Chapter 36 - The Doubled Edged Sword of Machineries

"What is that... thing? Khoohk."

"It's a low maintenance, solar-charged, battery-powered, automatic mower! Lun-Lun for short! It's like a home cleaner bot, but for outdoors."

"Lun-Lun...? Khoohk. Is that the real name of that thing...? Khoohk."

"No. I named it myself. Isn't it cute?"

Cute...? How can a black, box-like thing with a black mirror-like thing on the top, a sharp blade on the front, two wheels on both sides, and a spinning blade below look cute?!

"With this baby, and its thousands of brothers and sisters in this container van, we'll cut all those flowers in the fields in no time!!! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha!"

So this is her plan... It's brilliant!!!

"All you need to do is put the battery on, press the button, and set it free!"

"Uhmm... Khoohk. How did you know that there's a truck full of mowers out here...? You were fast asleep when we got here. Khoohk."

"I'm always in the hospital, Lionel. My only companions are books and the TV so, I always watch the news. I remembered that a group of maintenance workers are protesting in front of this same nature reserve because they've all been laid off from their work. Sadly, they're all being replaced by these robots."

"Oh... Khoohk."

Silence...

(Lionel's thoughts: She sure has a good memory...)

"Pretty convenient for us, huh...? Khoohk..."

"Well, that's the reward for siding with righteousness! What are you waiting for? Bring these cute little robots to the flower fields already! Let them start cutting!!!"

Cute little robots...?

"Aye! Aye! Commander!"

And so, I brought the entire 'cute little robot' mowers in the flower fields using the bicycle with the passenger seat and set them free! Man! That is the longest and tiring night of my life! I went back and forth from the container van to the flower fields for so many times! Gosh... I didn't know that the flower fields are that vast! I need to ride the bike for a long way just to place the mowers in the distant parts! It's so tiring! I'm so tired, my mind became numb! Still, I did what needs to be done.

Thankfully, we finished all of that hard work by daybreak. We deployed and activated all those robot mowers. After a few hours, Elis said that the pollen count will severely drop. So much, that it wouldn't affect and harm anyone anymore. Everyone is safe. She miscalculated a little bit when she said that they only have six hours to live.

"They're just sleeping anyway, doing nothing. They can live up to two days without food or water," she said.

Thank goodness... What a relief! We're safe now. We're all saved!

Elis offered to bike us back to the city. I'm quite embarrassed because I should be the one doing that. But I'm so tired, and my whole body hurts. So I accepted her offer and sat at the passenger seat, saying that I'll pay her back someday. She smiled... And then everything slowly went black...

This time, I know that it's not the doing of a Grim Casket...

This time, I know that I have truly fallen asleep...

This time, I know that when I wake up, I will not be in a world of lies, or in a world of dreams...

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"Wake up, Lionel. We're here."

I opened my eyes... We're in front of a hospital...

"I don't know where you live... So, I went here."

"It's okay."

I removed my gas mask.

"You've done a lot already. Thank you. I'll pay you back someday."

"Hey, don't think about it. You want to grab some snacks...?"

"Uhmm... I still need to return this bike and grass cutter to the convenience store."

"Oh... You're right."

Silence...

"That's a long bike ride you did, Elisa."

"Yeah..."

"You need to rest."

"Yeah, I know."

Silence...

"Don't worry, I'll visit you."

"I'll be expecting that."

"Get some sleep, okay?"

"I will."

Silence...

I sat on the bicycle seat...

"Good bye."

"No, see you later!"

(Elisa's Point of View)

I went inside the hospital. Then I remembered, I'm not gonna stay here anymore.

I went back outside to call Lionel. I want to tell him where I live so he can visit me. But he's far away already... Sigh... Am I going to follow him again? Well, I have nothing else to do so I started walking.

He slowly made his way towards the convenience store. He opened the glass doors and carefully returned the bike. He then returned the grass cutter and the gas mask to its proper places. After that, he went outside, and slowly walked away. I'm secretly following him because I want to know where he lives. I also want to surprise him.

Before that, I made a quick pit stop to the convenience store and grabbed some drinks and snacks. We'll surely need it for all the talking we'll do!

I wonder where he lives. What does his house look like...?

(Lionel's Point of View)

I returned the bike, grass cutter, and the gas mask to the convenience store... Good... Everything is done! Everything is in order! Yes! I can finally go back home and get some rest!

I opened the glass door, removed my Game Helm, and started walking...

Play time's over. With Elisa's help, we both finished one of the many millions of story mode in The Server of Iris...

The game is over... My dream world fantasy is over... Back to the real world...

Home...

I'm not sure if I really want to go back home... But I'm still walking... My feet kept on moving. Even if I'm tired, and my mind is numb, thoughts wandering aimlessly, my feet knows the way. I remember the road. It's like, I already memorized all the tiles, cracks, landmarks, streets, nooks, and crannies of this route...

Because I walked this same road for so many times...

Do I really want to go back home...?

(Elisa's Point of View)

I removed my Game Helm. Lionel is acting really strange. He's walking slowly and it looks as if he doesn't know where he's going! He's slowly turning his head left and right. Is he sight-seeing or something? Does he know where he is? Is he lost? Taking his time? Hanging around? Does he know that I'm following him and he's just playing with me...? No... If he knew, he'll just call me and we'll walk together to his home...

Where are you going, Lionel...?

After half an hour of walking, he stopped in front of an old abandoned building. It looks quite scary because it has that haunted feeling. It's really old. The paint is gone, the windows are broken, it's rusty, dusty, and the whole place is littered with dried leaves, newspapers, and plastic wrappers. The whole place is so old; grass and moss are everywhere...

Lionel gently pushed the rusty gates aside and slowly entered... He walked on the grounds full of grass, stopped at the middle, looked up, and stared the building for a long time...

Then he screamed a weak shout... He slowly fell to his knees, bowed his head and cried... really hard... I can't describe it... In front of me, I see a broken boy, with a broken heart... I felt really sad... I want to help him in any way and comfort him but, I just stood there, watching... I think its better that way... to let it all out... To just let him cry...

(Author's Note: Dearest Reader, do you remember what I've said in Chapter 12, "To have a great game, you need a great story"? It doesn't matter if the player is an orphan, or a street children, or a delinquent, or an out-of-school youth, or uneducated, or a country bumpkin, or jobless, or a nobody, or a loser. Everyone is welcome in the Server of Iris. To tell you more would spoil the story of Lionel. But I can tell you this - If a player can't buy the Game Gear, we can rent it to them, but with a condition - They must be careful enough in using the Game Gear to avoid repair fees. It's like, students and gamers renting computers with internet connection on a Computer Café when their school day is over. If a player doesn't have any money, they can pay the rental fee with the money they generated while playing in S.O.I. The rest of the money they earned, they can keep. I hope this notes clarifies some things and clear up any confusion I've caused. Thank you very much for reading and for your continued support.)