How it all began

Chapter one

The clouds were dark and gloomy , as if those lighting

thunder could guess the fore math of the incident

, the roads were dark and dimly lit by street

lamps , though there was only one left that was

working , going out and on every few seconds ,

leaving the road to depend on an unreliable

source of light , the houses were dull and colorless ,

the whole town looked plain , empty and quite , too

quite . The rusted car drove on slowly to a

specifically darker house to deliver a person .

A person who's future is as dull as the town .

1

" Don't tell me we have to keep .. Keep him in the ..! "

Stuttered Peterson black ,incredulously , lavender

black stood next to her husband , dumbfounded ,

mouth slightly open , shaking her head as if waking

herself from a bad dream . Conerlad santill stood

before them , holding something in his arms , he

said " so you refused this offer ? Aren't you afraid

of what it says ? That he would seek revenge , that

" he hesitated , then continued " well , if your ready

for the consequences " he bowed slightly and made

to leave , but then he turned and said " I also admire

this act of .. Let's say ... Foolish bravery ," smiling

silently , he bowed again , quite mockingly even ,

then turned to leave " wait ! " said lavender black ,

emerging from her shock , Peterson looked at her ,

surprised , while conerlad stood at the door , lavender

shot her husband a pleading look , Peterson opened

his mouth to speak , then closed it again , conerlad

tapped his legs impatiently , Peterson hesitated

then said " ok , we will take ... Take him " .

2

Chapter 2

" Shut up ! You idiot ! Do you want our neighbors to hear ! "

Peterson black whispered urgently ,holding stalen by the

shirt and shaking him , stalen stared bitterly at the ground ,

muttering curses he would have loved to say out loud , " sorry "

he said bitterly , staring at ground with a piercing stare , he

pulled away and stomped of to his room l if you can call it that

" mind your stomping " Peterson called angrily after him ,

Peterson was always afraid his neighbors would hear , as he

was a proud business man , and his reputation was important

to him . He always tries not to let his anger at stalen betray

him , but it seemed impossible ,so if they ask , he would say

it was at his own son , Stan Peterson black ,who was born

after they agreed to keep stalen by 3 month , who was

named late to be similar to petersons son , to feed his

neighbors questioned curiosity . Stalen didn't have a

second name as he was an orphan with unknown parents ,

Peterson refused to name stalen by his own name and

second name so as to not ruin his prideful tittle to what

he thought was an undeserving kid .

3

Chapter 3

Peterson flipped through the news papers and stopped

at one page , looking confused , " lavender , lavender ! "

lavender hurried to her husband and sat down , drying

her hands on a table towel , " yes yes what is it , I still

have some dishes to wash " she said ,bending down

to pick up the dropped towel and placing it neatly

back into place ,her long wavy black hair falling

to her shoulders , " look " Peterson said , he threw

the papers to her hands , she flipped through

it while saying " what is it " anxiously , " this , this

page , he said , snatching the paper and pointing a

short stubby finger much like himself to a picture that

was suspiciously familiar , lavender peered at it for a

while then gave an audible gasp " is that .. Is that stalen ! "

4

lavender took the papers and read it out loud " mike

sandew , the miraculous boy who saved 22 people's

lives the past 3 years , saved yet another life 3 days ago ,

on June 7 , a young girl , aged 5 , who had attempted to

swim in the adults pool she has been warned against ,

started having troubles staying afloat " when I saw her

drowning , I knew it was up to me , there wasn't anyone

except two people , a lady who either couldn't see what

was happening or , most likely ,pretending not to see , and

a man who clearly saw what happened but was terrified of

the prospect of going in , I jumped in , and to be honest ,

it was difficult to swim with cloths not made for swimming ,

it filled up with water and weighed me down but I was

determined that nothing should stop me " says mike sandew ,

aged 12 , the mother expressed her gratefulness to us and

showed guilty signs of leaving her daughter alone , " I

greatly thank my daughters save l I don't know what I

could have done without him " the life guard has been

fired and the pool is closed until further notices , and

hopefully will open before 5 July , to know more , please

contact funpoolforall.com or poolnewsinpaper.com ."

5

" That can't be stalen because he was with us

for the past 11 years " said lavender , " yeah

and his name certainly isn't mike " said Peterson ,

" and stalen isn't 12 years old " lavender remarked ,

" true , and he won't do something like save a life "

lavender nodded , but Peterson bit his lips , he said

" but the picture , it's ... " he stared at the picture

he thought was stalen , it stared back at him with

an innocent smile but something a bit sly in his grey

eyes , " it's probably a coincidence " lavender said ,

too quickly , " he can't be stalen ... well I gotta get

going " Peterson nodded but he still looked a bit

troubled .

6

Chapter 4

Stalen lay in the floor , he felt so angry and hurt , he

had so many unanswered questions pecking at his head ,

he picked up the only thing he owned , a picture of his parents ,

his father had dish- washer blonde hair and green eyes , and

his mother had long black -brown hair and cold Grey eyes ,

stalen thought he had his father's dish-washer blond hair

and his mothers grey eyes , stalen sighed , he placed the

picture carefully on the floor , why was he here with those

ghastly people , Stan told him he heard his mom and dad ,

emphasizing the word his ,that they would rather do anything

than keep him , that didn't quite come as a shock , but it hurt

anyway , stalen sighed deeply and pushed his short cropped

bangs sideways behind his ears ,he got up and left his tiny and

furniture less room , he slammed the door loudly and flopped

down the dark purple couch .

