This is so beautiful," Vermilion says.
"I love this rooftop... It's the only place I can feel so peaceful and calm," Lyon says.
"I know how you feel about all this. I had the same feeling when I sat beside the window in our living room last night."
"Do you think that one day everyone in this world can just watch the sunrise without worrying about anything? Just simply... take a deep breath... and enjoy the tenderness of the air surrounding them?"
"I don't know. There are still so many things I don't know about this world. But it does sound really fantastic to me. Is that what you expect from this world?"
Lyon nods. "It's my dream... I want to change the world... I want all the wars to come to an end."
"Dream... It would be wonderful if that day really comes."
"I know it sounds stupid, and everyone makes a fool of me whenever I tell them about it. They keep saying it's not possible."
Vermilion shakes her head. "Nope, it's not a stupid thing at all."
"Thanks... How about you? What's your dream?"
"Me? I have no idea... Sneeze"
"I see... It's cold up here. Let's go back."
Vermilion nods.
As they return home, they see Carmella has woken up and is eating toast while watching a music show on TV.
"Carmella, good morning," Vermilion greets her.
"Morning! Where have you two been just now? Lyon, did you take Vermilion to the rooftop?" Carmella asks.
Lyon nods.
"I see. Go grab yourselves some toast. I put them on the dining table. Vermilion, you too," Carmella says.
"Okay," Vermilion responds.
Lyon takes a slice of toast, goes inside his room, and locks his door.
"Over here, Vermilion. Let's enjoy our meal," Carmella says.
"Is Lyon not going to join us?" Vermilion asks.
"He always locks himself in his room. He barely talks with us. That's why Alex can't stand him."
"Why is he behaving like that?"
"I don't know. I guess he just simply doesn't like any of us."
"But he treats me fine. He talked a lot with me on the rooftop just now. He even told me about his dream."
"Yeah, I know. He said the same thing to us before. It sounds good, but there's no way the world is going to change for the better. We should be grateful if the current war situation doesn't get worse."
"Perhaps... maybe you're right..."
"He just refuses to accept reality. It's a good dream, like a fairy tale, but it's unrealistic."
"You don't believe his words? That someday the world will return to peace?"
"Don't get affected by his words. It's not possible. The world has been at war for 200 years now."
"200 years?!"
"You have no idea about the war? Everyone in this world should know about it. The news is about to start anytime now. You can watch the news to get some insights."
Vermilion sits down with Carmella, watching the news attentively.
News Channel 01: Good morning, people of Kothern! Today is March 23, 1975. Thank you for joining us this morning. Before we begin, here's today's headline. The tension between our nation and Nisaeria has escalated as our president heavily condemns the attack on the northern border by Nisaeria's troops. Here's footage of an interview with the President yesterday.
President: Those 'devils' have attacked our border. Fortunately, there were no casualties as we evacuated the northern area before the attack. I would like to thank our heroes who are fighting hard for our country!
Reporter: Mr. President, how will we respond to this attack?
President: They will definitely pay for it! We have increased our presence around the border area, but our current national risk level is still considered 'green.' We are considering a military action against them.
Carmella switches to another news channel.
News Channel 07: Northsia is sending more troops to their western straits as Logearia's carriers have entered their sea territory. More missile supplies are expected from their neighboring allies to counter Logearia's troops.
Carmella switches to another news channel again.
News Channel 00: The war between Logearia and the United Nations of Rinezenne has caused nearly 20,000 casualties since its beginning on January 13th this year. There are no signs of de-escalation between the two great nations.
"Logearia again?" Vermilion asks.
"No surprise. They are one of the four strongest military countries in the world. They have launched the most attacks on other countries so far," Carmella responds.
"One of the four strongest military nations? What about the others?"
"The other three are the United Nations of Rinezenne, Vattlaland, and here, Kothern. But many consider Logearia the strongest. One of their generals is infamous worldwide for leading the war."
"Can I switch to another channel?"
"Sure, go ahead."
News Channel 17: The southwest civil war has claimed at least 90,000 lives so far, according to unofficial sources...
Vermilion quickly switches to another channel.
News Channel 70: At least 8,500 people have been confirmed dead...
Vermilion keeps switching channels rapidly.
"Hey, stop it! I know they're all so depressing, but this is the reality we're facing right now," Carmella says.
"I can't watch it anymore..."
"It's fine. Get yourself together."
News Channel 06: Upcoming news, a group of exiles was spotted trying to cross the border into Jervalae illegally. They were fatally shot by the border guards last night, according to national security...
"Jervalae...? Hang on a second, could it be those villagers?!" Vermilion is shocked and in disbelief at what she hears from the news.
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