Young and successful Edward Staulker, is an attorney with a very uneventful life.
He lost his faith in mankind many years ago-even as a child, he recognised the innate fakery borne by every Homo sapien and always resigned to a purer intercourse with...
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2054, Two years after The Singularity
Axel's POV
We have been like this for a while now, him and I. Its been more than a few minutes now.
He hasn't noticed me yet, despite the fact that I sat directly in front of him.
He's sitting on his bed, completely unaware of his surroundings, as always. He's smiling to himself; the source of his amusement must be another one of those daydreams, no doubt.
He has a proper room to himself—quaint, but still hospitable; there's a study table, a chair and some texts on astrology. He specifically asked for the latter.
His eyes are frozen on a particular spot on the ceiling. It's almost like he is staring into it and not at it; as if a magical world had unfolded right there in that seemingly plain white board, captivating his entire senses and holding him spellbound.
There's a childlike aura about him, one that has conjured itself in a wickedly similar fashion to Willem's. Yes, they're one and the same person. But also, they're two different characters. I shouldn't start confusing them. I mustn't.
I keep warning myself sternly, but the urge has become too strong for me to keep at bay. I have gotten to the yielding point. A person can only endure the servility to hope for so long.
"Willem?"
In one swift second, his head droops down and his eyes meet my gaze. He snaps out of the trance only to be startled by my presence.
I wait patiently, hoping that my leap of faith will amount to something—I want it to.
It doesn't.
"Hey there. I didn't see you come in, sorry. I was thinking about something." He smiles a little, before continuing to ask me, "who's Willem by the way?"
He takes off his reading glasses and rubs the bridge of his nose. Jon has myopia.
"He was an old friend."
"Oh... So I remind you of him? I heard you call me Willem."
"Well, you're right in a way, his favourite pastime was to stare at ceilings too."
"Hey..." Jon slaps my shoulder a little too hard and we both have a hearty laugh.
"I couldn't help but notice that 'was,' as in, past tense. Did something happen between the two of you?"
My mouth struggles to respond.
"He... He isn't around anymore."
"I'm sorry," he says, looking sympathetic.
I shake my head. "No worries."
Before the ensuing silence can develop any further, I quickly ask him, "I noticed you only have those books on astrology that we provided to you, why don't you read other things? Take novels for instance. There should be some that talk about those stars you like so much."