7

he saw Stan , who was eleven , getting ready for school ,

he glared enviously at him , feeling a strong emotion of

jealousy bubble up inside him , Stan saw him look and

smirked at him , stalen was stung by he injustice of it

but he said " don't look at me like that , I'm no baby

like you , school is for losers " Stan pretended to look hurt and

Peterson roared " you boy , what do you think your doing , insulting

my s.." he looked sideways , as if expecting his neighbors to pop

Out any moment . " fine , fine , I'm leaving , and you'll never see

me again " stalen said quitely. His grey eyes dangerous .peterson

Opened the door and made a id love that gesture , stalen debated

wether to go get his only belonging ,but decided against it , it was

better to go light weighted , " this is the best moment in my life "

stalen said savagely , " and mine , I should've done it sooner , no

wonder your mother walked out on you " stalen stopped short , his

mother , his mother walked out on him ? He didn't know if this was

true or if Peterson was only saying this to get on his nerves , but the

thought that it may be true made him feel more alone than ever , he

had so many questions but when he turned to ask the door had

slammed shut .

8

Stalen dragged himself across the street , not knowing

we're hell end up , he felt his frustration swell up inside

him , he kicked at an old street chair , the leg broke

off , and stalen backed away in surprise , hopping on

the spot , holding his toes and biting his lips in pain ,

trying to clear his stinging eyes , he saw three figures

at the far end , he squinted his eyes and saw three boys ,

he thought they may help him , so he hurried towards them ,

but as he got closer , he got more hesitant .

9

he could see

three boys all the ages of 16 or 17 . One was tanned with

black - brown eyes , he would have looked nice if it weren't

for the ugly smirk playing on his lips . The other one was a

boy with a scarred face . He had a muscular body and almost

the same smirk on his scarred face , his blue eyes mocking

and cold .the last was a boy with a long blonde ponytail and

a face that's similar to someone who's out in the cold with

summer cloths , red and pink , with long sharp fingernails ,

there was a paint bucket on the ground and all three were

holding paint-brushes , obviously responsible for graviti ,

there teared jeans jackets was smeared with paint , stalen

was about to turn back when he felt long sharp finger nails

digging into his shoulders .

10

stalen slowly turned around and saw the ponytail guy

smirking at him " wanted something " he drawled ,

in a Scottish accent , stalen opened his mouth to speak

but no sound came out " s that boy the one who broke the chair ,

me saw him " said the tanned guy lazily , " that was quite a good

kick " laughed the scarred guy , " good one , little kid " the ponytail

guy , who seemed to be the leader , smiled , tightening his grip ,

" maybe he should join us , you want to ? " he asked , daring him

to say no , stalen was about to refuse but then all the rage , hurt ,

pain came back to him , he remembered how good it felt venting

out his frustration At the chair , he looked up at his holders face ,

and slowly , he nodded.

11

Chapter 5

" Great , knew it since I saw you " the leader said , he

handed him a big-sized brush and pointed at the bucket

of paint , stalen was unsure what to do , so he stayed still ,

" gonna back out " the leader said menacingly , " no no I

just , don't know what to do , can I do anything ? " all three

boys glanced at each other and roared in laughter " yes ,

you can do anything you want " the leader said , mimicking

stalens voice , stalen bent down and placed the brush on

the floor , heaved up the bucket and threw it violently to

the wall .

12

he saw the dark red paint drip slowly down the

wall " it's like blood , maybe Stan and his parents blood ,

maybe every single stranger who hates me without knowing

me , pass me without understanding " stalen thought Angrily ,

pouring the red paint again and again more furiously each

time , stalen thought how when he looked outside the window

and sees the the walls full of graviti , he thought how bad those

people were , but now , he knew , he understood , and those

people are the closest thing to friends he ever had , he

continued pouring paint until he realized the bucket was

empty already , he placed the empty bucket back down and

picked up the brush to spread the paint , but before he could

start he felt a firm hand on his shoulders , he thought it was one

of the three guys , but to his horror , when he turned to look ,

instead of one of the familiar faces , it was a bulky face of a

policeman .

13

Chapter 6

" now your gonna hand me this like a good little boy "

the policeman growled , stalen gave him the brush ,

trying to steady his shaking hands , he was scared ,

but most of all he was hurt all over again of his friends ,

for what he thought were his friends , betrayal , maybe

he was wrong after all . When he looked up he realized

the policeman was talking , " can you hear me , young

man ! " he was saying angrily , " um.. Sorry , can you ..

Can you repeat ? " stalen said timidly , " aren't you that

mike guy ? " asked the policeman , stalen , puzzled ,

said "Er....who ? I mean , err.. No .. I " , " knew it can't

be you " interrupted the policeman , quite as much to

himself than to stalen , " well , your coming with me ,

understood ? " his voice was strong , his grip was tight ,

his expression was firm , stalen knew it was no use trying

to escape , he once again , nodded to the worst , suddenly ,

the prospect of staying with the Peterson family didn't

seem such a bad idea after all .

14

" listen here , mister , your gonna wait here tell we

till we escort you inside , got it ? " stalen nodded

weakly , looking at the beady-eyed face , tapping

his leg nervously. He closed his eyes shut firmly

and stayed still , hoping that when he opened it he

would be in bed and that this all was just a dream ,

or more likely m a nightmare , but when he opened

his eyes , he was still in the same place , deeply

disappointed , he waited impatiently in the

Really uncomfortable chair that had no back ,

no hands , and was cracked in the middle , crammed

at the very corner of the empty room , and a 25 long ,

agonizing minutes later , he was steered inside .

