Chapter Text
“So,” Archie said, pushing Clopeh’s wheelchair with fine speed. “Our next stop is the library.”
“The what now?” Clopeh asked, disbelief in his tone. “I didn’t take you for the reading type.”
“Pfft, you’re right,” Archie agreed. “But there’s a special thing in the library other than boring ol’ books.”
“And that is?”
“A secret~” Archie put a finger on his lips, “You’ll see when we get there.”
Two wooden doors of remarkable quality were the entrance to the book room. It had some carvings in it, mostly depicting cute animals in a woodland biome and some nature to piece them together. With the number of children lurking around, there was surprisingly little destruction done on the piece of art.
Archie pushed the door with the wheelchair, grinning when Clopeh gave him a stink eye.
The smell of old books and a rather potent stink of paint filled the place. Heaping amounts of bookcases were situated orderly in the room, their insides filled with copious numbers of books; either thick or as thin as a branch.
“Woah…” Clopeh couldn’t help but let out a breathless awe at the sight, surprised at the amount of knowledge stored inside.
“Eeh,” Archie looked towards him. “Don’t tell me you’re interested in all this crap?”
“Books are good for the mind,” Clopeh replied. “You looking down on them is probably the reason why you’re so dumb.”
“Books are dumb and they make me slum,” Archie rhymed, taking a turn and going to the window seat near the receptionist desk. He left Clopeh alone as he went inside the library, getting the special thing that roamed the place.
It was in one of the corners of the book-invested place that he found the cat, resting softly on a silk red pillow with a purr. As Archie stepped closer, the cat roused from his slumber.
Its beady eyes looked up towards Archie, jumping away from its comfort place to Archie’s hands. The cat purred as it rubbed its head against Archie’s arm, soft fur tickling him.
Archie laughed, ruffling Bob’s fur and hearing it purr more. “Didya miss me?”
He wiggled his finger against the cat’s chin, earning a satisfied huff.
“I got a friend who looks just as white as you!” Archie said, standing up from his kneeling position. He placed the white cat in his arms, patting its fur all the while as he went back to Clopeh.
“He has white hair—just like me, only his is longer,” Archie described. “It’s just a bit though, definitely not as long as yours, Bob. And he’s not as pretty and cute as you are!”
Bob preened under the praise, tail curling over Archie’s arm.
“I’m sure you two will get along!” Archie said, oblivious to the way Bob didn’t seem too keen on doing that.
He brought Bob over to Clopeh, showing the cat off by holding on to its underarms.
“Here’s the very super duper ultra special thing in the library!” Archie shouted, pushing the cat closer to Clopeh. The white himalayan cat gave Clopeh a flat derpy stare as they both looked at each other.
“His name is Baron Von Bob Alvbobstein,” Archie said.
“Baron what?” Clopeh broke off from the staredown, flabbergasted at the peculiar name.
“Baron Von Bob Alvbobstein,” Archie repeated, bringing Bob back to his arm to pet it. “Oh right, the third! Baron Von Bob Alvbobstein the Third! Shortened to ‘Bob’.”
Bob started to nuzzle against Archie’s hand, at times looking back at Clopeh to give the same flat stare as before.
“B-Baron Von…” Clopeh’s eye twitched. “Right, Bob the Third? Wait, why third?”
“Hmm?” Archie walked over to the seat beside Clopeh’s wheelchair, Bob still purring in his arms. “It’s the third because he’s the third here.”
“You mean,” Clopeh said, “there were previous cats with that ridiculous name?
“Ridiculous?” Archie frowned at Clopeh. “It’s not ridiculous, it’s a great name! Shickler approved of it. And yeah,” he stroked Bob again. “There were two more before, but their owner took them back home…”
“But Bob!” He raised the cat high up, “This Bob is different because Shickler brought it specifically for me.” He nuzzled the white cat to his cheek, earning a lick from Bob. “Isn’t he just the best!” Archie looked expectantly at Clopeh with sparkling eyes, the cat beside him giving Clopeh a wide derpy stare.
“Yeah… sure,” Clopeh answered, looking away to the books in the room. His eyes coursed over the bookshelves, squinting to try to read the spines from far away. “Since we’re in the library, why don’t we read a book?”
“Books?” Archie huffed. “How is a book more interesting than Bob?” Bob made a pleased purr towards Archie at that.
“How about you pick a book and I read it out loud for you?”
“...fine,” Archie agreed. Setting the cat down on the window seat, he went off into the fantasy section of the library. Letters after letter passed through his eyes, until finally he took out a book with a pale green cover.
