[2]: Breathtaking Sunset (1)

'I never thought I would be able to do this. Finally stepping out of the walls I was imprisoned in'

'It never crossed my mind that freedom could be this great.'

'These past few years, all I've done is to live my life the way they wanted me to. Always being dictated of everything I do and like a puppet I always follow without a word.'

'Now, it's time for me to pursue what I really want.'

'It just happened. Well, I made it happen.'

Marco stopped the engine of his motorbike and took his helmet off. The soft gush of wind made his hair swirl through the air. The atmosphere was not that hot because of the nearly setting sun and mixed with the cold salty sea breeze that the ocean waves are giving.

A smile was plastered on his face as he admires the beautiful scenery in front of him. The nearly setting sun is still shining brightly, accompanied by the different shades of colorful clouds in the sky. Some flock of birds that are flying above the glittering seawater, made the view much more spectacular.

He hasn't seen such scenery for a long time; the last moment he does remember was when he was in his hometown with his mother. Back to the days where they would sit in their backyard and watch the sun vanish from the horizon, accompanying each other with a comforting conversation or just the presence of one another.

The beauty he's seeing was enough to make him want to keep it if he could. So, he took out his phone from his jeans pocket and captured the wonderful scenery presented in front of him. He several took pictures of the setting yet the bright sun and the panorama of this unknown area as well.

Though not very fond of it, Marco also took some pictures of himself for the sake of capturing the moment. After some awkward time spent on his picture taking, he leaned on his motorbike and viewed the photos he managed to take. He kept on sliding next after another, disappointed with how each of those looks.

His lip twitched as he stares at the photo of himself gazing at the horizon with the mellow-colored clouds in the background. The photo can be discerned as striking with his perfect side profile lightened by the sunlight, the end of his lips slightly curved upwards, and his eyes reflecting the glittering ocean. It was a simple yet eye-catching candid photo.

'Maybe I got it while I'm continuously pressing the camera button?'

Marco has never been the type of person that usually takes photos especially of him. It would even be considered as a once-in-a-blue-moon event.

'Not bad. My photography skill is not that bad, I guess.' Marco thought, complimenting himself.

He then proceeds to the next picture while still feeling proud of his skills but immediately regretted pressing it.

"What the heck is this even?!" he cursed after seeing the photo. He almost threw his phone but gladly managed not to as he just gripped it tightly. He heaved a sigh of both relief and regret, and then scrutinized his attention to the cursed photograph.

He frowned with distaste, 'It's so damn cringy. I want to puke.'

The angle of the photo was right above his head so he looked like the mashed potato that he thought he is. His eyes were quite big at the photo, with his right eyebrow raised, nose crinkled and his thin pale lips were pouting.

Marco rarely speaks swearwords but now he thought he ought to.

'Why the fuck is my fucking lips fucking pouting?'

"Damn! I look like a lost kid," he grumbled with a hint of disgust on his face.

"Well… I really am lost," he quietly admitted to himself. Another sigh escaped as he finally focused on his problem at hand.

He decided not to delete the photo even though he personally resented it. 'It was still one of my keepsakes to this place and time,' he says.

He turned off his phone and tucked it back into his pocket as he gives a glance at the area.

"Why aren't there any people around?" he asked himself while still looking around.

'I have never been in this place before and I don't even know where I am right now. All I know is that I'm surrounded by the beautiful nature.'

He was currently located in an asphalt road, with just a few meters span of grass field and it would be the edge of the sidelong cliff. The vast ocean is ahead of him and mountains at his back, along with several trees.

It was totally different from the place where he just came from. Back there is the complete opposite of what peace and quiet this countryside hold. There, day and night the city is alive. Marco never liked its noisy environment and unmannered people. Traffic is just a normal thing and so as parties every night. It's hard to do things in the morning and to even have a decent sleep at night. Every day was a struggle to live.

For him, the challenge that he's facing was twice what he should have.

Being a regular college student is hard itself, what more about being a working student? He has to attend school in the daytime as his normal college duties and in his free time, he gives away flyers and coupons for some establishments. After school, he'll either go back to his father's house or not. It depends on his schedule for the day and well, the mood of his stepmother.

At night, on specific days, he also has a part-time job. He is working as a waiter at a clubhouse. Sometimes, the clubhouse's manager calls him to be a substitute singer if ever the contracted band is having problems or if they couldn't really make it.

Thanks to his perseverance and hard work, he was able to have enough money from his salary and a few tips, and well, because of that he managed to live in the hellish city. That's how he got to pay his school tuition fee, other expenses and provide for his living for the past two years; their living expenses, to be more precise. He was not just working for himself.

At a very young age, he already knows how to make a living and properly manages his expenses so that he's sure he can survive the following harsh days of his life. Despite being a minor and unfamiliar with the new environment, he still found ways to earn money. It was enough for him to eat at least two meals a day and to hand his father a monthly portion of his salary or as he wants to call it, payment for his stay.

He had it rough, providing for himself and to his supposed to be family at the same time. He handing money to his father was not because he doesn't want to owe them or because of his pride, it'll never be anything related to that. It was because he could see them experience having financial difficulties and he doesn't want to be a burden to them. He endured all those tormenting things to be of help but he was still banned as an ungrateful bastard.

Marco remembers how his stepmom Ellie called him a good for nothing kid just this morning and he once again scoffed at the thought.

Brushing off those unpleasant memories, he paced the place in the hope of finding someone or something useful to distinguish his own whereabouts. After quite some time, no one, not even a single soul passed by. There is no vehicle at sight too, except for his black motorbike.

Marco sighed out of frustration and gradually made up his mind, 'Okay, one last look around the area and if there's still no one at sight, I'm heading out of here, even if this place is a masterpiece.'

He turned his head from left to right, getting hopeless by the second. "Ugh, there's really no- Hey! Is that a person?!"

With squinting eyes, he stared at the bunch of trees on the east side of the cliff. It's quite far from where he is so he could hardly see the figure. It's likely to be more than five feet tall and it's moving, heading inside the woods.

'It really is a person!'

"Thank goodness, I can finally ask for directions!" Marco gleefully exclaimed.

Without having any second thoughts, Marco ran in the direction of the person that seems to be his only ray of hope.