15

stalen ,

despite himself , gave a inner gasp , the room was big , the

walls were cream colored and the chairs were light pink and

cushioned , there was some streaks of metal black here and

there . There was a chair in the middle of the room , it was

decorated in chains , so the back was pocky and uncomfortable

the color was water- rusted silver . And it looked uninviting ,

stalen guessed it was for him , behind the chair was a mixed

brown - colored table with a light black counted circle in the

middle , most probably for the hammer , " stalen thought , he

was being tried full court , no way , did people have it in for him

that much ? Stalen glanced at the people , they all looked

gleeful , he walked slowly to the chair and sat down miserably ,

not sure if he was ready for what was to come , but trying to ,

with a deep breath , he braced himself .

16

the people went silent and the judge spoke up dramatically

" hearing for the juvenile offender stalen nick sandew ,

charged for stolen paint , graviti and public items sabotage

" stalen couldn't hear any more , the rest of the judges were

muffled , like someone just jammed their fingers in his ears ,

and some time even later m the voice died away completely ,

his mind was full to bursting point , his name was

stalen nick sandew ? He really couldn't believe it ,

how was it possible ? Is that really his father ?

his fathers name is nick sandew ,Why didn't anyone

Tell him ? " because no one wanted to talk to him anyway "

he reasoned , and was he old enough to go to jail ? He hoped

not , he really did .

17

Stalen heard muffled boos and he realized it came from

the crowd , he knew he must have lost the case ,and

dropped his head , all hope was lost , we're will they send

him , what will happen to him , he felt to warm tears trickle

down his Cheeks , " oh no , think of a happy thought , think

of a happy memory ! " he told himself , but he didn't have

any happy memory , he wiped his cheeks quickly , crying

was for girls , for weak people , for baby's , he was none , a

man in white and black came to him his hands were pulled

roughly behind him , and the man dragged him forwards

toward a door he hadn't noticed before , but suddenly ,

he heard a loud booming voice " bring him back know ,

my defence wasn't spoken "

18

Chapter 7

Everyone looked up ,startled , stalen glanced quickly

behind his back and saw a man with kindly brown eyes

and little white in his healthy black hair , " sorry , but the

case had been closed already " the man shot a glare

At him , straighten his back importantly , " sir " the judge

added on second thought , "I hadn't said my defence and

its in the book of laws that everyone is allowed the place

their evidence with for or against the case , and that you

should let everyone speak before hurrying the results " the

man declared , " er , sorry but you had a chance to speak before

and you didnt , So now you can't " the judge replied firmly .

19

" your GAURDS , kept me , they asked everyone if they're

interrogators or witnesses for defence they all said interrogators

except me , so they kept me up , I wonder why " the man bellowed

with a hint of sarcasm in his voice , " oh , I'm not sure if that happened

and " " you don't believe me ? " the man said quietly , his voice

calm but dangerous " no no it's just that.." Stammered the

judge ," good , now let me speak , ehem , firstly , this boy

was seen with three other members of the , let's say , gang ,

and they all were much older than him , and probably more

responsible for everything , from stealing the brushes and

paint buckets and paint , and doing most of the gravviti ,

while the kid has never stolen before , isn't that right before

boy ? " the man asked pointedly " Er .. Yes " lied stalen ,

remembering all the days he'd escape the house at night hungry

and steal all types of snacks " see , so if you focused on getting

the more responsible trouble makers , then you'd probably would have

helped more , secondly " , "excuse me " the judge interrupted ,

" this boy was was seen doing damage , he can't be let of so easily , "

20

the man continued as if he hadn't heard " secondly ,

the boy is to young to be full-trailed full court , and what your doing is

throughly wrong , thirdly ", " how about the chair , are you gonna ignore that "

the judge interrupted yet again angrily , " the chair wasn't

his fault and if you kept up with your job and upgraded all

the public items when they become as old as they are now , nothing would

have happened , the boy walked past by and accident and hit the chair , he

wouldn't do it on purpose , it would hurt his own leg ,right ? " stalen hesitated

then slowly nodded " so you should feel lucky that he tripped over it and that

it broke so that no one would bother sitting on it rather than them thinking

is would hold their wheight and sit then get injured and it's all on

you , as for the gravviti " the man continued " it's in your book

of laws that first times only get warned and not fully charged ,

especially for a young kid , and as far as I can see , you already ,

already " he repeated " gave him a very severe enough warning , and very

severe punishment too "

21

stalen looked guiltily at the ground , was it first time ?

He tried to forget the day when he was playing ' climb the steel wall ' and

broke 3 steel bars down each other , he still had the scar of that fall .

there was a long silence that was broken by the judge " and you are ? "

" Dan Robert Jackson , brother of Rebecca arens Mathews husband

nick sandew starlen ," Dan replied , the judge looked at him with

disbelieve , nick !? The nick ?!" The judge said with wide eyes ,

Dan nodded , the judge looked in awe at him , stalen thought

that it didn't really suit him , the firmness looked better . The

judge tried to regain his- self , " check if this is true .. " he

muttered to the man in black and white who almost escorted

Stalen to trouble , the man checked through the papers swiftly

and found what he was looking for , " yes , he

is mentioned " the man replied , he judge nodded and asked " do

you readily accept your new role of a family member , uncle and legal

guardian of stalen nick sandew ? " Dan coughed and said " I can

happily say , that is correct " .

22

Chapter 8

Stalen didn't know anything that happened next his head

was swimming , he wanted to cry out , he wanted to wake

up and realize this all was a dream , " no , that's not true ,

I don't have any family , if I did , you would have taken me

way earlier " he croaked , dan looked sadly at him " I didn't

have a chance , I'm so sorry , I hope you accept my apology "

stalen thought about it as he looked Around , he hadn't noticed

they got out of the building , andthat reminded him that Dan had

just got him out if an impossible mess , and how nice it would be to

live somewhere instead of wandering uselessly around and getting

himself in trouble again , " I do , but I can't come and live with you ,

I don't think your up to it , I'm not that good little kid everyone's has

or wants , no one likes me , and I don't think you do either , I'm not

coming " stalen said very quickly , his breath getting louder. His eyes

filing up with water , " not again " he thought , he quickly blinked them

back and turned to walk away .

