THE MAIL MAN

250 YEARS LATER…

"Gates, they are here for you" Jena; a rehab worker said with a beam to Alexander Gates whose mother; Mirabel and friend; Avia were waiting for him outside with a car. He got up, packed his stuff and walked out of his confined room. As he walked down the hallway, the rehab workers wished him a clean life, away from hard drugs. He got to the door and saw his mother and Avia. He dropped all his stuff on the ground as Avia rushed to give him a hug.

"No hugs for me ma?" Alexander asked smiling but she wasn't having it.

"She's really upset Alex, let me help you with your stuff" Avia suggested, carrying some of Alex luggage. They put it in the boot afterwards his mother started the car and the journey back home began.

The ride back home was quite awkward as there was too much silence. So Avia decided to break it.

"So Alex, how was the rehab centre, you made any new friends?"

"Not really...uh...how about you? Surely you must have something for me" Alex said with a chuckle out

"When we get home" Avia assured. Then the silence continued. It was not long they got home. When they all came out the car Alex's mother joined him at the back to off load his luggages.

"When you see your brother you tell him that Aunt Marys' house was nice and you saw the dolphins" Mirabel said offloading her son's stuff

"She won't even look at me" Alex said ashamed

"What is there to look at Alex! The son I knew or I thought I knew would never and I mean never think of doing hard drugs. The person you want me to look at is just a mirage" Mirabel retorted slamming the boot lock.

"I'm sorry" Alex said sternly, but his mother just walked away with some of his stuff. Then came his little brother, running towards him to give him a hug. When he came closer, Alex lifted him up to the sky and then brought him down.

"How's my little champ!" Alex asked squatting to match his little brother's height.

"I'm alright, how are Aunt Marys' dolphins?" his little brother; Finn asked with excitement.

"Super!" Alex said faking his excitement

"Cool, did you take a picture?"

"With the dolphins or of the dolphins?" Alex asked hesitantly.

"With"

"Sorry champ, maybe next time I promise"

"Ok" Finn said as he jollied back into the house. Avia, who was watching from afar smiled at him then he smiled back. Then his elder sister came out the door.

"Welcome back Ally" she said with a smirk on her face.

The next day, Alex prepared for school. His mother still wouldn't look at him. It was his first time going to school in months after he overdosed and nearly died at a school's party. His mother dropped him off at school. He tried to wish her goodbye but she drove off almost immediately.

The morning sun cast a golden glow upon the sprawling campus of Oakridge Academy. Its imposing brick buildings adorned with ivy climbing the walls. As the heavy iron gates creaked open, students streamed in like a vibrant river, their laughter and chatter filling the air. Then there was Alex, who was a bit nervous on showing his face in school after a few months of rehab.

The corridors echoed with footsteps, a symphony of bustling energy that stirred up every string of anxiousness in Alex's body. Immediately, he put on his hoodie, hiding his face from some of his classmates. He successfully got to class unnoticed, until he was told by his teacher to take the hoodie off.

"Alex, isn't that Alex?" students murmured.

"Welcome back Alex" the teacher said with a smile,

"Thank you" he replied while facing the ground.

Alex was able to make it through the whole day even with everybody up in his business. As he waited for his mother to pick him up, he joined a livestream which surprisingly had over a million viewers watching.

"Calling all gamers! This just might be the game of the century. Edward Montenegro, CEO of Pros software has just announced the birth of a new game; Octavius Grimoire. I don't know how many of you are fans of old tales but I do fancy some myself. It is said that the final prize of this game, which is obtaining the grimoire, is the same grimoire Octavius hid from her hybrid husband, Hanbity over 200 years ago. How crazy is that?!" one of the hosts exclaimed.

"I know right. In addition to that, Mr Montenegro and his team had somehow translated Octavius's grimoire intricate spells into algorithmic codes, reborn as an immersive VR simulation. They also somehow were able to tell how Octavius thought, it's like they figured out her brain map and what occurred in the life of her husband and shockingly, their daughter and there's only one soul who perhaps still lives, if I may be so bold to say that could unlock the full potential of the game" his cohost added.

"What was once a myth now proven true I guess" the other host said as he chuckled.

"True, so once again, calling all gamers! Cause you all do not wanna miss out on this opportunity to own nearly a thousand-year-old book of magical spells. The games are now on sale and can be bought at any game store near you. It might sound unreal but just like the grimoire it's a thousand percent real"

"And surreal as well. As always this is John"

"And I'm Daniel"

"And we are signing off" they chorused calmly as they signed off amidst a wave of hype. Alex then headed straight to research more on the game. He knew Avia was interested in the whole history of Octavius and her Grimoire but he thought it was all a myth.

He was still waiting for his mother when he got a text from her saying she wasn't going to make it. He had to walk it. On his way home, he stumbled across a game store, it was packed with a lot of people.

"Let me guess, they are trying to get the new game" Alex said to himself as he walked into the store. People were leaving with packs of the new game, then he nodded to himself to show that he was correct about why people filled the game store.

"Sorry, what's the price for the game?" Alex asked some girl who was passing by with a pack of the game.

"300 quantox" she replied.

"Shit, it's expensive" he said to himself. He walked out of the store immediately and continued his walk home. He got home to Avia waiting for him in his room so ecstatic.

"Please tell me you watched John and Daniels' livestream and you're excited to buy the new game" Avia hoped.

"I…It's expensive, Avia" Alex lamented.

"This could be our chance to get the grimoire and fulfil Octavius's wishes. Imagine, after 250 years, Hanbity finally gets what he deserves" Avia said trying to persuade Alex but he wouldn't budge.

"The game's just a ploy to get delusional people like you buy their game and make them filthy rich" Alex said without thinking about Avia's feelings. There was a brief silence afterwards.

"Avia, I didn't …" Alex stuttered in his defense but Avia cut him short.

"No, no, no. It's just a myth and I'm being delusional for believing in something we've been on about since we were fucking five!" Avia yelled in anger and then barged out of Alex's room.

********

A slightly aged man paced the semi empty halls of his estate. For decades, he had resigned himself to isolation, the lone hybrid among mortals. Word had gotten to him about the rediscovered and transformed grimoire.

"Octavius, Octavius, Octavius. What game are you playing?" Hanbity asked himself. "Felix!" he called out.

"Yes sir" Felix responded.

"I'd like to make this new game interesting. Get my message to the media. Any player who is able to retrieve Octavius's grimoire and bring it to me will receive a grand prize of ten thousand quantox. I will be publicly known as the mail man. Understood?" Hanbity asked with a frown on his face.

"Understood" Felix replied. Then Hanbity left for a cold dark room which appeared to be where he kept the heart of his wife, his daughters corpse and his wife's grimoires. He snarled when he got a glimpse of his wife's heart.

"I'll always win dear Octavius. I hope you're turning in your grave" Hanbity said to himself with a smirk.