Pity.
A mini-hurricane swirling from the horizon that had been brewing for a while before striking suddenly and destroying everything in its wake, kind of pity.
Evan heard his mother’s cry, knowing that his fate had been sealed. His father didn’t say a word as they walked away from the health center, but the disappointnt could almost be tasted in the air.
Or maybe it was Evan who is disappointed with himself. It still felt surreal, the stares of pity, the glare of that man... Evan thinks that Sir Maxwell knew of his status before he talked using that microphone earlier when he took stage. That was probably why he was scanning at all of them and made eye contact with Evan specifically.
The mont they got back in their humble ho, Evan went straight to his room. No one stopped him, though he did see more worry in his mother’s eyes. He knew that look.
After making sure that the door is locked, Evan slumps on his bed, looking up at the ceiling. He only needed a glance to see the reason why his mother could only apologize.
Category Z. Could Evan have jinxed it?
Is it because fate didn’t want him to get a hold of his dreams? How is he going to pull his family out of poverty?
Evan stood up from the bed and made his way towards his foot-box. It was a small box at the end of his wooden bed. All of his things were there, clean clothes and so toys that his father had made for him.
He rummaged through them, looking for the only thing that he hoped will bring him comfort now like it had always done for him ever since he had gotten it. The wrist watch with his na engraved at the bottom. Evan Rotewed.
There was a mont of pause before Evan found the watch at the side just below so of his wooden toys. He took it gently, almost reverently, as if it was sothing precious, and it is, to him. The watch was odd enough for how it is. Evan had asked his mom what the weird shaped thing was inside the glass casing and Sylvia had told him it is a thing called hourglass. It was supposedly sothing that can tell the ti too, but in a different way then a wrist watch could on its own.
The hourglass itself had so sand or sothing equivalent to it, he guessed. And even when it was almost two years since he had gotten it, the luster of the watch itself still shows. Granted, it seed to be silver but it doesn’t change the fact that Evan had taken care of it so it looked pristine. Evan’s curiosity led him to ask a lot of questions while his parents indulged him with answers, and that made him learn a lot of things, including preserving what he now held in his hands.
The watch was given to him by soone who had passed by their area before. Evan rembered that it was a guy as tall as his dad, who needed help. In his mory, he gave him the only bread he had for snacks while he was on his way to Samuel’s place to be eaten there, but he didn’t, and so water Samuel’s mom gave him after he left.
He didn’t rember the details, nor he rembered the man’s face, but Evan had kept the watch in hopes of eting that guy again in order to return it. It seems precious and Evan feels bad for keeping sothing that looks like it had costed a fortune.
Evan could still rember the pained chuckle he had heard. He had tried to ask for his parents help but when they get to where Evan had left the man, he was gone.
He looked at the watch once again. It is too big for him to be able to wear it. It’s not moving either, the batteries must’ve died a long ti ago. The clock hands each had gears but they do not turn. Evan wonders if there is a way for him to fix the watch. Maybe that will get him out of the disappointnt for the result he got.
Making up his mind, Evan made his way towards the door. But he stopped in his tracks when he heard the voices beyond it.
"What are we supposed to do? We’re crumbling in debt. Even if by so miracle Evan can get in Stardust, there is no way for us to get him enrolled."
There are sounds of pacing, making Evan shift a little uncomfortably as he listens in. "I don’t know, Sylvia. We’ll make do. I’ll make it happen. I can ask for a couple more friends that needed help tending fields. My water control has been better nowadays. Besides, it’s just his initial testing. I’m sure Evan can get in Stardust. That’s his dream!"
"Yes, but we have to face reality, Erwin. Category Z! No one in years was recorded to have that and those that were recorded stayed Z for the rest of their lives. We have to talk to him and set his expectations straight. Rember when I told you there was no wind or water from him? It has been sothing I have been worried about. There’s no use trying out for Stardust Academy anymore."
There is a bit of silence and before he could hear what his dad replied to his mom, Evan couldn’t take it anymore. Feeling equal parts upset and guilty for eavesdropping, he made his way towards the window. He used to sneak out using it to head towards Samuel’s place whenever his parents were either out or busy and he wasn’t given explicit permission to leave. Now, he just felt suffocated while staying here. He’s aware that he had disappointed them. He felt that sa disappointnt towards himself too, after all.
He opened the window and went passed it. Watch in hand, he clutched it as tight as he could without wanting to let go. He made his way towards the fields, without a single glance back. He didn’t know where he was going, but he just didn’t want to be ho at the mont.
Evan didn’t get too far before he tripped on the ground, rolling over a little distance away because it was a tiny hill. He accidentally lets go of the watch.
"No!"
He scrambled to try and catch it but the watch hit the tree before thumping on the ground as gravity struck it down.
Evan ran towards the watch, taking it from the ground. The mont he got his hands on it, he was suddenly reminded of the sa chuckle two years ago.
- "Keep the watch, kid. It’s my form of thanks. It’ll help you on the day you really need it." -
Without even intending to, Evan wore the watch on his right wrist, sothing he had never tried before. He usually uses his left hand to do a lot of things, and his parents had taught him that wrist watches were worn on the hand that is less used. There is a barely audible tick tock the mont he wore it.
Looking around, there was nothing that could’ve made the sound. It slowly went louder and louder, and Evan’s eyes glanced down on the watch. The clock hands started to spin, the gears aiding it. But it was too fast, as if it was making up for the ti it has not spun. Each tick tock doesn’t correspond to the minute hand’s movent when it should, and Evan couldn’t tell what it was signifying.
Tick tock.
Tick tock.
Tick tock.
Tick tock.
Tick-
Clang!
The clock hands finally stopped spinning and so did the sounds from within it. Evan looked at the skies, knowing full well that it was just before lunch when he left earlier. He wonders if he could get to Samuel’s place so they can talk. However, he realized that the shade he had was too dark. The entire field of vision looked as if he is looking through sothing translucent, making everything seem like it was nightti. In a field this open, he wasn’t hearing any breeze either. It was as if there was no air blowing passed him...
Or more like, it seems that ti itself stopped just for a mont.
Evan looked back down on the watch. Though the clock hands had stopped moving again, the hourglass spun once, making small sand-like particles go down from the top to bottom, almost as if it is moving on its own regardless of gravity’s presence. A voice began to speak in his mind.
’W-W-W-Welco to the Simulation Zone.’ An almost robotic, automated voice echoed inside Evan’s head.
’New user recognized.’
’Proceeding to register...’
’Please wait...’
Beep...
Beep...
Beep...
Ding!
’Register complete.’
’Welco user number 4956: Evan Rotewed. Do you wish to proceed to your first appraisal or manually input the values?’
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