Wondrous

Chapter 1

Snow is a peculiar thing,

life itself is condensing into minutia so small even the most complex of technologies falter often in their investigation of each and every flake that falls upon our tiny little world that which we call home. Each flake one on their own, each with a separate destination to the surface, never too far apart, but never all at once. Each flake is a property of its own, a subject of its own history, different in all the rest whether it be major or minor in difference to its trillions of compatriots each snowfall. Every minutia of a blizzard being unique in its construction, every single one, there is not a thing in this tiny world of ours that confuses me more so.
    It was winter many years ago.. My mother, who hobbled about our village with a vigor and rage unlike any woman I've ever known, had demanded that I fetch eggs from the neighboring farm, whose chickens had somehow stuck around despite the ever worsening conditions. And whose family safeguarding said chickens likely took pity on our dying breed of seasonal farmers. 
    I was but a young boy at the time, but that didn't matter all that much to my mother. My father fled to the innermost sectors of our local government in a feeble attempt to make a change in the 'forever corrupt' landscape that paved our nation. I naturally found his words confusing, and my mothers incessant demands were rather precarious in nature, so my childhood was riddled with painful inconsistency.
    I looked into the thin veneer of rage and confusion that clouded the pupua of my mothers gaze and nodded at her request. Her heavy eyebags closed just slightly as perhaps she hinted at the possible sight of a smile across her aged profile. As she gave me a bag for the eggs, I felt a particularly nasty gust of wind clatter against the side of our home. Taken aback, I felt my back slam onto the ground immediately, slipping and causing a rather painful swell to begin forming on the back of my small skull.
    My mother gathered me to my feet and held me tight, before forbidding me to travel any other manner than the way in which she instructed. I often wondered in those days why my mother never accompanied me on those trips, why every time I returned she would be deeper and deeper in slumber, her upper arm brandishing a bandana of sorts, whilst a syringe was always hidden poorly nearby.
    I made my way into the abyss of white and felt my cheeks become more and more inflamed with every passing step. As if I were being peppered again and again by a swarm of dulled bees. The pain itself is not too disastrous immediately, but certainly dangerous in the long run. I was tough though, I had dealt with it thrice before, and I'd most certainly deal with it again. As I felt my boots tug against the icy ground I noticed a trail of small paws edging perpendicular to the path most traveled between houses in our village. My young ever curious mind quickly drifted from the task of my mothers request to the origin of these strange paws, as I therein deterred from my always stern mother's directive.
    The snow became even more blinding as I journeyed deeper into the fog, its formerly dull claws now slashing at my face, the pawprints were just barely visible as I had come upon a small den in between a barrier of rocks twice my stature. I peered within its crevice and noticed a small family of foxes' cuddled together to survive the bitter blizzard that rampaged just outside their tiny home. A gargantuan grin swung across my face as I knelt and observed their strange expressions.
    But it was certainly short lived, another rush of wind, far worse than its prior, crushed my body against the rock wall that housed the family of foxes at large. The father of the family rushing out, forcing me to scatter deeper into the icy abyss, I now brandished a cut across my forehead who transformed the formerly angelic snow into a crimson shade with every few steps. I recalled my mothers inquiry and spun in circles in perplexion as to where I could possibly be amidst the fog.
    I felt my tears and sweat beginning to freeze as I followed my past steps back towards the trail. Each step I had made only partially etched the ground throughout the ever present assault of snow that occupied my small bubble of a world. The path I formerly traveled upon my return appeared in a far worse state than I left it, snow and branches both littered across its formerly organized setup.
    Upon arrival at my neighbors abode, I found myself at the brunt of my mothers close friend's frustration and sympathy, smacking me across the cheek for my tardiness but immediately coming to my aid at the sight of the wound that had only been silenced by the pile of snow that almost sat parallel among my hair. I collected the bag worth of eggs and began to make my return journey back down the trail, my neighbor tagging alongside me to assure my safety due to my shenanigans on my lonesome.
    As my neighbor and I entered my home, she inquired as to where my mother was; noticing the lack of a welcome the two of us received upon our entry. I pointed to my right towards her room as I began to take my jacket off and hung it up on the rusty hook adjacent to the door. I heard my neighbor gasp in such a way that all the air within the next mile could've been driven into her lungs before she slammed the door to my mothers room open with a fury only a mother could. She gazed down at me with tears streaming down her cheeks and just as quickly as I took off my jacket, it was zipped up to my neck once again.