He handed it to Clopeh, immediately taking his seat back and putting the cat on his lap.
“‘Master of Combat’...” Clopeh read the title out loud. He turned the book around to look at the summary, finding only one sentence written:
Join the story of Hiro as he ascends from the lowest to the top!
Clopeh tried to keep his cringe inwardly, glancing away to find Archie and Bob looking at him eagerly.
He flipped through a few pages; the entire thing filled to the brim with words and not a single illustration that most children tend to gravitate to. Eventually, Clopeh laid his eyes upon the first page and started reading it out loud:
“‘One of the first things that I learn in life is to always keep my mouth shut. Be it under the administration of a punishment, it was better to not complain or say a thing, because nobody cares about your feelings and they’ll only make your torture worsen. I’ve seen a good number of my peers complaining—even under their breath, but they can still hear those protests. Those people disappear immediately the next day.
Of course, a fair number of people have rioted and tried to overthrow them, but it never works.
And that is the second thing that I learn in life.
A big part of me believes that there is a better world that has none of them, but my own memory says otherwise. I could never remember the day when my parents were there to cradle me; to hold me dear; to love me the way storybooks tell us. Sometimes, I think that those fictitious tales are meant to keep us going, perhaps that’s the only reason why they let us have them.
Anita Pea—one of the older ones—always tell us to keep our chins up because we’re the only hope of our kind. And as much as a part of me wonders what exactly those words mean, I can’t help but think it’s the truth. After all, they look so vastly different from us that it would be a stretch for them to be related to us. In fact, they look like those aliens that I read about in fiction.
Dead eyes, weird limbs, and so on. I know that the aliens in stories have other odd features, but I really wish that they don’t have those characteristics because that’ll probably just make them more terrifying.
In any case, Dehvel, one of the people in my group—it’s a custom to make a sworn comrades thing in order to keep an eye on each other—told me that we’re all going to try escaping tonight. He also told me not to tell others of it, or they’ll hear about the plan and our chances will be ruined.’”
Clopeh let out a breath, feeling his mouth dry from the amount of sentences he had to say. He was just about to read again when something fell on his shoulder. He looked away from the book, immediately faced with Archie’s white hair as the other soundlessly napped on him. The cat was also sleeping on Archie’s lap, letting out soft purrs every few seconds.
Putting the book down, Clopeh hesitantly reached out and rubbed Archie’s hair, before moving on and quietly petting Bob.
He turned his attention back to the book, letting the two other beings alone as he softly whispered the words in the book out loud.
...
Archie roused from his short nap with something against his head. He turned to find Clopeh’s closed eyes as the other drooled in his sleep. Well, not really , but a little exaggeration is good for the mind. The other white-haired boy fell asleep with the book still in his hand, more than half of its pages already flipped through.
The moonlight shone through the window from their back, its position signaling nighttime but not yet midnight. Stars glittered in the night sky, twinkling and shimmering as Archie looked up to the endless night.
Light shone out of nowhere, turning brighter and brighter as something seemingly descended into the world.
It’s a shooting star!
“Clopeh, Clopeh!” Archie rugiously shook him, only stopping when green eyes opened blearly at him. “Look, a shooting star!” He pointed to the window, the star still noticeable. “Quick, make a wish!”
Archie closed his eyes and made a praying motion, silently wishing before opening his eyes to find the star gone. He turned his head to Clopeh, grinning widely.
“Did you make it in time?” Archie asked.
“Ah,” Clopeh stuttered, switching his gaze from the window then back to Archie. They were sitting close to each other, sides brushing while Archie was looking at him with shining eyes. For some reason his cheeks started to heat up, turning a pale pink.
“You’re blushing!” Archie pointed out, leaning closer to get a better look. “You didn’t make the wish then. Haha.”
“S-shut up,” Clopeh leaned away. “And aren’t we too old for wishes anyway?”
“Nobody’s too old to hope,” Archie laughed. “Shickler told me that he’s still wishing even at his age.”
Archie stood up from the seat, stretching his body. “Ah, Bob ran off again.” His eyes settled on Clopeh’s wheelchair. “Doesn’t your butt hurt from sitting all the time?”
Clopeh’s mouth twitched, “Then why don’t you bring me back to my room? If you’re so concerned?”
“But don’t you have your own legs to carry you?”