23

" where will you go ? " said a sympathetic voice ,

" yah , were ? " he told himself , " anywhere but

here " he answered rudely , Dan looked upset , " I

thought ....I .. " Stan stared quietly at the ground ,

it was a parking lot , with all sorts of cars and vehicles ,

all of them in different colors , some are Even Pink and

green , those odd colors " they do it for attention , most

probably , everything everyone wants nowadays is fame

and money , while all I ever asked for is a home , a family ,

Someone to love me , someone I could love ." He thought ,

" here it is , what you ask for , well at least Most of what

you could ask For that you could find. all at once , it's in

front of you , your turning it down. Then your going to

rant on your self-pity while a chance is in front of you

and it may not come again " , " ok , I , I will come "

24

Stalen hesitated , the continued " but only for now , I

may change my mind anytime anyway ,I don't to be a heavy

weight on anyone , I don't want anyone to hold anything on me "

stalen said , Dan agreed , " you won't be a heavy weight on me "

he said , stalen didn't reply , because he didn't believe , he never did ,

all this world was built in lies . " follow me " dans voice broke his train

of thought , Stan followed , his eyes still on he ground , counting

the times he sees the letter p on the black rock hard ground ,

Dan halted to a stop and stalen bumped into him " sorry " he

said , he was quite proud he said that as he was so close to

telling him he should warn others of his sudden stop , but he

didn't want to lose him that quickly , " we are there ! " Dan

exclaimed , stalen rubbed his aching hands that slammed against

Dan then turned to look for the house " err , you sure ? I don't see

anything , were still in the parking lot " stalen asked , Dan nodded

pointing at something , " yes , it's that one over there , do you see it ?

That mini-van " .

25

Chapter 9

" we're living in a minivan ?! " stalen asked incredulously ,

he was quite disappointed , because he thought , after

all he went through , he was going to end up somewhere

nice to pay back everything , not a car so old and decaying ,

so faded in colors and cracked , he didn't know where he was

better of , " oh no , it's not what it seems like , don't judge a book

by its cover " Dan chuckled , he opened the sliding door , and

stalen let out a loud gasp , the inside was the total opposite of

the outside , the colors were bright and clear , the furniture were

new and clean , and space looked way bigger than the minivan

could have brought out . " welcome home "

26

Stalen felt weird , it can't be to him that he word home was used to ,

he never actually have a home , he never felt in home ever before , and

no one ever told him he could count the place he lived in as home .

" surprised , aren't you ? Told you it's not what it seems " Dan said ,

smiling . " yeah , but why don't you , like , upgrade the outside or

something , it's not really ..." Stalen bit his tongue , he shouldn't

say anything rude before he even entered . " that trick is probably

one of the oldest in the books , but it's still so good to use , cause

no one bothers to look any further if the outside is not in their taste ,

helps keep away robbers , you know ? , Cause this isn't just a car ,

it has many valuable things inside for me " Dan replied , " smart "

stalen said approvingly , then he grew surprised at himself , he

never really complimented anyone before , and if someone in the

past told him he'd do it someday he wouldn't believe him .

27

Dan smiled appreciatively and said , " well , are we gonna stand outside all

day ? Come on in ! " stalen stepped inside and the first thing he saw were

rows and rows of books on the walls of the van , he was mesmerized by all

the shapes , sizes , colors of all books , not a fan of books himself , he was

quite surprised he was even interested , " err , am I allowed to , read

anything ? " stalen asked , " of course you can , you don't need to ask , just be carful with them . "Dan exclaimed , " oh , thanks , in my old...in the

place I used to live , I wasn't allowed to , so that's why I asked "

stalen said quietly , Danshifted nervously from foot to foot ,

then said " but that didn't stopyou , right ? " a grin came

creeping at stalen's face , and Dan , whowas relieved

at lighting the mood , laughed out loud , stalen joined

in but stopped almost right away .

28

Chapter 10

laughing wasn't a habit he usually has , or does at all all the

years he lived , he always wished he has people or friends to laugh

With , so he always laughs when Stan or his parents , whom he hates ,

gets in trouble or gets injured , he knows that as wrong , but everything

right now was wrong , like not having his parents , for instance , or

living with people like petersons family , and even though he wished he

could laugh for normal reasons like others do , he says that laughing

is for little and unsuccessful kids , a waste of time , but he didn't know

who he was convincing , them or himself , and when stalen realized

he had just laughed for a real reason , he thought joyfully that maybe

He could stay forever , that maybe this is the house for him .

29

Stalen looked over at the wall of books closely once

again , thinking about which one he wishes to read ,

but something caught his eye , there was a book with

a black leather cover and back that had no author , no

title , and no back description , pages old and yellow ,

it was so plain that it stood out , he picked it up slowly

and admired the heavy weight , he flipped through the

pages , but Only a few of the pages were full , and the

words were barely there ,so stalen had to stare at it for a

while to start to see it clearly , and the rest of the pages

were empty , completely empty .

30

stalen knew right away that this was the

right one , he was so curious that he couldn't wait , he

placed it back gently , moving his finger across the leather

cover , it felt surprisingly smooth , it was Weird but pleasant , he was

surprised by his sparked interest and his gentle placing of

the book , that wasn't the his usual type , but he realized that

maybe it's because books now meant something important to

him , he has something he could share , and that was something

that never happened to him before .