    She grabbed my hand as I dug my feet into the ground against her will, refusing to acknowledge any possibility of leaving without knowing what could've happened to my mother. Despite her nagging and anger I had to know, I had to know, I had to know. I felt the rubber in the soles of my shoes grinded against my feet as if I were playing tug of war against a man made of brick. But no matter how hard I tried I only was dragged further and further out of my home. The place I had known for my entire life up until this brief moment; and it was torn from me only a second later, as my neighbor lifted me into her arms and carried me back onto the trail and back to her home.
    But little did I know that no matter if my neighbor had helped me to her home or not, my mother still passed amid her sleep. And despite the police's best efforts at explanation, my innocent mind was forever bewildered.
Upon the passing of my mother, amidst the funeral procession following, her eldest brother took it upon himself to take me in. My graciousness for such wasn't displayed all that much, as my admiration for this particular uncle only went as far as the few occasions we crossed paths at family events.
    Unlike my father who had delved into the catacombs of political discourse, my uncle was rather obsessed in the field of advertisement and corporation. Upon my slightly reluctant move to the city, I recall the sheen that glazed across his company car as I set my lack of belongings in his back seat. The few times I had come across such fine material were the two occasions during which our family came together on holidays. Then and only then did my mother put in an effort to make the trip out to the hustle and bustle that the city was so revered.
Weather in the city was the polar opposite to that my childish self recalled. The most amount of people I could recall crossing paths with on a regular basis at my young age I could likely count between my pair of hands. Now it'd likely take a whole paper's worth to describe the sheer number I come across. Upon my arrival to said stagnant smog riddled city my uncle called home, he introduced me to his home, a towering behemoth of a building that mimicked that which I had only read in medieval tales. Having set my belongings in my chambers, I remember calmly inspecting each hallway that lied throughout the gargantuan stomach of wealth that my uncle and his family prided themselves so dearly with.  My two cousins who were significantly my senior, each introduced themselves respectively, before then returning to their particular cells to hibernate for the foreseeable evening.
I had a relatively simplistic relationship with the pair up until their exit from the home, we would occasionally engage in hide and seek when it became prudent, and on the off chance they trusted my adolescent sense of judgment I would be allowed to use their shared computer to play a number of different games..  Their reluctance was warranted however, as I recall spilling an excess of orange juice across the home computer, the resulting consequences of which both disbanding my privileges in regards to electronics for the coming months, as well as the respect of my cousins until their shared exit.
As the weeks went by and my identification had wholly been certified within my local school system, my uncle enrolled me in a nearby academy. From what I remember from my days in my village I was a relatively uninterested student, the likes of which didn't translate well upon my introduction to the academy my uncle's entire family had apparently been through up until myself. My cousins on their way out and onto bigger things, myself a new fish amidst an everlasting yet ever changing pond. 
I had met Tsuko around the second week of attendance at the academy, during a lunch hour a trio of troublesome teens approached my empty picnic table and inquired if I fessed up any food I had left up until that point that they'd leave me be for the remainder of the day. The triad wouldnt take no for an answer, and instead triumphantly took my belongings and tossed them asunder throughout the tufts of twine. 
As I felt the hairs on the back of my neck contort and my stomach began to squeal, Tsuko galloped into the field like a show pony and clutched my belongings in his hands before sprinting back inside, not without motioning me to follow close behind. As I obliged, the troika of taxing teenagers weren't far behind, however the heaviest of the crew quickly grew weary at the sight of needing to chase after his prey.
Tsuko had trained for long runs for a lengthy period of time, but sprints were far less of his forte, whereas I couldn't run far longer than I had already to save my own skin.  Our now collective plight reached a fever pitch, as the outside of the academy eventually reached a sea of trees, and without a choice left the pair of us journeyed deeper into the woods, staggering all the same.
The truth was that the teens had given up a fair amount of time ago, likely more focused on berating the lack of stamina their heavyweight partner had unfortunately been burdened with. This was the furthest thing from the mind of Tsuko and I however, as we snuck about the woods and gazed around every corner, almost tasting the tension everprescent in our overbearing environment. By the time we reached a clearing even we knew the tricky triumvirate of teens were far too disinterested for my now mashed selection of cuisine. I never quite recalled the exact verbiage I used when inquiring as to why Tsuko displayed such kindness, but I'll never forget what he managed to retort; "I dunno.'"
