The little of love in a terrible life~

Chapter 2; The friend

It's been 15 days since Liam's parents died, and John took both of them in.

Liam and Zoey were now in the hands of John. John had gotten Zoey and Liam admitted to a government school. They were both supposed to go to school next month. John would now take special care of Zoey and treat her like one of his own children. He would often play with her and Aliz and read them stories. Liam kept his distance from John but wouldn't stop Zoey from being loved. Liam started having nightmares. In those nightmares, he would see faces covered with blood—the faces of his mother and father. Liam would often wake up in the middle of the night, sweating, panting, and sobbing, but he would not wake anyone up and deal with the nightmares by himself. Liam knows he has to learn to survive on his own and not get scared by some nightmares. He has to stand on his own two legs, for himself and for Zoey. 

Liam has made a habit of going out in the evening. He would look for something to do and try to learn some new things. And today, just like every other day, Liam was roaming in the capital when he came across a child being yelled at by an old man. "What do you think you're doing, you brat? I told you to put these there, not here," yelled the old man at the kid. The kid seemed to be the same age as Liam's; he was being yelled at just because he put the boxes of strawberries somewhere he wasn't supposed to put them. Liam has been observing the old man for a few days since he comes here on a daily basis. The old man had a strawberry business and was absurdly rude towards the people he'd hired for the day. Liam saw the boy going away while crying and decided to follow him. The boy went to the other side of the market, sat on a bench, and looked at the money he had earned today. Liam went and sat beside him. "It's hard to survive, no?" Liam said as he looked at the boy. "Yes," said the boy while making eye contact with Liam. Now, Liam could see the boy's features more clearly. He had ash brown hair with the rarest and prettiest grey eyes, a high bridge nose, and full lips. The clothes he was wearing were also descent; one couldn't tell that he worked for other people without looking at him do so. "It might sound rude, but are you from a poor family?" Asked Liam. "N-no," said the boy while looking at Liam awkwardly as he continued, "I am Ario Feuer from the Feuer family." Liam was in shock. Feuer's were friends of the royals, and for a child of Feuer to be working on the street was almost impossible. Ario seemed to know what was going through Liam's mind, so he explained, "I might be from a good family, but that doesn't mean I will never struggle, and it's important for me to know how to survive on my own and what it's like to struggle. So here I am." Ario could see that Liam was amazed. "What about your parents? How did they agree?" Liam asked Ario since he had a lot of things he wanted to ask Ario. "I didn't tell them that I did THIS when I'm out. All I told them was that I wanted to take a round around the capital since I'd never been here. At first they said no, but eventually agreed," said Ario. "You've never been here?" Asked Liam. "No, I have been sick since my birth, so I never got a chance to go out," replied Ario. Liam could now see why Ario looked so fragile and pale. "You're okay now?" Asked Liam. "Yes, I'm cured now. I've won the fight I have been fighting ever since my birth." Ario replied while smiling widely. It was clear how happy he was because of his recovery. "Well, now I've got a feeling that I found a friend. Tell me about yourself." Ario looked at Liam as he said that. "I am Liam Heaven, a commoner," Liam introduced himself. "You don't have to add the word 'commoner' while introducing yourself. We are all humans, and at the end of the day, we are all going to die," said Ario in a soothing voice. The nobles didn't know anything but to look down on people below their status, but Ario was an exception. He knew everything; he knew how nobles treat commoners, but he still treated Liam with kindness, as if to make him his friend. "Well, now I think I should go. My parents must be waiting for me." Ario stood up as he continued, "Let's meet tomorrow at the same time and at the same spot. I'd like to get to know you." Ario extended his hand for a handshake. "So will I. It was a pleasure meeting you," replied Liam, smiling back at Ario while shaking his hand. "It was a pleasure meeting you too. I hope to see you tomorrow," said Ario, and he left. Liam watched him until he disappeared.

Liam was at home now, and he has been thinking about just one thing: one line: 'We are all humans; at the end of the day, we're all going to die' Liam was curious about life. Why do we have to live when we are going to die anyway? Liam was so deep in thought that he didn't even hear Zoey coming. He flinched when he heard her voice. "Li, what's on your mind?" Zoey said to Liam as she was climbing on bed that she liked to address Liam as 'Li' and Liam never objected to it. "Nothing," Liam was cut off by Zoey, "dare to lie." Now Liam had no choice but to tell Zoey what he was thinking. "Is it necessary to kill?" 'They' killed our parents, but at the end of the day, 'they' are going to die as well. Why would 'they' do that?" Liam was keeping a lot inside himself, and he had no one but his sister to share things with.

Zoey took a long time replying when she said, "Li, you should always remember that 'they' know things we don't. And whatever 'they' did was indeed wrong, but what was meant to happen happened, and we failed to protect our parents. Right now, what we should have in mind was not that it was wrong but to prove 'them' that it was wrong". Liam was either too dumb to realize this or he had too much on his mind to come to this conclusion. Liam's mind was filled with thoughts—thoughts that were depressively dark, thoughts he didn't have control over. "Kiddo, you're indeed an adult in the body of a child." Liam said while tickling her to change the topic and atmosphere. He didn't want Zoey to think too much, but then again, how could he stop her? After all, she lost her parents at the age of four. "Don't worry, even if everyone leaves, I'll be here with you," Liam said as he hugged Zoey. Their relationship was on another level; they could die for each other or even kill for each other. "I know," Zoey continued in a calm voice, "and if you do leave, then I'll beg you on my knees to stay." Zoey looked Liam in the eyes and smiled sadly. "Don't be sad, kiddo; your brother loves you more than anything," said Liam, smiling widely. A lot of Time had passed since Liam had a conversation with Zoey, but today he understood how deep Zoey can think.

It has been a day since their conversation, and now Liam is out looking for Ario. As he reached the place where they sat yesterday, he saw Ario sitting silently. "Hi," said Liam, while Ario, who was deep in thought, flinched. "Hey," said Ario. Ario had a lot of things he wanted to ask Liam, and that is the only reason he called Liam here. He was confused about why a kid the same age as him would approach him while asking, 'Is it hard to survive?'. Ario wanted to know what made Liam think it was hard to survive and what made him struggle. Ario was an overthinker, and even the slightest unusual thing will hunt him down. Hence, he just wanted to confirm if Liam was okay or not. Ario was about to ask something when he heard someone shout his name, "ARIO." Looking at the man, Ario flinched really hard and was almost trembling. Liam knew something was wrong. The man, raging in anger, slapped Ario as a gasp left Ario's mouth. "Father," Ario basically whispered, but it was loud enough to reach Liam's ears. Liam understood that it was Atticus Feuer, Ario's father and the head of the Feuer family. "So that's what you were doing all this time—lying to us and befriending mare commoners," Atticus yelled at Ario in a very cold voice. Neither Liam nor Ario dared to say anything, as they both knew the Feuer family very well. For nobles, making friends with commoners was basically a crime. They all loathed it.

It was in a blink that Liam witnessed Ario being dragged by Atticus. Liam was worried about Ario because he just crossed the line society had drawn. Ario made friends with Liam, and now his father is furious. Ario knew what was going to happen to him. He knew what he would go through, but he didn't blame Liam; he never did.

But right now, 

He was not scared, but rather terrified.

To be continued~

~©Zoya Fatma