31

he heard Dan call him , but

he ignored him , he still didn't now him well enough , he wished

he could just stay a bit Longer , not only to read the book , he

wanted to know everything that happened , and he knew that

only Dan can help him , he gave the book one last glance and

trudged to Dan , " I want to know about everything , now " stalen

didn't care how he sounded , for this long he was kept in the dark ,

relying on guesses , he didn't want to stay a single day like that

ever again . " everything will be explained tomorrow , there is no

need to worry " Dan said , stalen shot him an angry look but Dan

didn't see it as his back was turned , and after a few seconds stalen

was glad he didn't see , because that might have meant the end of

being here . Of the new life . Of HIS new life .

32

Chapter 11

" bed time , now , go on " Dan said merrily , " it's over there "

he pointed at a plain room in the corner , he was so happy he

had a child in his own care , he always wished to have a child

but never found the right woman to be his wife and his child's

mother , so this was the best next thing , he he enjoyed doing

things usual parents hate and take for granted like telling their

children rules they now they won't even follow or talking about

something they know will start a argument , but that made Dan

feel like a father , " but.. " stalen argued , he would have stubbornly

refused but the time he felt so tired , and felt his eyes heavy ,closing .

" fineee " he said , but secretly he was happy , because no one ever

bothered to tell him any rule or anything before , he usually jeers at

others and tells them that they were wimpy for listening to their parents

and sleeping early and not eating ice cream before dinner , they always

looked jealously at him , which he liked , but he always wished there was

someone to care for him and give him rules like any other normal child ,

so when he pretended to grumble and mumble while going to bed , he

had a tiny jump in his steps that he was trying so hard to hide .

33

When he opened his bedroom door . He was hit by sudden

disappointment , the room was white , plain and empty except

for one tiny chair and a Tiny bed , no better than his other room ,

he thought that if everything changed for him then so would this ,

but he knew he should be grateful anyway , but he could barely

hide his disappointment , " oh yeah , I know , it's not that colorful

like the other rooms , sorry bout that , it's because i didn't know

your coming , I was still looking for you , I didn't know you that well ,

I wasn't sure if your coming with me or what exactly would happen ,

so this room was just a guest room , sometimes if I'm really tired I

sleep here , but usually I don't sleep , I just take naps , so I take my

cat nap outside on the couch , i don't really need full sleep , I'm usually

either driving to somewhere important for my work , or working online

on my laptop , if I'm bored I just read. You know. I think you noticed ,

I'm kind of a book person , my only company " Dan chuckled , tho

there was something quite the opposite in his eyes .

34

" maybe one day we can go shopping and get some stuff to decorate

your room " Stalen nodded and looked at the bed , he didn't know why

he didn't notice that before because even though it was plain , it looked

warm , nice , and Inviting , unlike in his other room , were he just had a thin

teared blanket that was a really old and dirty hand-me-down , and a

pillow stuffed with crunched up paper balls ,he jumped it to bed

and looked at Dan , he gathered the courage to utter the single word

that he only ever heard people use but never imagined or guessed he

ever would , " night " , Dan smiled at him and replied with twinkling

eyes " goodnight , stalen " he closed the door , feeling like he just

did a huge achievement , only children tell their parents these

words , or people they really love , ' I can really count stalen as mine '

Dan thought , and before stalen fell asleep in front of all that happened

that day , he he gave a smile of pleasure , he didn't know that just a

word can make someone feel that way , and then he fell almost instantly

into deep sleep . Deep sleep ....

35

Chapter 12

The next morning he woke up , feeling refreshed , and

stared at the ceiling , a bit confused , he forgot what

happened and was thinking, why does this room look

so different , And then everything hit him , and to let

out the strong emotions welling up inside him , he jumped

off the bed and ran outside , Dan was sitting the the couch

" good morning sleepy head , it's already 3 o' clock in the

afternoon , I thought you'd wake up tomorrow , " Dan

laughed , " well , I need the bathroom but decided to wait

for you , I'm going now , then I'm going to get breakfast

ready , you must be hungry " stalen nodded , feeling his

stomach rumble and went inside the kitchen to check it

out , and once again he was , against his will , impressed .

36

even though it was small in size , the kitchen was full of all

the things you could need , and even though stalen didn't

know so much in this kind of thing , he noticed that they

all were on the latest version , looking more luxurious than

the things in petersons house , and that was something as

they were always extremely interested in showing off and

getting the best things , stalen looked around , the kitchen

was brown-black color , that showed how clean and neat

the kitchen was , there was a chair in the middle of the room

and a window at the side of the wall , the view was great ,

But stalen was a bit surprised they moved from the parking

lot to a office building , then he remembered that the house

was a minivan , stalen went outside just as Dan exited the

bathroom , stalen went inside and locked the door ,examining

the dark blue color of the bathroom , it looked good because

almost everything ,concept the toilet paper . As in the same

color , even the seat , " take a bath , I got some cloth ready for

you in your room " stalen nodded , not aware no one will see it ,

he heard the sound of a door closing and wondered what door

was being closed .

37

Stalen wondered wich door could it be , but lost interest , soon , he was out and wrapped in a towel. Shivering , the water was cold and stalen didn't take long , and the water couldn't really be enjoyed , he went inside the room and changed . He heard Dan saying "I hope the cloth fit , I drove to the office building because that street had a cloth shop , but I didn't now if was your size , I'm hoping it is " stalen chuckled and went to the bathroom again to look at his bizarre appearance , he cloth were fine but they were a bit short and tight , when he went out Dan said " well , it could last a few days. Maybe one day i can go get some cloths and take you with me to choose " stalen smiled and sat at the table , the food smelled great and stalen heard his stomach grumble again , he picked up the fork and spoon but found it hard to eat that way so he placed it down and started eating the way he always does , with his hands , gulping down the food noisily , he was so hungry . But unlike Peterson , Dan didn't criticize him . " did you make this food ? It tastes good " Dan laughed and said " I'm glad you think so. But I'm no THAT Good at cooking , on , i think I'm not good at all , I bought this " both laughed and continued stuffing chicken legs , fries , and drinking soup .

