Veridis Quo

Chapter 39 - ...But Now I Do

Time was constant, unchanging, unfeeling and cruel. Tramping all in its path to the end, to embrace entropy at long last and bring a finality upon the universe. Time could not be fought against, it was irreversible. But it was possible to slow it down to a crawl, a determined trooper clawing his way to predetermined victory.

Wowzers! Where did the heavy stuff come from? I wasn't even drinking!

Ha!

...

Not like Miya would ever allow me to touch a drop of alcohol in my life... well, maybe except wine, and only on special occasions.

Time was time. Unchanging.

It wasn't the sole constant I knew. There was corruption of the mind and body, decay more accurately. The greed inhabiting every living being, it was natural to want more if no consequences were faced. War, like that one line from a game about a nuclear fallout, the franchise really fell off when they went from numbers to locations...

Another from the list were the seasons. Sometimes, a neighbor's lawn was greener, often than not brown like the stains in the urinals.

Yes, there were freaks like that even in parodied Japan.

Did I mention my favorite season was winter?

It wasn't that I hated the rest. Autumn was a scenic transition into my number one. Spring was full of breezes and sweet spots, summer was... hot.

I found it easier to warm up than cool down.

Instead of working the air conditioner to the ironworks, it vacationed during the colder seasons, replaced by the humble heater no larger than a toaster. That thing was marvelous for its size, truly.

Winter was my little wonderland. Snow, snow, snow.

I never tired of playing in it. Making angels, building forts, pretending battles, sliding down a hill.

I loved it all.

However, I was at an age where these activities did not fit in. It was expected of a child, not a mature adult.

Though I wouldn't agree that I've fully matured, I would feel a tad embarrassed if someone happened to witness any childish behavior on my part, moreso if that someone was very close to me.

On second thought, would it?

...

That was for another time, like many other problems.

Unfortunately, this one ran out of road, its destiny the chopping block. The butcher was out of stock, nothing a pair of magnesium-coated hands couldn't get done.

That was the current status quo.

"Watch it!"

"S-sorry, I didn't mean to step on your tail."

"Hmph!"

Initially, the idea of a tiny rodent standing up to a giant alligator was kind of funny. The midget's size was dwarfed by the reptile's by a multitude of thirty! It was a real life caricature of some political belief conveyed using talking animals.

Only now those views were realized and they were... real and all.

Oh, how the tables have turned on us, Johnny boy...

But now? As I looked from the sidelines and feasted on sticky rice?

Hints of melancholic pessimism sauced the beans on the plate.

Taking a gander at the residents of the table, my eyes didn't linger on any student in particular. They were busy with their own plates, full of modern woes and above average nutrients.