“You…”
“Hehe,” Archie took hold of the wheelchair. “I’ll get you back to your comfy bed, don’t worry~”
At some point, Clopeh’s legs healed enough for him to start walking. It was still wobbly, with him still stumbling down every-so-often, but it made for a far easier reach with touring around the place. ‘Touring,’ meaning Archie dragging Clopeh to every location that he usually hung around. Be it the kitchen to sneak off a few snacks or one of the classrooms just to get one of the toys that they can both play with, it was something that they both enjoyed, even if Clopeh hid the feeling from appearing on his face.
And now, Archie dragged Clopeh to one of his most frequent hiding spots: his very own room.
Unlike Clopeh’s boring and bland room, it was decorated with a number of drawings; crudely shaped fishes that somewhat resembled a whale depicted in black and sometimes in red. There were also some illustrations of the ocean with its massive and endless space and a beach interconnected to it, seashells scattered about.
The bedsheets were messily spewn, almost as if a hurricane had passed through the room. The same could be said for the rest of Archie’s place: Toys were placed in precarious places, almost as though the owner wanted someone to step on them, and some writing utensils were close to the walls, most of them dull from use.
“Better than your room right?” Archie bounced on his bed.
Clopeh sat beside him. “It’s messy, that’s for sure.”
Archie tsked . “That just means that it’s used! Unlike your own room that you didn’t even bother decorating.”
Clopeh complained, gesturing to his legs. “I was on a wheelchair before. Wheelchair. I don’t think drawing while you’re stuck on a chair is a fun thing to do.”
“Is that a challenge?”
Clopeh couldn’t help but facepalm. Shaking off his frustration, he observed the illustrations in the room:
It felt like there was a hidden story beneath all these oceanid sceneries: from the flying whales in the sky to the great and big waves slowly crashing into the coast, where a weird and indescribable thing was drawn on.
“What are you smiling for?” Archie asked, cheeks puffed. “If you’re laughing at my piece of art, I’m colouring your face black and blue.” He reached out for the respective colours crayons near them, waving it at Clopeh threateningly.
“Smiling’s a crime now?” Clopeh replied. “And besides, I was appreciating your work before you decided to threaten me for doing nothing .”
Putting the crayons away, Archie huffed, “The other kids always laugh at it. That’s why I mess up their rooms by drawing poop all over them.”
“Shickler didn’t say anything to you for that?” At some point, Clopeh realised that the only person that Archie respected good enough to listen to was Shickler. It was evident with how much the other boy told tales of what Shickler reprimanded him for. Not saying that Archie was a troublemaker, but Archie was Archie and staying still in one place was very out of character for him.
“He did but I told him that the other kids were laughing at my whales,” Archie answered. “So, he grounded them, and now nobody laughs at my whales.” He patted himself on the chest, proud of his own graffiti and having somebody else clean the mess.
“Whales…” Clopeh wondered. “Why whales?”
“Hm?” Archie glanced at Clopeh and to his drawings before pointing to the window where Clopeh could see the tree on the cliff. “Sometimes, I see whales from the sea. They’re really huge and cool as well.”
“There’re whales near here?” Clopeh asked, coming closer to the window. Sadly, his view of the sea was obscured by how far away it was and by the lone wood standing near the cliff. “Isn’t that kinda dangerous?”
“But isn’t that what makes them cool?” Archie stood next to Clopeh. “They’re one of the biggest creatures in the world, and they come to visit this place! Isn’t that amazing?”
Personally, Clopeh felt the opposite of what Archie felt regarding it, but who was he to judge?
“Why do the whales come here?” Clopeh asked instead, ripping his gaze back to the drawings and silently counting their numbers.
Archie shrugged, “I don’t know.” He went quiet for a second before perking up. “Maybe they’re all inviting me to go join them in the sea.”
“That’s…” Clopeh felt speechless once more. “I don’t think they’d be interested in humans, much less someone like you.”
Archie’s head whipped so quick that Clopeh was afraid it was gonna be ripped off his head. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?!” He clutched the other boy’s shirt. “Are you asking for a fight?”
“Of course not,” Clopeh gripped Archie’s hand to make sure his cloth wasn’t wrinkled too much. “But if I were a whale, I sure as heck wouldn’t be interested in a pasty pale human who looks so short and scrawny that just a flick of my tail would break them in half.”
“Scrawny?! Short?!” Archie repeated with a shocked yell. “We’re both the same height—and unlike you, I have muscles!”
Clopeh’s line of sight went up from Archie’s eyes to the top of his head—more specifically his white hair. He gave a slow grin, so condescending and mocking that Archie wanted to smack the other boy down a notch or two.