38

When they were done , stalen washed his hands quickly and helped with the Washing up . Dan was coughing suspiciously unrealistically and stalen knew it was fake " errrr ... You want something ? " he asked , " oh no . I mean .. Yes .. Soo ... So I was going to say that I'm going to leave for some hours to do .. Err .. Something.. I mean ... Do some work and .. Yeah , so .. Err .. Yeah .. And you can do anything you want until I come and then we can talk about anything you'd like " stalen was growing suspicious by every word but the last sentence cleared things up . A little . " oh no . You promised to talk after I woke up , I'm awake , then you said after I take a shower and change and eat and I AGREED , now your telling me after you come !! " " I'm sorry .. Really . My Mail.. I mean my work can't wait , but the talk can .. I won't forget my self in those few hours . Haha..ha.h..a..h...." He laughed nervously , and the went hurriedly to the drivers seat . Avoiding eye contact .

39

Chapter 13

After Dan left , stalen groaned , looking around , trying to familirize himself

With his new surroundings , after some time looking around , he got bored and slumped back on the couch , his eyes closing . When he woke up he decided to check out the books more carfuly , he stretched and stood up , walking towards the book wall , he eyes slowly serched for that book , the one book that really caught his eyes last time , but after what seemed like a long time he still couldn't find it . He was about to give up when suddenly at tye corner of his eyes he caught sight of something " read me .... read me " it seemed to say it was dark - brown , old , big , heavy and ... blank .

40

Stalen stretched his hands and pulled it slowly put of its

shelf , gently trying to make the other books stay still ,

as he went back to the couch and opened the book

really carfuly , stalen was surprised by how he was

treating the book , but he felt like he should , a gut

feeling . " just be carfuly with them " he heard his

mind tell him , he shook his head and tried to ignore

all his feelings , something he didn't know existed

till know , and Finally , finally he got to know what

this book talked about ! He shifted a little , trying to

get himself into a more comfortable position , and

placed the book on his lap , he slowly began to

read .

41

Chapter 14

' this is a myth , a legend, a story that went on

for century's farther than you can ever imagine

but most people forgot it , all except my grandma ,

she used to tell me this story all the time , and I

loved it plot , so that i always asked for it again , this

is the story I would like to share to you , but be aware , this not

just any old story , keep that in mind . Let's start at the

beginning , as my grandmother used to say . At the

very beginning . It all started with this...

42

There was this old man who had once saved the life of

 a young lady from drowning and always reminds her

  of it , " what can I do to pay back what I owe  

   You , good man ? " she always asks

   whenever he reminds her " there is nothing

now you could do that I can't do " everyday was

 the same , until the young lady felt that finally

   he forgotten her great dept and started to

 breath a tiny bit more freely , one day the man

 called her over , and when she came , he told

 her " remember how I saved your life ? "

and the poor  girl looked down and nodded ,

 ' he had far from forgotten '  she thought .

  " well , I have something for you to do

  that will pay back your dept " .

43

" if you didn't know , I'm a principal at a ... Let's say ... umm

 .. unsual school , and I had unuckly been ,  cursed ...Err. ..

I mean , diagnosed , ..yeah.diagnosed...with cancer ... so

 i'm sure to die soon , I want you , when I die , to come

 out to take a place as a teacher in school and then meet

your brother , who I know he and his gang will take over the

school to ruin just out of spite , tell him that I kidnapped you

and when you died you came as quickly as possible to them ,

 to anything to convict them your with them , I don't think it will

 be hard , he adores you , your job is to protect students , but

don't let anyone k ow , not even the students .... " the woman

was so confused and puzzled but promised to do her best .

 " Your best is not enough , I want you do save every student ,

every single one "

44

So the young woman did as told , and lucky manged

 to convince her brother , who , shamefuly , was a

member of a gang , A murderer .And got a job , she

saw things in that school , that she says was like

 magic , but she never said more , and every time

 a child gets sent to the gang member she tells

them she'd like to punish them instead , and she

gives them the most severe punishment to not

 arouse suspicion but the lest physically harmful

one she can find , she never manages to save

 them all , but she did do a great job , and no one ,

 no one ever knew her true identity , and the children

would called her " the worst bratty teacher " and

 way worse things behind her back , and she knew

 it , but was forced to hide her identity , all her life

wasted pay g back the old man , she liked to help

students , she really did , but she died hated , known

 as " the evil Mary queen 3" on the papers of all the

old police cases as must be found , while she spent

her life protecting  the kids . '

45

 stalen turned the next page , there were lots of other

pages , but they all were empty . He placed the book

 back and thought on what he read , he felt aomething ,

a new feeling , something he never felt before , and

 then he realized what it was , it was pity , " it's just

 a stupid charcter " he told himself , but he couldn't

 help it , before he could think more about it , he heard

 the door open and looked up to see Dan coming in ,

 " hey stalen " stalen didn't answer , 'you just remembered

 to come home ' he thought sarcastically .he went into his

own  room , sulking  , then remembered that  he was just about

 to know the truth he wanted , waited for for too long , in no time

 he had zoomed out of the room and to Dan , who was sitting

 the table , already changed . " are you going to tell me now ?

