To Put On An Act [bxb]

Chapter 15 - and the moon is silent

It is dark outside.

Youngbin runs home, because it is dark, and he waited at school for the bus to come, but nothing came, and nobody looked for him until he was all alone at the school, in the dark. It's late. It's not really late, but it's dark outside. It's a monday night, and a thursday night, because thursdays are Youngbin's favourite. But this is not his favourite at all.

It's dark out, and it's not night, but he walks home, and it's a long way home, and by the time he will be home, it will be night. It will be late and even darker. Youngbin will be lost by then.

He walks, and sometimes he runs, but he's no faster when he does. The way home is long, and it is dark. His legs are heavy. There are cars passing. Many cars are passing, and they're fast, and he can hear some of them crash.

Youngbin passes a group of people. They talk about him, and he stops to listen, but he can't hear them speak, he only knows that they're talking about him. In the dark, they talk. They know that nobody came to pick him up, and they know that by the time he gets home, he will be lost.

Youngbin runs again, but he is too heavy, and they talk about how bad he runs. The cars are faster than him. He stops, and turns, and sees the cars, and wonders who's inside the cars, but it doesn't matter, he can hear them crash in the distance. If he got into one, he could be home sooner. If he got into one, he could die. If he got into one, he wouldn't be lost late at night.

Rosebury is big, and there are alleyways, and in them stand people that talk about Youngbin. He walks faster, because he doesn't want to hear them, and he doesn't want them to see him. It's not dark enough yet. They will see him. Then they will talk about him, as they do.

The moon is a spotlight and it follows Youngbin. He's in the spotlight, maybe that's why they talk about him. Youngbin runs, but it follows, and there is always light around him, and yet it is too dark. Darker yet, and he will be lost. He wants home.

Youngbin wants to go home.

It's dark. It's already dark outside. He is alone and his legs are heavy and the cars are passing and crashing and the people talk about him, and school is over and it has been over for minutes and hours and days and weeks and months and years and nobody came to get him after years and months and weeks and days and days and days and they all talk about him because of it.

Youngbin runs. Youngbin is cold and scared and alone and there are wounds on his body and he needs to get home. Youngbin needs to go home. He is on the streets of Rosebury and the way is so long, and it's dark. Why is it dark? It's not night. It's so late. Why is is dark?

Cars are crashing beyond the spotlight. Youngbin runs, and is so slow, and they talk about him and how they don't want him to be home.

He stops, and falls, and breaks, and the spotlight is on him when he falls. He can't move. He needs to go home. A car stops. Come in, the car says. Youngbin can't get up. Come in, the car says. You can go home. I am here. I can pick you up. I can take you home. Finally, you can go home.

Youngbin gets up, but he bleeds, his knees and legs and hands. The car will be full of my blood, Youngbin says, and the car says, yes, it will. But it's dark. I won't see. I don't see.

Youngbin gets in. The car is dark, and there's blood everywhere, but nobody can see. The spotlight can't reach him here.

Finally, he can go home. You can go home, the car says, you've been all alone. Nobody came. Nobody came. They were all talking about you but nobody came.

Youngbin knows this. Nobody ever comes. The car is fast and it is faster than Youngbin could ever run. The roads are so long, and they are so different, and Youngbin knows that he is going home now, but all the roads are different, and he doesn't know where he is anymore. There are turns he doesn't know, but he knows they'll lead home. The car can fly. The car is on the highway, and Youngbin doesn't want to ask where he is but the car answers him.