So what if Archie’s the shorter of the two?!
They’re both still young as fuck and one day, he’ll outgrow this smug bastard and show him his superiority by using him as an armrest. It was the best revenge plan, the only problem was that they both needed to grow first and Archie had to ask Shickler how to get taller to show the other who’s boss.
“What muscles?” Clopeh asked, still with the same smile. “All I see is your bones sticking out and hurting my muscles .”
“I…” Archie took a deep breath, trying to keep his itch to hit the other white-haired boy away. He could feel his nails digging at his palm as he tried to calm himself.
But then the bastard kept on talking:
“Look at my arms huh?” Clopeh flexed one bicep, pasty white skin showing up. To a degree, it was much more meaty than Archie’s own arm. For some reason. “I was paralysed and not able to workout yet I’m more muscle-y than you.” He ended the sentence with a short laugh.
Snapping, Archie bonked Clopeh’s head, earning a yelp in response. He hit the other boy right in the middle of his big head, feeling his hand hitting the skull.
“You say you have muscles,” Archie started. “But can you even lift me up? Have you forgotten my power to be able to lift your fat ass twice? ”
“Ow.” Rubbing his head, Clopeh glared at Archie. Apparently taking on Archie’s challenge, his hands went to the other boy’s waist and tried to lift him up via ‘bag of potatoes’ carry, as Archie has lovingly called it. However, given by the fact that Clopeh was still recuperating and his legs were still feeble, he started to falter in his stance and crashed them down, thankfully, to the bed.
“Oof—!”
Archie felt his lower body crushed by Clopeh, his head hitting the springy mattress and a tiny bit of it on the edge of the kip. It shouldn’t hurt, but it actually did. For some reason Archie felt sparkles appearing behind his eyelids, almost like he got hit by a baseball bat or something.
But that didn’t matter because there was a much, much bigger problem, namely the awkward position that they were in:
Clopeh’s pointy nose directly stabbed his stomach, something that Archie felt because the damn guy had such a pointed nose due to how high up in the air he must have had put it in his daily life.
Swinging his legs, Archie accidentally— very accidental, mind you —hit Clopeh’s sides.
“What’s that for?!” Clopeh raised his body, finally regaining strength in his legs. He rubbed his ribs, hurt from the impact of Archie’s very accidental kick.
Putting up a grin, Archie answered, “Revenge for trying to carry me, of course.” He sat up back on the bed, a happy smile on his face as Clopeh glared at him while the other climbed back to his side. “After all, unlike you, I’m not some fragile princess who needs a piggyback ride to go around the place.”
“I told you I was—”
“Yeah yeah,” Archie cut him off, waving a hand at him. “You were paralysed and all that shit. Actually,” he stopped for a realisation. “How’d you even lose your legs in the first place?”
Clopeh scooted over, legs swinging as they both looked at it; one curious and the other with conflicted eyes. “I got into an accident.”
“Like a car accident?”
“Why a car?” Clopeh asked, arching an eyebrow at Archie.
“Uhm.” Scratching his head, Archie answered, “It just sounds cooler: speeding up and then getting hit and then living to tell the tale!” he finished, turning to look at the other boy. “Don’t you think so?”
With a frown, Clopeh shook his head. “Experience it yourself and see if you like almost being crushed to death.” He raised his legs to the bed, pulling it close to him. “I can firsthandedly tell you that it doesn’t feel nice or ‘cool’.”
Humming, Archie replied, “But isn’t it nice to feel a little bit of excitement in life? Just a tiny bit is good enough for me! Even if it ends in death—though if I die, I want to go out with a bang!”
Clopeh stared at the other, speechless. It felt surreal to hear something like that, much less from someone as young as him and one that seemingly didn’t even know the world outside of his confined house. He didn’t know why, but there was this feeling inside Clopeh that made him want to mindlessly agree with Archie. Then again, agreeing with this fool was rather out of character of him so Clopeh didn’t do so.
“Didn’t you get your fill with the slide?” he asked instead, turning to look at the tree and watching its leaves sway in the wind. “Wasn’t that enough excitement for your scrawny ass?”
“Scrawny?!” Archie yelled, jumping off the bed to the ground and glaring at Clopeh. He clenched his fists in front of him, restraining himself from ripping Clopeh’s shirt. It was harder than he thought it was—not being physical when he’s done it all his life. “You want a fucking brawl?!”
