Prologue

There are many types of humans in the world.

Some are good, some are bad and some can't be categorized.

I am just a normal human if I had to say.

Not too good, not too bad or I, at least, hope so.

A normal school student with a normal life, with a normal house, a normal family, normal friends. Everything from my homework to my clothes was normal, even my face and the 8th Grader Syndromme, the usual dragon in my hand. Nothing too original.

But there was one thing strange about me.

My father.

Well, he was not strange per se but he was similar to a spartan.

No, he had his lovable and kind moments... with mom, not us, brothers.

My older brother also got fed up with dad and his methods but it was too late for him.

The next thing, he realizes is that he is challenging dad to a boxing match to move out of the house.

That was when he realized he couldn't be normal.

He told me something very important that day.

"Listen, Rudger, you... you can be saved so run."

His blood red eyes wouldn't allow me to say anything else.

"I will get a taxi and pun- pay him to take to our aunt's place."

I was sure he was gonna say 'punch'. He had really gone far too deep.

I looked at dad, who was at the bottom of the boxing ring.

He lost the fight and had his face completely broken.

My brother won the fight and was about to move out.

"Stay at aunt's house until I find a place and invite you, okay?"

I could only nod when my mother came in nonchalantly with a first aid kit and started fixing my father.

"Okay, I will call the taxi first before he wakes up then."

Too bad, father woke up before the taxi could come.

I had to stay in that house until my brother got a place.

It was not bad until the spartan decided that he would remove all my weaknesses.

He brought bicycle and threw me on it.

"Now, ride."

'At least, speak proper sentences. Hurry up, brother.'

I cursed him and called my brother.

The next thing I knew after learning how to ride was that I was filled with scratches and cuts. And somehow, was on a ship.

This gave me a premonition of some kind.

Why?

Because I don't know how to swim.

I just hope that he won't throw me overboard and speak two words again.

Unlike cycling, you won't end up with only scratches if you fail here.

The endless ocean was spanning right before my eyes.

*Creak*

I took a step away from the railing of the old, creaky boat and watched the sunset.

My dad walked beside me and sighed.

I could almost hear him say 'Jump.' so I got ready.

"Son, I'm proud of you."

"Huh?"

I raised my voice in surprise as I was caught off-guard.

For the first time since I was a kid, I saw a small smile on his face.

"Both you and your brother make me real proud by growing up better than I imagined."

Yeah, and breaking your nose to move out.

"My father used to take me to this spot. He said that there is something lying below in this place. Something sacred. Don't tell your brother. We can only show this place to one child."

He raised his rough, big hands and patted my head.

It was wider than my head and strong enough to crush it but it felt strangely warm.

He then turned around and left the place.

I felt a cool breeze from the ocean, making me want to take a dive but I wasn't dumb enough to do it.

I walked to the railing and leaned on it as I breathed in the cold air.

"It feels good."

I smiled slightly.

I don't remember doing anything big like my brother, who was a genius yet somehow hearing that I made my dad proud had a strange feel to it.

*Creak* *Thud* *Splash*

It was at that moment life decided it had enough of me.

The railing broke throwing me into the deadly ocean.

*Splash* *Splash*

I flapped my hands around to swim.

If I couldn't learn how to swim, I would die.

My premonition did come true, after all.

Soon, I started to floated a little.

*Crack*

People die of wars, famines and hunger while I, Rudger, died of leg cramp.

Just as I began to swim, I got a leg cramp and sank faster.

*Bubbles*

My luck really decided that it had enough of living from one school test to another school test.

*Splash*

Right before I closed my eyes, I saw someone jump into the water but my joy was short-lived as I felt something pull me.

Something deep called me. Not my body but it felt like a call to my soul.

I wasn't a hardworker or lazy, just somewhere in between.

The kind that knew when to give up.

I knew it was time to die and I accepted it.

The pain of having my lungs filled with air was bad, real bad. Maybe death would be better.

I closed my eyes just when I felt a pull on my hand.

'Ah~ My dad is here. I can't leave him. How would he feel if I died? I haven't even seen brother's new house yet. Mom's food.... I could live without the last one.'

I tried to open my eyes but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't open it.

My body was being pulled upwards but something told me I was going down deeper into the ocean.

That was how I died.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x

"WAAAAHHHH!!"

In a small room, a teenager looking woman took a baby and handed it to the tired woman on the bed.

The woman had a small smile on her face as she passed the baby.

"Congratulations! It's a boy."

The tired lady then gave a tired smile that was filled with love and stopped moving after closing her eyes.

The teenager looking woman had some tears in her eyes as she saw the woman pass away but she wiped them away and picked the baby boy.

She hugged the boy and cuddled him.

"It's going to be okay~ Shh~"

It wasn't until the baby slept that he kept crying.

People thought it was because he knew that his mother died but the baby had it's own problems to take care of.