44 Small Interlude: A Peek into the Past

There was an old man out in the forest. He was trying to light a bonfire ablaze by striking a piece of steel on a rod of ferrocerium. Sparks were flying out and touching the pile of twigs and branches but they weren't being lit on fire.

The old man's arms were shaking from exhaustion. The countless repeated attempts of lighting a fire made him weary.

"*Sigh*...I'm really getting old, aren't I?"

This old man was camping with his grandson in the wilderness. Said grandson was allowed to explore the forest as long as he doesn't stray too far.

The old man slightly regretted allowing his grandson to wander, as he currently needs his help with lighting a fire.

"Let's go find where that boy went."

The old man stood up from the dead log he was sitting on and walked in the direction he last saw his grandson.

The old man called out his grandson's name as he walked through the woods, keeping in mind the path he took so he wouldn't be lost in the wild.

He kept hollering for his grandson, telling him to answer back so that the old man would know where to go.

Soon, he heard a voice.

"--npa! I'm here!!"

The old man's head turned in the direction of the voice as soon as his ears picked up on it.

He slowly made his way in the direction of the voice.

The old man soon found his grandson leaning on a tree. In front of him here corpses of dead birds.

"Wh-what happened to them?" The old man who was a bit shocked at the scene asked his grandson.

"I killed them." The boy gave a straightforward answer.

The old man went wide-eyed as he heard his grandson's words.

"Lured them here with some seeds and snapped their necks." The boy gave a more detailed explanation.

The old man couldn't help but ask why. He was worried about his grandson.

The boy quickly answered his grandfather's inquiry.

"Because they weren't giving me attention after I gave them food to eat."

The old man's expression turned grim after hearing the boy's words.

"Come one, let's go back to the campsite. My old bones aren't helping me start a fire so I was wondering if you could help me with that. We're having s'mores!"

"Really?!" The boy jumped up in excitement. His blank stare towards the dead birds was now long gone and replaced with a face full of joy.

The two slowly made their way back to the campsite. Along the way, the old man was thinking about the scene earlier.

The boy's parents are quite the neglectful ones. They turned their backs on their firstborn and poured all their love and affection into the more talented younger brother.

The old man was aware of this fact. He regretted not being a good father to his daughter. Because of that, his eldest grandson suffered. The years of neglect and jealousy towards his brother caused the boy to have a twisted sense of morality. His attitude toward life and death became apathetic.

The old man wanted to make amends by spending what little time he has left with his grandson, and hopefully put him on the right path by being the one light shining down on his life.

He had no idea if this decision would even make a difference. It might not help his grandson at all. But he was hopeful. Hopeful for the future.

He wanted to be the best grandfather he could be. Until the last embers of his life die out.