    Tsuko and I managed to be quite the pair throughout our shared schooling, coming together on projects when we could, and assisting one another in the face of conflict no matter the price, which usually consisted of going hungry for the evening and at most a bruise, not really the death penalty the two of us supposedly tried our hardest to avoid. As time went on, our duo eventually became a trio at the behest of a young woman named Ima.
    During a particularly boring lecture, Tsuko and I began playing a game of rock paper scissors beneath our desks. By this stage our instructors had found our persistence so perpetually poisonous to our classroom environment that they'd separated us to the opposite sides of the room. Nevertheless, we still managed to disrupt our classes and tank our own grades respectively. This particular outing had caught our shared instructor Professor Shugii on a rough day, thus stopping our game at an even 1-1; to be resumed in the detention hall for the remainder of the day.
    Fully expecting just the two of us to occupy the hall for the remainder of the day, Tsuko and I jokingly planned to continue our game as we entered the detention hall. But to our collective shock we'd be sharing the room with a young woman named Ima, as well as the now excessively stern Professor Shugii. As the two of us resumed our game whenever Shugiis eyes lie elsewhere, Ima gazed towards our shared fray into competition. Before long she too snuck her hands beneath her desk and began to engage in rock to scissor combat.
    Our trio to put it in the simplest of terms was inseparable, regardless of the years that went by, Ima only exceeded us by a year in age and hailed from deep within the city with her mother. Her father too had split on a dime, escaping gambling sharks who he owed a startlingly high amount to; the likes of which changed each time Ima told the story to anyone that'd listen, or at the bare mention of fatherhood in conversation. I admired how calmly she took such, not being too invested in how evil of a person he was, or whereabouts he was; I certainly wouldn't say the same on my behalf.
    While Tsuko wasn't necessarily gifted in academia he managed to scrape by without a hitch, in terms of athletics however he excelled to heights Ima and I stood in awe of as the years went by. Tsuko became a district champion in nearly each and every event in track and field; having switched his focus every season just out of boredom. As his time in the academy came to a close, a number of differing scholarships lie before him, none of which I had nearly the qualifications to even dare applying for. As a trio therefore we decided he should trek for the school with the dumbest looking mascot, purely for our shared amusement in how bizarre it'd appear for him to have a leopard in sunglasses smack dab in the middle of his classy blue and pink jersey.
    Ima was a scientific prodigy in every sense of the word, hell the reason she ended up in detention with Tsuko and I when we first met was the result of a bottle rocket experiment gone wrong. Under the tutelage of the very same teacher 'Mr Shugii', Ima excelled academically in her field to sights unseen in our class at large; dominating the overall gpa by a startling degree. Burst across the academy's trophy case lie award after award for every science fair nationwide. Like a plague Ima's namesake spread across the country, reaching out to countless high level colleges. Tsuko and I similarly addressed the issue of college with Ima, however this time we found ourselves dead set on the strange color palette of a southwestern college, whose scheme was somehow purple and green!
    Unlike the athletic abilities of Tsuko, and the academic prowess of Ima I managed to scrape by for a majority of my time at the academy. Never did I falter as I did in my youngest years, but never did I prosper as they did. I didn't mind then, the fact that I journeyed here and accomplished anything at all kept my mind at bay up until graduation came around. My uncle had declared that upon my graduation that I'd need to find a place to stay elsewhere, no longer being obligated to house me, his sons having left a long time ago; I the last thing standing in the way from him and his spouse retiring into a bayside cabana, lightyears away from any responsibilities.
    I recall greeting the headmaster as I scaled the banister to claim my diploma, quickly scampering off the stage to greet Tsuko. The pair of us waited behind a nearby corner for the headmaster to finish announcing our academy's alumni. At dead last Ima stood tall among the rest, her perfect GPA awarding her a ribbon attached to her sash, but a simple ribbon wasn't all.

