Chapter 5: The Beginning (2)

"Einar, take an umbrella. The news said it was going to rain heavily later on in the afternoon. "

"I know. I have it here, I'll be off then." Einar quickly responded while putting on his shoes.

December 16th. The last day of school for the term and the year. In other words, he now has six weeks of summer holidays before going back to school after today, in which Einar will be able to meet up with friends, study and most importantly; sleep in.

The only thing regretful about it was the fact he wouldn't see Celina during those six weeks unless he was extremely lucky and happened to spot her in public… not that he would try to converse with her in the first place. But just seeing her soothed him in a way.

The sky was once again clear, not a single cloud was visible in the sky. Einar would gaze up and marvel at the beauty while feeling a sense of peace and joy in his heart.

It was hard to believe that such beautiful weather would be overcast by thick and grey clouds later on. Such a thought made him feel gloomy, he hated rainy days after all.

***

"Morning, Einar."

While walking towards my classroom, an all too familiar voice reached my ears. It was Andrew. After getting our test results from yesterday he seemed to be in a rather depressed mood, it was good to see him revert back to himself.

"Morning," I replied. He tagged along behind me, and though no conversations were being held between us during the walk, it wasn't awkward.

"Hm? Why'd you bring an umbrella?"

He didn't notice earlier..? It seemed that his awareness of his surroundings was no better than mine.

"The news said it was going to rain in the afternoon."

"Huh? Really?!? No way. Look at the weather." He pointed towards the sky.

"Yeah, that's what I thought too. I mean the news could be wrong, you never know." I replied.

That ended up being our last small conversation before heading into the class, the bell ringing just in time as we entered through the door.

***

A bell reverberated throughout the school, signalling the beginning of our first break.

It was a time for a few snacks as well as socialising among peers for 20 minutes before the next few classes.

"What do you want to do during the holidays?" Andrew asked.

"I don't know."

There wasn't much to do during the holidays. There wasn't necessarily a sport we both enjoyed and apart from going to the park, everything around us cost money. For jobless high school students like us, even one bowling game was considered expensive.

"How about mini golf, the pool, the zoo or rock climbing?" Andrew, not understanding the reason for the "I don't know" kept listing out different activities we could do in the holidays. The issue wasn't finding something to do, but rather the cost of it. If I end up paying for something and don't enjoy it, sure I get the experience and realise that I don't like it, but at the same time, money-wise, it feels wasteful.

Ignoring all his suggestions, I reply in a questioning tone

"Well, the library's free?"

Yet it was instantly shut down without any thought to it.

"I'm not spending time studying during the holidays, what do you think the holidays are!"

A time to rest and prepare for the new year… But I couldn't say that seeing how thrilled he was for the holidays. Back in Korea, this year would've been the first year of high school, however, it was different here. I heard from one of my peers that we can fool around in every subject except maths and English, the reason was that earlier this year we picked the subjects we wanted to do. In other words, the next year was a fresh new start, and also when grades truly begin to matter to us.

I was definitely going to spend the first week lazing around, but after that, I'll try to build the habit to study again. Something about staying at home doing nothing but lying in bed or playing games while my dad is out at work seems… wrong.

My thoughts were cut short by the resounding sound indicating the end of our break. Looking up at the sky, I began to notice a few grey clouds slowly moving along the sky.

'It's going to be a bad day huh.' I thought to myself.

***

What started as a few small droplets turned into a downpour. A sound similar to the sizzling of an egg on a pan began to reverberate in the classroom.

'I'm glad I bought an umbrella today…'

The sudden weather change was a bit bothersome considering that school finishes in around five minutes. If the rain had come at least 20-30 minutes later, I would've been home watching the downpour through my window, after all, I wasn't going to spend the last day of school studying in the library. There wasn't anything to study in the first place anyway.

I felt a tad bit sorry for Andrew, since we live in opposite directions from each other, I couldn't even share an umbrella with him. I guess this is what happens when you get careless, luckily it was the holidays, so he wouldn't miss out on any possibly important content from school.

***

After the final bell, Einar Raine was currently walking home through the heavy rain. Instead of the shortcut, he would've taken if it wasn't for that incident, he was instead walking through the 'longer' route. Einar walked past the bus stop knowing there wasn't much distance between him and his home. Imagining taking a long warm shower made his feet walk faster.

Suddenly a loud, high-pitched pitched siren grew more deafening as the ambulance behind him drove past him and stopped… right in front of his unit.

'Huh, what happened here?' He wondered to himself as he jogged closer to the scene.

The other people living in his unit were all scattered out on the road, some were being interviewed by the police while others began talking amongst themselves, seemingly just as confused as Einar was. There were four police cars and an ambulance parked close to what seemed to be a crime scene.

"Einar!"

He turned to face the sudden voice that called out to him. It was his neighbour on the second floor. Some days when he would come late after the library, he would see her on the elevator.

"A-are you alright?!?"

Her sudden tone made him overwhelmed yet he still managed to provide her with an answer.

"Well, it's kinda scary seeing a crime scene up close I guess." He quickly replied while placing the umbrella over her head.

"Y-your father…"

At those words Einar felt despair, his eyes widening in process.

'My father..?'

Tak. He had dropped his umbrella out of his hand, feeling the chilliness of the rain combined with the wind. Before his neighbour could even finish what she was saying, he sprinted off towards the crowd ahead of him. His uniform and bag containing his laptop were wet but right now, Einar couldn't care less about it. He quickly shoved his bag onto the road as he broke through the walls of people surrounding the ambulance.

"D-Dad!" He shouted while pulling people out of his way.

"Hold it, kid." A large man had stood in his way. Judging by the light and dark blue hue on his clothes, he was a police officer. The policeman grabbed Einar by the torso while he tried to reach out towards his father, yet his quivering hands didn't reach him. The officer was strong, much stronger than Einar was, so it was a given that the officer could stop in his tracks easily.

Ahead, Einar watched his father being carried into the ambulance on a stretcher. The road before him was dyed a crimson colour. The sight before him confirmed it. A range of emotions; shock, disbelief, and sadness all washed over him in an instant as his breaths grew shorter making him feel dizzy. He didn't care though, he wanted to be by his dad's side.

"AHHHHHHHHHHH!!!" In desperation, he let out a cry as tears began to form in his eyes.

Einar wasn't even one to result use of violence, however currently, despite the pouring rain, his throat was parched, and it was hard to speak. No, he didn't want to speak. He didn't want to reason. He wanted to stay by his dad's side. He was the only family he had after his mum had left him. He hadn't thanked his father for his hard work, he wasn't able to spend more time with him, and he wasn't able to return all the things his father had done for him. This wasn't going to be the last memory Einar has of his father. It couldn't be.

A dim glow surrounded his right arm right before trying to push away the officer. Instinctively, the officer let go of Einar to try and fend himself.

"PISS OFF!!"

His right hand upon contact with the officer, sent the officer tumbling briefly along the road. Luckily, it was weaker in scale compared to last night, if not the officer could've lost his life.

"S-stop the kid!"

The officer quickly got back up before shouting towards his other colleagues, clearly not expecting the heavy blow.

Almost instantly, two of his colleagues detained him.

He was beginning to get dizzy, it felt like he had spent all of his energy.

"D-dad…"

That were Einar's last words before passing out once more.

A normal life Einar had continued living for the past sixteen years, had come to an end as the beginning of a new one had risen.