Levi's life was a bloody mess from the very beginning.
His mother became a prostitute after her husband died. He didn't remember much about his mother, but he remembered that she would go out every night and come back bruised and achey in the morning. He knew she loved him, but it wasn't enough for her to stay by his side and find a safer job. She was getting a great pay, and when you put humans and money together, things would get chaotic and ugly.
One warm, Summer night, a few days after he turned six, his mom got all dressed up. She claimed that she was going to stop seeing her customers and stick to one person whom she believed was 'the one'. Levi remembered it all. She smeared on her favorite, red lipstick she rarely wore and got dressed in a small but elegant, black dress. She was beaming and singing to the love songs blaring on the radio that evening. She looked so happy, and Levi didn't have the heart to tell her that she shouldn't go. Because you can't trust a man you just met once or twice. In general, you can't trust humans.
Humans are so awful sometimes.
The next morning, he slept in when he didn't hear his mother call him down for breakfast. He figured she was probably late again. Little Levi later went downstairs and waited for her.
Waited and waited and waited until the moon reached the sky once again.
Five days had passed and the food in the pantry and fridge was starting to run out. No sign of mother anywhere and he began to feel lonely.
Child services arrived early on the sixth day, softly knocking at the door as if it would break. Levi opened the door and the first thing they told him was that everything was going to be alright and that he was going to be safe.
Why did humans lie so easily?
He felt sad, but he didn't shed a single tear at his mother's funeral. She looked beautiful in her casket; she appeared strikingly similar when she left the house that night. Black dress, red lipstick. She had this peaceful expression on her face and her face looked so sick and pale. She looked a little green. Her black hair looked lifeless and it was weird to see her chest not rising up and down.
In some horrific yet comforting way, dead people were so enchanting.
They put him in the care of an aunt he never knew about. She detested his mother and would always trash talk her whenever the chance came along. It was awful seeing someone who looked a lot like your mother say such horrible things. It was enough to move him to tears, but he held them back. Crying was fruitless.
'Stupid whore deserved what happened to her. I hope you don't end up like that pig, Levi.'
'She was an animal who craved sex. That's all she was.'
'The police told me she appeared to be strangled to death and left naked in the closet. I guess not all girls with pretty faces get a pretty ending, huh?'
He never got along with his aunt. The only things she was good for was that she had money for a house to stay in, food and she put him in education. He later became depressed by that kind of life and rarely talked. He got good grades, attention from girls (sometimes even guys) and was always praised by the teachers. It wasn't enough for him. He was missing something. His life was so boring and plain.
Levi ran away from home at age eighteen just a few days after graduation and the only things he brought with him was a wallet he stole from his aunt, his favorite pack of cigarettes, warm clothing and a small notebook filled with contact numbers. He lived on the street for a very long time after he ran out of money and couldn't afford to stay at a hotel. He was hungry and soon realized he was going to die. He didn't regret his decisions at all even if staying meant a chance at getting a job, marrying and having a family.
He crawled into an alleyway and put himself into a fetal position so that no one would see him and began to wait for death to take him. The snow pile onto his face and body and the air bit him harshly. All he could see was the snow sprinkle all over him and the bright lights of cars passing by. He waited and waited and waited once more.
Until he came along.
This boy who looked younger than twelve stumbled upon the dying man and crouched down with a curious face. He was bundled up in oversized winter attire and there was a red scarf covering his mouth. All Levi could see were his gorgeous green eyes. They looked playful and full of life, the complete opposite of what Levi was.
"Hey, mister," he said in a shrill but quiet voice. "Are you okay?"
Levi didn't reply. He was too tired and weak to say anything. The weather affected the state of his body greatly.
The little boy swiped for something in the pocket of his huge jacket and pulled out what looked like cash. He held it out to the teen.
"Look, kid, you gotta scram. I don't want your money," Levi finally managed to say. It felt like forever since the last time he used his voice. How long has it been? Two weeks? Four months? It was just too long. His voice sounded foreign and rough to him.
"I want you to take it," he insisted.
"I don't want your money," Levi repeated with an irritated tone of voice.
"I'll scream if you don't take it," the little boy said stubbornly.
Without another word, Levi took the money. He was technically forced to accept the cash. The last thing he remembered before the boy left was that the kid smiled and waved. Levi almost got a heart attack when he looked at the money and realized that the kid had given him three hundred dollars in cash. What kind of kid had that much money with him?
Levi figured that he should put the money to good use, and so he stayed at a hotel near by and ordered room service. He had also hit him that he should see if there were any good numbers in the contact book. There were numbers and names written with his aunt's writing, but also his mother's.
One read 'Brother Kenny- *** *** ****'
He dialed the phone number and from that moment his life got a little better. Uncle Kenny went straight to the hotel and met Levi for the first time and smiled when he realized he was his sister's son. He took him in without an explanation and hired him as the bartender in his bar named 'Freiheit'.
Levi had long forgotten about the kid, but he was grateful. Forever lucky for such an encounter on a chilly night. Things got a little better, but some things got even worse. Levi became mute and developed hearing problems due to listening to extremely loud music whenever he went out to clubs. He had been mute because after being alone for so long, it took a toll on his mind and what came out of his mouth. He was just so used to talking to nobody. He assumed it was something to do with his mental health because after all, loneliness was harmful to most humans.
Living with Uncle Kenny sure was better than rotting on the streets, but it wasn't good. He was always in debt and always got into fights which always ended with threats about shooting someone's brains out with his guns. The bar slowly became run down and less popular due to better and newer bars opening around their area. They had to fix the place up and glam it up again.
They needed money, and they needed it badly.
Uncle Kenny found a solution.
It wasn't going to be easy at all.
