Going out of his classroom, John checked his phone for messages. He had sent a message to most of his friends before class, asking if they wanted to hang out that evening. All he got was the generic "I'm busy, sorry" message he kept getting the past few times he asked his friends to hang out. Sighing dejectedly, he plugged in his earphones and started listening to his playlist of battle music from games and movies. He thought that it could make up for the boring life that he had.
Walking out of the building, he noticed the "school cat" sleeping a few meters away. Deciding he had nothing better to do, he started walking towards it. Reaching the cat's location, John realized that he wasn't the only one who thought of approaching the cat, as he saw a girl kneel down by the cat just as he reached it. Stroking the cat's head, the girl looked like she was enjoying herself. Not knowing what to do with the seemingly awkward situation, and not wanting to waste him walking there, he asked her:
"Do you like that cat?"
His question, however, was met with silence. She just kept stroking the cat oblivious to her surroundings. John just stared at the two, wondering if she was deaf or just plain oblivious to what was happening. After waiting for a while, John started to feel that he was an unwelcome guest in the area, and was just about to go when he heard a soft voice ask:
"What do you see on the wall?"
Turning around, he saw the girl staring at the wall of the school building, still stroking the cat with her left hand. Not knowing what was going on, he just stared at the two with a confused look. She asked again:
"What do you see on the wall?
She turned to look at him this time, waiting for an answer. Not wanting to be rude, he stared at the wall. The building was already quite old, so the paint was peeling in some places, not to mention the discoloration from the acid rain that has been rampant, smearing the white wall gray in some areas.
"I see peeling paint, the concrete behind that, and the dirt smudges."
"I see a kingdom."
Surprised, John turned to face the girl. He thought that she was joking him, but her face showed only seriousness.
"A kingdom? How do you see that in this plain, old, and boring wall?"
"I look intently. That's the tower over there, and that's the gate. There's the moat, and the town surrounding it."
Emphasizing each part with her finger, John looked at each point she was pointing at. He could barely make it out, but he could see the resemblance.
"I see. If that's the kingdom, then does that mean that that's the enemies of the kingdom over there?"
"Where?"
Taken aback by the curiosity in her voice, John started to look at the wall more intently. He was only saying it as a joking question, but being put in the spotlight made him look for fear of being embarrassed. Looking for anything that resembles an army or a monster, John kept looking until he found something.
"Over there, by the tall bush."
"That round thing over there?"
"Yeah. And that sharp thing over there is its horns, and the bushy things under it, its minions."
John expected the girl to be laughing at him. He was wrong. She was looking at the spot intently, as if writing the whole picture into memory. Her look of curiosity was replaced by sadness though, as she looked at the enemies.
"The kingdom doesn't have an army to protect it."
He looked at the wall again, and saw that she was correct. There was no smudge, peels, or holes between the army and the kingdom that could serve as the the army. He looked at her sad face, and felt that he should do something about it. He had an idea.
Touching the ground and the soil with his finger, John started making the clean wall dirty.
"What are you doing?"
"I'm making the army."
He kept dirtying it up, until the smudge was enough to rival the enemy's army. Feeling content with himself, John clapped his hands together to get rid of the excess dirt, and he sat down near the cat. Stroking its head, John asked the girl.
"Will the army be able to protect the kingdom?"
"No, it won't be enough."
John almost jumped up from what she said, and was about to protest when she herself dipped her fingers in the dirt, and drew two thick lines in front of the army.
"Two soldiers? What are two soldiers going to do to help?"
"Not soldiers. Gods. Those who helped create this world. Come down to help the army."
John was confused at what she said. Trying to decipher what she said, the girl stood up, patted the cat one last time, and said good-bye. John was still staring at the wall when he realized that she left, without even saying good-bye to her. He stood up, sad from missing the chance to introduce himself to her. But as he himself walked away from the wall, what she said sunk in on him.
Looking back at the wall, he smiled.
"I should go to that wall more often."
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A/N: posting for Merc from his blog... missing him
-Mercurious