As Professor Shuji greeted her on stage with a hug he then surprised both her and the crowd at large with an award of tremendous achievement, the highest honor of our class. Following a flurry of camera flashes, a sassy wink from Ima towards the crowd followed by a standing ovation, Tsuko and I toppled her ego high with a simple 'boo!' as she made a pass around the corner and off the stage, resulting in her ribbon scattering across the floor as she fell smack dab on the floor, causing Tsuko and I to erupt in laughter; Ima shortly following in her typically asslike chortle, our fellow classmates bewildered.
Rather than attend the usually packed graduation party our trio gathered at Tsukos place and threw a party of our own. Fortunately for us Tsukos parents were long gone with his youngest sister on a trip to nationals in gymnastics, athleticism clearly ran in the family. As Tsuko booted up his tv to begin our horror movie marathon, I stared upon our trio with eyes glazed bittersweet, I had accepted many weeks prior that I'd no longer be seeing these two for an extended amount of time, but even then I didn't expect how badly it'd hurt once it was all finally over.
The three of us got roughly two and a half movies into our marathon before Ima headed out for the evening, leaving Tsuko and I to our woes as we too caved as the third film came to a close. Many a time Tsuko and I lie in this same room before slipping off into slumber and yet its pungent red wallpaper and tacky posters of miscellaneous animated characters never seemed to lose its charm. I felt a sorrow filled smirk glimpse across my face upon the boisterous snoring of Tsuko making itself known, well aware that I was in for a lengthy evening ahead.
The following morning I recall our usual trip to a local rest stop where we collected our usual toaster strudel and tea before taking ourselves and Tsuko's station wagon the lengthy and dreamlike drive all the way back to my place. As we pulled into my uncles driveway, I stared at Tsuko and reminded him of when he'd need to stop by again, and that he'd have to make sure his trunk was empty in order to fit the supplies needed to furnish my splendorous 200 square foot apartment, the likes of which my uncle was unable to assist in as he had other matters to attend to.
The move in process luckily wasn't as rough as I had predicted, fortunately Tsuko was kind enough to lend me his bed frame; the likes of which we strapped to the top of his station wagon and narrowly dropped on the way to the apartment. It came with a fully furnished kitchen, though obviously small as well as a bathroom whose tiles I could've sworn having seen at a baseball stadium before, though those were strikingly more moldy. Following Tsukos assistance in the move, Ima dropped by to make sure things appeared relatively organized. We then spent roughly three more hours reorganizing things as Ima proclaimed such appeared to be the 'result of a cataclysmic disaster'.
I served the three of us the finest of dining in a frozen pizza Tsuko brought along as a housewarming gift to go along with his bed frame, as well as some strangely named water brand Ima snagged, though her housewarming gift consisted instead of a small lamp in the shape of an egg, the likes of which I could never understand the intent of. The pair left accordingly as the city streets slowly fell deeper into darkness, its lights only lanterns amidst a beautifully cold midnight fog.
That was the last time I saw either of them, in person anyway, we still exchanged texts with one another on and off again, but day by day paragraphs became sentences, and sentences became words, then words unto a lack thereof. I couldn't blame either of them anyhow, all things considered my life had very little to do with what lie in store for either of them. Ima's studies into forensics proved strenuous, and obviously Tsukos foray into competition at the highest level kept his vision focused on one goal, a goal my sorry ass certainly didn't have any right plucking away at, I thought.
I didn't take it personally, how could I? People like me had been passed up their entire lives in the face of greater pastures. Why blame others for wanting to better themselves rather than dumb themselves down to my level of supposed averageness. To them, and to the rest of the world people like me came and went, what's the good in fighting against something like that if the result was always going to be the same.
My village had a saying for a long time, never involve yourself in something you can't find a way out of in a snap of your fingers, perhaps that's what caused us to become so average in our demeanor. I never had a moment when I felt boxed in when the going got tough. Does one need that kind of stress anyhow, I stammered to myself, alone again in my apartment. Why fall back on that kind of stress anyhow, did it build character, and even if it did why would it matter when the results were what they were.
My head spun in that apartment for days on end on that thought, and it only spun further as I started working at a nearby rest stop. Nothing in my life proved difficult anymore, not that it wasn't hard but that it wasn't hard in any interesting sort of way. Did I need a challenge, or did I need a change of pace I wondered, I then recognized that on a retail salary a change of pace was about as likely as me beating out Tsuko to win the nationals.  
Why won't I let anything change?