Clopeh snorted. “What would Shickler say about that, huh? You getting a fight for being called short and skinny?”
“I…” Archie inhaled again, slowly unclenching his hand and sitting down on the bed, arms crossed. It was an offhand remark, but he wondered what Shickler would say if he found him getting into a fight just from an insult. Would he be disappointed in him? Or would he just take it and scold him lightly because that usually made Archie feel even more guilty?
Archie pursed his lips, looking up to the room’s ceiling. The other boy was uncharacteristically silent beside him, just watching Archie with a slight frown.
Finally, he let out a frustrated sound. “Ah, who cares about that?!” He felt his hands tightening on the bed sheet, a say of his true feelings yet he grumbled more: “The only thing that matters is me winning the fight; whatever the aftermath is, I’ve already proven that I’ve won.”
Clopeh scoffed, but said nothing otherwise. He looked back to the drawings in the room, to the tree atop the cliff not too far away from here, and finally back to Archie pouting with head facing down to the ground. He asked, “Why whales?”
“Hmm?” Archie looked up. “Waddya mean whales? Didn’t I already tell you before?”
Clopeh shook his head, gesturing to the air. “No, I mean, what’s even so intriguing about whales? They’re big, sure, but they’re nothing more than just some animals—just a few random beings in the world that live in the ocean and are bigger than the rest.”
Archie frowned, scratching his head in confusion. “Are you asking me what makes whales amazing?” He immediately continued, “Because I can tell you that you don’t need a reason to like whales—just their whole existence is more than awesome enough for you to like them!”
“You sound like a kid,” Clopeh said. “Liking something just cause.”
“But I am a kid,” Archie retorted, crossing his arms together. “And so are you.”
“Obviously I’m more mature than you.”
“Oh yeah?” He raised an eyebrow. “Then what animal do you like?”
“I,” Clopeh stuttered. “I don’t have a preference.”
“Oh,” Archie said with a sardonic tone. “What a miserable little kid you are: not even able to enjoy the simple things in life.”
“You…”
Archie threw his head back as he laughed, enjoying the frustrated look on Clopeh’s face. The other’s expression grew darker with each second, before slowly trying to stifle it despite the ache in his stomach from the movement of his body.
Muttering lowly, Clopeh grumbled something incomprehensible. It was audible enough for Archie to hear, but not comprehensive to the point where the words were articulate.
He tilted his head, inching closer to the other boy. “What did you say?”
The tips of Clopeh’s ear started to redden. He mumbled louder, “I said, I like—” He put his hand on his face, muffling the sound once again.
“What?” Archie put his hand behind his ear.
Clopeh’s blush spread to his face. He gritted his teeth, “I said. I like. Birds.”
“Ooh,” Archie felt a grin growing on his face. “Birds then. Looks like you got a sense of childishness in you as well.”
“No,” Clopeh argued. “Unlike you, my tastes are refined.”
“Pfft, and how so?”
“Birds are elegant beings, they have a sense of belonging in the sky,” Clopeh said. “Unlike your brute choice of whales because they’re cool. ”
Archie scoffed. “What’s wrong with liking something just because? I don’t see myself becoming friends with you for some weird ass reason like your bird reasoning,” he continued, jumping off the bed and pulling Clopeh along with him. “But since you’re so loving towards birds, we’re painting birds on the wall.”
“Wh—Hey!” Clopeh stammered, “My arm’s hurting you donut!”
“That’s from the muscles that you couldn’t see!”
“Fuck you!”
With another pull, Archie managed to bring Clopeh up to the tree branch where he was sitting on. They were back on the cliffside, on Archie’s secret playground, climbing up the tree once more with a very moveable Clopeh and sightseeing the open sea. Endless bodies of water swayed in the distance, darkened parts and shadow-y areas corresponding to its depth. The shoreline was basked in golden-white hue, creating shimmering gold in its abandon.
“See what I mean?” Archie gave a smile. “The view from up here is the best no?”
Clopeh stared through the cliffside, hands gripping the branch hard enough that it started crumbling. The distance between the branch they were on and the ground was long enough for anyone to crack a bone upon impact. To say that Clopeh was nervous would be an understatement, but he tried to ignore the height to look at the sea where the whales tended to come to.
“Yeah,” he whispered, trying to relax his muscles. “It’s a sight for the eyes for sure.” He breathed in, feeling the soft caress of wind touching him. Leaves rustled near them, slowly drifting down to the grassy lands.