 Or do you have another stupid excuse " he bit his tongue ,

noo , he was not supposed to be that rude , and , reading

 the expression  Dan had , he knew he was going to be on

the streets...again " I'm sorry , stalen , I" stalen couldn't hear

any more , he knew he was about to be kicked out right that

 moment " ok .. I'm going ...I. ..yea..fine...err. .ok...whatever...

 I'll leave...Its ok.... " and out of the door he went .

46

" wait " he felt a iron grip on his arms , and

stalen didn't bother to lift his head , and

even if he did , he wouldn't , because he

doesn't want anyone to see him crying

'  boys don't cry ' that's what everyone a

lways tell him , thats how it all started ,

that's how he stopped feeling . " yeah ,

ok , I know , I don't want my stuff , I don't

have much , they're not important ,

they're mostly yours in the first place "

he croaked m trying to pull his arm

free but his grip was to hard . He was

pulled back inside , stalen felt his

face must be dry enough and looked

up he saw Dan looking incrediously

at him " what in the world has gone

wrong with you ? " .

47

stalen didn't know what type of

game he was playing " your..your

the one who told me to go.. go out "

" told you what ? You kidding me right ?

Since when ! " stalen was getting

frustrated " you just said so , you

said I'm sorry stalen .. " stalen

couldn't countinue , he didn't

know what else to say " oh my

god , are your ears still working "

chuckled Dan " I said , I'm sorry

Dan for telling you late , let's sit

down and I will tell you everything "

stalen looked stunned " really ! "

he asked , Dan nodded , chuckling

stalen breathed a quite sigh of

relief and Dan made a sercastic

bow , hands outstretched " may

you " stalen forced a chuckle

and walked to the table , Dan

right behind him , they both

pulled and chair and sat down ,

stalen finally satisfied that the

answers he and ways seeked

is finally here.

48

Well , as you alread'y know , I'm your uncle , and ,

well , your father died when your were one ,

after the incident , the one were you pushed

your father towards the shot..look . I'll tell

you something , you were only one , really ,

it just was a wrong movement at tge wrong

time , when I think about it , it's so odd that

people think of you that way when your just

one at the time , but it's just that your father

was someone famous , really famous , he

was in the army at 13 years when the world

war two started and he helped win it , leaving

unharmed . He was then promoted general

and , among other things he did for the people ,

he , he was just really loved amongst his people

And people were shocked that he manged to

survive many many things and gets beaten by

a single push of yours , they thought you must

have some sort of evil power .

49

they really weren't that sure , but they

thought it's better just to avoid you to be

on the safe side ... so .. your ... Your mom did abandon

you and she went to marry another man , and they

married and got a child , who's name is Mike sandew ,

because the mother insisted to name him after your

father and your step dad .so you see ? You do have

a mother , even though she reqlly isn't that nice ,

and you do have a stepdad , me , and your

half-brother , you do have family , you

do .

50

The next day stalen woke up , a bit more

used to the house , he remembered all

that Dan had told him and asked himself

" are answers really what I wanted , or did

I just want lies as long as therye good news ?

" stalen shook his head and went out , we're

he found a plate of scrambled eggs in front

of him a part of it black and burned , stalen

remembered what Dan has said " I'm not really

that great a cook " stalen chuckled quitely and

started eating .

51

when his plate was finished he went in

and changed into proper cloth , as Dan

had told him they were going to go out to shop

for cloth , and stalen was secretly very excited ,

after changing he went into the bathroom and

brushed his teeth with thz nez toothbrush dan

got for him , and then went out to find Dan out

of his bedroom , all ready , and driving "

goodmorning stalen , you already up and

ready ? good " soon Dan stopped and

practically jumped right out of the van ,

stalen right behind him , for stalen , he

felt like he'll have the best day

ever .

52

Stalen was right , it was the best day ever ,

even tho he pretended he didn't like it all

the day long " shopping is for girls " he

kept complaining , but he was secretly

enjoying every single minute of it . He

had went to over 12 shops to finally

find some clothing he liked that fit ,

the shirt was plain blue and the pants

black , yes , stalen liked simple colors

and simple things . But the best part

Of the day was when Dan asked him

a question " do you want other cloths ?

You only choose one " " nah , I don't

want anymore , one is fine " dan

smiled and said " well , we still

have one more shop to visit " ,

puzzled , stalen followed .

53

" an iPad ! Really ? I ... I never had

something as valuable as this .. it

...petersons son had one and i...

I never imagine I'll get one ...it ...

thank you " stalen said quitely "

it's nothing really " Dan answered ,

smiling really big , he felt great

because he worried his gift won't

please stalen " well , let's go

home and then you can try out

your ipad " stalen nodded , and

they both walked to the minivan ,

their home ' that's the best part

about the minivan , your house

is always close to you " he thought .

He changed in world record timing

and went into his bed to check out

his first valuable belonging .

54

" er... hey , look " stalen called , he always

trys to avoid calling Dan because he didn't

know what to adress him " Dan walked

towards him and peered at is ipad "

is that another of the games your

downloading ? " he asked " yeah ,

is it nice ? " " great" Dan answered ,

wiping his hand on his cloth .thats

how the whole day was spent until

night came " well , it's getting late ,

aren't you gonna go to bed ?" Dan

asked , spent taken didn't want to

dissapoint Dan just after he got

him an iPad so he nodded and

went to bed .

