Artificial Tears

Chapter 20

Before he knows it the steam above his cup is long gone and the dark fluid has been turned ice cold, still he takes a sip. Ugh, gross.

The cold beverich makes him shiver as he swalows.

Box after box he has checked, being unlucky with all of them.

There is now only one box left.

A big box, left far underneath all the others.

Really? It has to be this one? Out of all of them?

Liam sighs: "Well fuck, wasted my time on the others pretty much."

Opening the box didn't inspire much optimism in the man, it looked like just another old box with even older junk. But nevertheless he couldn't give up yet.

Searching and searching he finally finds an old tin box... with a lock.

Can my day get any worse? He thinks to himself.

As he starts looking in the box for a key he gives up, finding that little key in a big mess like this is just impossible!

There is another way to open the box, it's just a bit more old fashioned, it might even be considered a bit barbaric by some.

But its great for releasing the buildup anger and tension from the long night.

Gently he places the small box on the floor and he stands up straight.

Then as hard and fast as he can he kicks it with his foot.

A small and short creaking can be heard, the box doesn't seem to have liked the impact, huh?

Liam chuckles to himself as he thinks of the earful he will get from his father if he still remembers and treasures the box. His father does have a real problem with getting rid of old junk.

An old memory makes him smile, it's one from his childhood, where he was playing outside with a new football and accidentally kicked it through the new car's window.

At the time, he had been crying, but thinking back about it, he misses it.

The way his parents used to be or even scold him, was now so long ago.

Liam's mother had passed just a few years prior and his father's recent forgetfulness has really put the last nails in the coffin of his childhood. 

Yeah, things just as bad or worse have happened and time speedily passes by, removing and changing old memories, but even so, some of even the bad ones can make his day.

Remembering the broken box, Liam bows down to take it and places it on the table, wasting no time to open it. He will certainly not tell his father about this.

"Let's see what we have here." He mumbles.

Out of it he takes a tattered book, the cover has already faded, but it seems like there was writing on it.

Carefully he opens it and scans the pages with his eyes, trying not to miss the part he was looking for.

Another dilemma starts after only opening it, his father's handwriting is almost illegible. It's a good thing that he knows him, so the deciphering must be going a bit quicker than for most.