Archie laughed. “I know right?” He moves his legs about, causing the branch to shake lightly. Clopeh’s hand grip tightened, and in response glared at Archie. He ignored the burning stare. “This is my favourite place.”
Wordlessly, Clopeh looked away from Archie back to the sea. Waves crashed in the distance, their fluid bodies splitting by a stone in the way, its sound loud enough to hear from afar. Slowly, he felt his tense muscles ease up, until he managed to lean back against empty air to look away from the ocean to the clear blue sky.
“Why do you like this place so much?” Clopeh asked, feeling the sting of the sun enter his eyes.
“Didn’t I tell you already?” Archie replied, turning towards him. “The view here’s the best, and you get to see the whales whenever they come here.”
“And is that all?”
“Waddya mean?” Archie asked, rotating his body and putting one of his legs on the branch, weighing it slightly. “Isn’t getting a good sight valid enough reasons to like something?” He looked away. “And besides, there’s lots of other good stuff just to see from here.” He pointed at the rock who split the waves. “See that? That’s Roksu! One of the whales’ friends.”
“Roksu?” Clopeh felt his eye twitch. This kid and his naming sense…
“Yep,” Archie nodded. “Sometimes the whales circle Roksu, playing around with him—like, like spraying water on him and making him drenched! Or, climbing up on him and flopping on him. Stuff like that.” He smiled at the memory.
“And you just… watch them?” Clopeh asked.
“Of course not,” Archie replied quickly. He opened his mouth to say more, but stuttered, “I, um, I…” He started fiddling with his fingers, unsure of what to state.
Clopeh raised an eyebrow, waiting for Archie to finish. Looking uncharacteristically nervous, Archie pouted as he looked off into the distance. It wasn’t that he was gonna say anything weird, it was more on the fact that Archie didn’t truly ‘participate’ with the whales. For as much as he’d love to jump off the cliff to swim to the whales, Shickler would probably have a heart attack when he noticed he was missing. So he could only play around with the whales in his mind and in the drawings in his room.
“Nevermind that!” Finally, Archie shouted, jumping lightly on the branch. “The only thing that matters is that I don’t just watch them, I play with them as well.”
From the light shake of the branch, Clopeh was starting to get used to it, but that didn’t mean he didn’t fear falling. So, annoyed, Clopeh decided to hold Archie’s hand so that if he falls, the other will fall as well.
“Why are you holding my hand?” Archie raised their intertwined hands. Clopeh’s hand was on top of his, and with the tight grip, no matter how much he shook it off, the hold didn’t budge. Glaring as if it personally offended him, Archie was about to bite off the other’s meat.
“Hey, what the—” Clopeh pulled his arm, avoiding Archie’s teeth from touching his skin. However, their movement caused the delicate balance that had upheld their body to stay on the tree topple and made Clopeh feel himself teetering and about to fall.
And as much as Archie would love to stop the other boy’s descent, he was pulled closer to Clopeh and with his center of gravity crooked, it was more than hard for him to make them both steady themselves. Luckily (or unluckily depending on your perspective), Clopeh figured out that a very good way to not fall is to hug Archie.
In hindsight, it was probably a bad option, but instinct made people stop thinking about their actions. Which led to Clopeh laying back down on the branch while Archie was stuck on top of him from Clopeh’s arms circling around him. The only good thing that came out from this was that he was no longer holding their hands together.
Twisting his body from their position, Archie tried to sit back up. But for some reason Clopeh’s goddamn arms were strong enough to the point where they felt like shackles on him.
“Lemme go you dunce,” Archie said. He put his palms on the other white-haired’s chest, trying to push each other off. “Or I’ll make us both fall.”
Clopeh replied, “Better two than one.” But he relented nonetheless, letting go of his vice grip. In a sign of goodwill (ha!) Archie thrust his hand for the other to take to pull him back to a sitting position.
“Ow.” Archie rubbed his legs when they were back to their initial postures. “My leg got scraped.” On his pale skin was a red mark akin to a bug bite; it didn’t look good.
“We should go back to get that checked,” Clopeh eyed the bruise with a frown.
“Nah,” Archie patted his leg and let it swing in the air again. “It’s just a bruise. No big deal.”
“No big deal,” Clopeh scoffed, remembering the time when Shickler scrutinised Archie’s skin after the wheelchair coaster accident. He’s a hundred percent certain that the adult wouldn’t think it’s just a ‘bruise’. “Don’t name-call me when Shickler gets mad at your just a bruise. ”
Archie pouted at that, apparently not happy at the prospect of Shickler concerning himself with the mild scratch on him. Sometimes he wondered if he had had cuts and scratches that could kill him before, but he never could remember having such things. The most that he had was some bandages that hid away some wounds that itched.