55

Stalen was still awake even after he

heard Dan go to bed , his eyes just

didn't seem to close , he tried

changing his postion into a more

comfortable one but he still couldn't

fall asleep , stalen sighed and pulled

the blankets of him , and got out , slowly

so as to not wake the snoring Dan , he

walked towards the outside window ,

There was a full moon that day , and

it shone ever so brightly , as stalen

looked outside , seeking the comfort

the moon always gave him , his eyes

caught something , an envelope " an

envelope ? That's odd , envelope's are

so old now , it's mostly just mails on

devices or something " stalen thought ,

he wanted to check it out , but his gut

kept telling him not to , so he just went

back to bed , and right so , because he

heard Dan's footsteps walking right

outside of his room .

56

He next day when stalen woke up he

found Dan already in the drivers street

" hi " stalen said "goodmorning stalen "

Dan said cheerily . Stalen once again

found burnt breakfast ready for him ,

grinning , he say down and ate , after

he finished he went to the bathroom

then changed , he thought he should

if Dan is driving , he checked himself

out in the bathroom mirror , his new

cloth looked great . when he came

out he found Dan already seated on

the table , holding the envelope he

so badly wanted to see "hey stalen ,

Soo ... err.. there's something I need

to tell you " he chuckled nervously

"what is it " stalen asked suspiously .

" well , your mom and err .. your

family asked you to come visit

them and.. " " no " stalen intrupted

marching back into his room ,

" please stalen , I can't say no ,

I .. please don't make it hard for

me . Just .. just this one visit ,

please " stalen didn't answer ,

but finally , after a long time ,

he nodded .

57

" thanks , thank you , well , the date said today so.."

"you were gonna go and take me anyway , it wasn't

my choice , if the date is today.." stalens voice

trailed off , his eyes cold "no no it's just that they

said...you now ... ok , well , Im there , I've been driving

all night to the adress they wrote, well , let's get out

now since youve changed already " stalen grunted

and existed the minivan , Dan right behind him ,

nevoursly fingering his hands .

58

Stalen stood onto the streets " all i see

is deserted area , not a single house ,

is this some kind of jo.." before stalen

could continue , he fell inside the street

 itself and right onto a white painted floor .

"Ke" groaned stalen ," smart huh ? No one

will know , honestly , I'm really impressed

how nicely the trapdoor blended with the

rest of the street , they won't open that

trapdoor unless they're welcoming

someone " "some kind of welcome "

stalen murmered , rubbing his aching

back . , everywhere he looks he sees

plain white empty room that it made

feel like he's some creepy maze "Well ,

in the envelope it says theyre in room

206 " stalen looked around to find a

room with that number , but then he

said " the rooms , they don't have

numbers on them , at all . "

59

" 201 " " go on , were really close "

stalen cheered Dan on , " 202 ,

204 , 205 ,206 " " stalen smiled

" here we are " he looked inside

the room but it was plain empty

like all others , dissapointment

hit him " oh no , we must have

been doing this all wrong , look !

The room is literally same thing "

" oops , I think I missed one

number , I missed 203 . So it's

the next one " stalen breathed

a sigh of relief and walked to

the next room , he took a deep

breath and opened the door .

60

The door opened wide open , but all

he saw was a single mirror " still ,

better than nothing " he thought ,

he entered the room , but when

Dan tried the follow , he was thrown

back outside and the door slammed

shut , stalen breath caught , but he

tried to ignore what just happened ,

taking a deep breath , and walked

towards the mirror , when he looked

, he saw himself , just normal .

61

stalen let out a breath he didn't

know he was holding , and looked

again , more confident this time ,

but slowly , his image changed ,

the mirror changed into a picture ,

there were two sides , both divided

in the middle , and tgere were two

stalens , wait , no , on one side was

stalen , and on the other was ... was

mike ? As stalen looked closely at

his side , he saw acrows slowly

emerging behind him , he turned

his head sharply behind him , but

there was no one , he looked

towards the mirror again and focused

on the crowd , they were all frowning ,

and when he looked at kike side , he

also saw a crowd , but this time ,

they were smiling .

62

" hello there , stalen " stalen heard the

mirror said , he almost fell from shock ,

as he looked closely at the mirror he

saw that mike was speaking , and as

he spoke , so did his crowd , "you , the

hero , the loved one right . " stalen said

bitterly , his crowd spoke the same thing ,

bitterly as well , suddenly , stalen realized

what he has to do , it was an idea , It may

Not work , but just as well , it may

work .

63

Stalen forced himself to close his eyes ,

he remembered all the good tiens he

had with Dan , how he laughed , smiled ,

grinned , joked , even when he cried , he

was still letting out emotion, he was starting

to become a new person , he should let his

crowd know that . " the crowd copy our

expressions when we speak , don't they ?

" stalen took a deep breath and peed his

eyes , glad to see he was smiling , " oh ,

sorry about that , must have been the devil ,

hello Mike , how do you do ? " he asked

sweetly , he looked at his crowd nothing

happened , stalen got a little dissapointed

but forced himself to keep smiling " how

dare you act sweet and nice to me after

being rude at first , stop acting alright !"

Mike said angry , then realized what he

did , his big mistake , he slapped his

forehead and groaned , he opened his

eyes , still the crowds were the

Same .

64

that made mike grin , "thank god " he

murmered , stalen , started to get

more dissapoint ed ," oh well , it

was a good idea ,don't let yourself

lose that smile , who knows . He

forced a bigger smile and suddenly ,

The mirror shone very brightly and

after stalens eyes adapted to the

brightness , he saw the crowds

switching places , stalen couldn't

believe it , now he had the smile

crowd on his side , " could i do

that in real life ? " he thought ,

but the joy of what happened

made him postive , if I can do

this here , I'm sure to do it there ,

he had closed his eyes and didn't

dare hear what mike was saying ,

he needn't have worried , his anger

at losing his crowd just made him

more bitter , . " I guess I was right "

stalen thought " it's all about

how they see it " .

65