Glaring at the sky, Archie went silent before finally looking back to Clopeh. He puffed his cheeks, “Fine, but you carry me back.” He raised his hands up to the other, wriggling them as if telling him to hurry up.
With a rather unimpressed expression, Clopeh stared at Archie. His eyes went from Archie’s bruised leg to his hands; deadpan eyes all the while. His expression said, “Really?”
“Don’t look at me like that,” Archie said playfully. “After all, I’m currently the one hurt right now~”
“You…” Clopeh facepalmed. “Are you expecting me to carry you and climb down the tree too?”
“Of course!”
“I’ll drop you.”
“And what’ll Shickler say about that?”
“I—“ Clopeh felt himself going speechless. He sure as hell wasn’t expecting his own words to be directed back at him. Letting out a sigh, he said, “Fine, but don’t blame me if I slip and we both fall.”
“Pfft, I can assure you that I’m much, much lighter than you,” Archie retorted. “And even with your nonexistent muscles you should be able to carry me easily.”
“A few days ago said otherwise,” Clopeh replied, trying to come closer to the main branch of the tree. It was harder with the obstacle obstructing his pathway however. “And you kicking me in the ribs didn’t help.”
“A little pain goes a long way!”
“No.”
One day, just like every morning, Archie came to Clopeh’s room. And just like always, he barged in without knocking.
“Rise and shine, sleepyhead!”
But his words were echoed in an empty room: the white mattress was folded neatly—not a single crease as though someone had just ironed them, the personal belongings that Clopeh had collected in the accumulated days of him and Archie wandering around the place—books, little trinkets and whatnot—were all gone. Swept away like dust under the rug. It was like time reversed itself and made the room go back to its previous state. Except Archie was certain that his memories weren’t lying.
He walked in the room, eyes wandering around the place before he stopped right in front of the bed. Archie crouched down, peeking underneath only to find nothing. His cheeks puffed slightly, but he didn’t give up: he went around the mattress to the other objects in the room. Until finally, he ended up at the window. There was nothing on the other side, but he nonetheless peered on the glass to the grassy land below.
Pursing his lips, Archie tried to think positively. Maybe Clopeh was playing a prank on him and was hiding somewhere? Not that the other boy had done that before, but to disappear altogether in a single night…
He shook his head, shooing the thought away. Looking back at the empty room and to the window, he felt a slight pang in his heart, but he dismissed it away. Gripping his hand on the window sill, Archie gazed far off to the outside world, finding nothing but green beyond the stainless glass. Slowly, his eyes drifted back to the empty room; more deserted than ever and clear of all the mess that he had caused within it.
Opening the window and glancing around with as much as his small body could let out, Archie still found nothing of note. He crawled back in the room, cheeks puffed from frustration and anger. Since there was no shadow of the other boy inside, Archie finally got out to look elsewhere.
He first headed to his favourite location: the tree.
The sun was somehow high enough in the sky despite it just being early in the day: more than a dozen rays of light were filtered through the leaves of the tree. It would have been a perfect day to lay down on a branch and admire the view, maybe even see the rainbow created by the eruption of a whale.
But alas, there was no sign of another white-haired boy on the cliffside. The only thing that Archie got from climbing up the tree was a scrape on his arm and legs from accidentally brushing his skin against an uneven bark.
They didn’t hurt much, though he was certain that Clopeh would drag him back to Shickler if he were here but...
Archie shook away his thoughts. He slapped his cheeks, trying to focus back on the topic at hand. He turned to the sea, watching the waves in anticipation and letting a few minutes pass by before finally reluctantly going back inside the building.
There were a few more adults walking along the hallways than usual. White coats outlining their figures and their faces stern as if they just ate something funny. Some tried to put on a smile when he passed by them, but others just went away with haste. One of them—a woman whose name Archie couldn’t remember—stopped by when she saw him wandering the hallways.
“Archie,” she called out, smiling when he stopped in his steps to look at her. “Do you need something?”
Archie’s heart skipped a beat, and he wondered if she’s actually willing to help him and not just asking because she can. After all, only Shickler had been the only adult to actually answer his questions. Only Shickler didn’t sugarcoat his words and gave Archie the blunt answers he wanted. Only Shickler truly cared for him.
He opened his mouth, only to close it a second later. Looking straight at the woman’s face, he felt something churning in his heart at her considerate expression. Finally he said with a quiet voice: “I’m looking for Clopeh.”
She perked her ears, lips pursed as she tried to catch what he said. “Clopeh... Sekka?” She muttered, eyes squinting as her lips uttered the name.
“Yeah,” Archie nodded.
The woman blinked, eyes wide as she stared at him. She glanced away quickly behind him, maybe looking for something to say before meeting back Archie’s eyes and giving a strained smile. “I’m sorry, but I haven’t seen him today.” Licking her lips, she continued, “Why don’t you stay in your room and I’ll look for him?”
Archie narrowed his eyes. “Why do I have to stay in my room?”
“So I can immediately bring Clopeh to you when I find him.”
He shook his head. “Nu-uh.” He stomped on his foot. “I’ll look for him myself.”
“But—”
Archie already left, hustling on the hallways and ignoring the woman’s stare on the back of his head. Somehow, it felt wrong to be right. He didn’t feel happy that he was right in only believing Shickler. For some reason, it just made him feel horrible, and he didn’t even know why.
He passed by the cafeteria, not an inch of white hair other than his in sight. While his eyes were scanning the room, Archie’s stomach rumbled lightly. There was a slight pang of hunger that almost made him want to sit down and eat, but he decided that looking for Clopeh was far more important. Eating with company makes the food taste better.
Ignoring his empty stomach, he went to the library.
With a creak, the sound of books wafted to his nose. Archie wrinkled his nose but advanced deeper into the library. He didn’t really have much hope of finding Clopeh inside the orderly yet confusing mess of the place, but it was better than nothing.
As he went around the place, something latched itself on his leg, making Archie stop to look down to find Bob snuggling its body on him. He crouched down to pick the white cat, raising it to his eye level. With the same usual derpy stare, Bob stared impassively at the human. A staredown between a cat and a human happened for a while, until Archie decided to throw Bob up in the air and bring it closer to his face.
“Didya miss me?” he said, rubbing their cheeks together. Soft white fur caressed his cheeks, each strands so concise and silky that he giggled out of tickleness. Archie put Bob on his arm, the other hand caressing its body. “Sorry, I forgot to visit you daily.
“I just... “ Moving with the cat on his arm, Archie headed into all the other crevices of the library. He glanced down to find Bob purring on him, and giggled. “I guess I spent all my time with Clopeh and forgot to visit you again. Sorry.”
Finishing up his impromptu tour of the library, Archie ended up right near the receptionist desk. His eyes wandered to the window before looking at the stack of books on the wooden desk. The scent of book and paper invaded his nose, and he gently put the cat on the desk to look through the pile.
They were all the titles that Clopeh had read. The words were confusing and unrecognisable for him, but Archie thought that they should mean something real big and smart. He might not be the biggest fan of books or words, and back when Clopeh decided to stay inside this room full of nothing but knowledge he had made fun of the other, but there was some a small bit of him that did wonder if he’d ever understand what made Clopeh willing to stay on hours end reading words.
He opened a random book, finding nothing but paragraphs densed with letters and words. It didn’t look like a storybook, more like an essay on a subject that he couldn’t understand even as Archie committed the words in his brain.
While he was busy reading and trying to understand why people decided to make certain words really long and really hard to memorise, a familiar voice called out to him.
“Archie?”
Archie turned around to find Shickler standing right on the doorway, evident shock plastered on his face despite how little his expression changed. He could peek at a smaller figure right behind him, but he couldn’t see who it was.
“Shickler!” Archie let go of the book he was ‘reading’ and rushed to the adult. “Do you know where Clopeh is?”
Shickler blinked, mouth slightly parted as he looked at the boy.
“Well?” Archie tapped the floor with his feet. “His room was empty when I went there, and I couldn’t find him anywhere else.” He felt his cheeks puff up in frustration, eyes wandering to the side before returning back to Shickler. “Don’t tell me everyone is in kahoots on playing a prank on me.”
Shickler’s face underwent some subtle emotions before he ended up with a pained expression that looked as if he saw a kid walking on the rooftop and he was unable to do anything because he was currently preoccupied with somebody. As in, it was an expression that Archie would’ve been happy with if it were any other time.
“Shickler?”
He reached out to tug on the adult’s clothes before stopping at the look in the man’s eyes. Archie didn’t know why, but he felt like he was gonna hear something he didn’t want to hear.
Opening and closing his mouth, Shickler finally answered:
“Clopeh went home this morning.”