Weird Day.

~blink, blink~

I blink a few times to make sure that I am awake, but it seems like I'm only seeing the white ceiling above me.

Huh? Where am I? I can remember that after I came out of the void, I saw the old man before I passed out.

~shuffle~ 

I sit up to get a proper view of my surroundings, as the soft bed I am lying on shuffles.

"Ack!...Owl"

My head hurts, no, it's not just my head, my whole body, especially my muscles. It feels as if they have been twisted in a weird way.

Could it be the aftermath of being stuck in that void?

Looking around, I notice the familiar environment, it's a hospital ward. I think the old man brought me here after I passed out.

~Sigh~

How many strange things can happen to a person in a day?

First, I was kicked by a WEIRD old man, then I drew a WEIRD glowing symbol. After that, I followed a WEIRD route that led me to the WEIRD old man's WEIRD house, then I had a WEIRD accident that led me to the WEIRD void, and now I'm in this WEIRD hospital ward.

Ok, maybe the hospital ward isn't weird; it's like the only normal place I've seen today or was it yesterday?

What a WEIRD DAY.

Still, I can't get this question out of my head, "What actually happened to me?"

Could it be that my consciousness drifted away while my body passed out?

Wait, if that's actually the case, then it means, the authors of those fantasy stories are not making things up.

It's all REAL.

There's a very slim chance if that being the case, but another thing that can explain it is a near-death experience, Maybe I fainted and the old man did all he could to bring me back to life and it worked. 

And that void, is it where people who faint stay?

If I fainted, why was I standing, and why was the man on guard?

So me fainting is not the answer then; that aside, I feel like I'm forgetting something very important. I so much hate this feeling; I've dealt with it for the last two years, but this feeling is much stronger, like, I'm forgetting something that's more important even than my lost memory.

[Note: He does remember what happened in the void, but not what he saw after touching his reflection]

I have a tingling feeling that it's something related to that void, but searching through what I remember, I don't think I'm forgetting anything. 

"Urgh..."

Groaning in frustration of not being able to put what happened into words that will make sense, I clench the side of my blue bed sheets as I let myself fall back.

"Ack, still hurts" I moan in pain.

"So you're awake?" A voice said coming from the door.

"Huh? Old man, how long have you been standing there?"

"I just came in a few seconds ago, but it seemed like you were lost in thought to even notice my presence," he said as he takes a chair and sits beside Gideon's bed.

Gideon sits back up but doesn't say anything.

"I like you, kid. Despite what happened, you still look calm. You're just like a mirror image of myself," the old man said, but he notices Gideon begins to swear profusely.

Mirror, no not a mirror, it's...creepy.

*What's wrong with him?* the old man thinks while looking at Gideon.

"So old man, do you know what happened to me?" Gideon asks after calming down. 

"I know you'll eventually ask, but if I tell you, you wouldn't believe me, and it's not like I have any proof. I doubt you want to hear it too," the old man says.

"I know what happened isn't normal, so I won't be surprised no matter how stupid it sounds. So please tell me, old man, what exactly happened to me?" Gideon says in a serious tone.

"Since you're being so unusually polite, I'll tell you what happened," the old man said, and Gideon nods, eager to hear what he wants to say.

~Sigh~

After heaving a sigh, the old man decides to talk.

"The thing is, I was trying to save you from...YOU," the old man said.

"...Heh?" Gideon said with a stupid look on his face.

"Wait, that wasn't funny?" The old man asks in a confused tone.

"I was really working hard on that to make it sound so funny" he mutters to himself.

". . ."

What's with the boring sense of humor? I know I told him I'd believe whatever he says, but he tries to make a joke off this situation? Wait...he could be testing me. I guess I need to laugh.

"...ha ha ha, it's funny, see, I laughed" I said with a weird smile.

"Are you trying to make me feel worse?" He asks.

". . ." Honestly, I'm speechless.

"Ok, here's what happened, you fell from the tree and fainted, but before I could reach you, you stood up and..." The old man pauses.

"And?" I ask.

Yeah, I knew I passed out, but what happened when I stood up, what's with the suspense? Is he a drama king?

"...you ran mad," the old man said.

"huh...?" I said with a stupid look on my face.

"You collapsed, and when you stood up, you ran mad," the old man repeats.

"Heh?" I ask again, not believing what he's saying. He's probably lying to cover up the truth.

~Sigh~

"I know you wouldn't believe me, absurd right? I brought you to this hospital for a mental check, and you're ok," the man said, nodding.

What's going on? It seems like the weird day isn't over yet, but, what did I do that made him think I ran mad?

"How do people run mad?" I ask him, I need to know why he thinks I ran mad.

"Hmm?" He hums in question.

"I mean, what did I do that made you think I ran mad?" I ask curiously.

"A lot of things, like; you just started dancing, and singing, you know the typical mad people's character, right? I was surprised at first, but then again, considering who you were, it's not entirely impossible, right? That's why I had my guards up. I didn't know that the three-minute madness saying was literal; I thought it was figurative," the old man said.

My imagery is messed up right now; I can't imagine myself as a mad person, but it all makes sense, if I was stuck in that void for even three more minutes, I might have gone mad inside there too.

"Can I ask you something old man?" I said, deciding to ask him the most stupid question anyone could possibly ask.

"Huh? Sure, go ahead, you can ask me anything," he said sarcastically.

Choosing to ignore his sarcasm, I decided to ask.

"Have...H–Have you died or fainted before?" I asked forcefully.

" . . . " The old man becomes in search of words.

Silence, utter silence. The wind howled in the ward as the old man's face saddened.

"Why do you have to ask that now? Honestly speaking...Yes, yes, I have died," the old man said, his voice cold.

I am supposed to be bothered by bringing back a sad past for him and sitting beside a dead person right? 

But why do I feel excited to see someone who has died, so I can finally get answers to what has been bothering me.

"Well, How was it? Where did you go when you died? Was it black, cold and..." I was eager to ask him more, but he cut me off.

"None of those kid, none of those," he said with a little smile.

"It was filled with birds, angels, and warm breeze, heaven, I think I went to heaven. It was beautiful." He continued.

Huh, so that means that both heaven and hell rejected me.

"Oh, sorry for bringing up your bad past," I said even more confused, I feel so far away from the answer, I also feel like I'm missing something...!

"Wait a minute, you died and you're still alive? Is that possible? Were you resurrected? How can you claim that you have died, that's just stupid," I said, conflicted on why I believed him immediately

The next moment the old man stood up; I don't know why, but I'm definitely sure I saw veins popping out his forehead.

He first of all took in a deep breath and then...he turns to leave.

"Where are you going?" I ask

"To get the doctor, I think they didn't properly do the test, your madness is getting worse," he said

"Wait, I'm fine, I'm sure, I'm just curious," I said reaching my hand and trying to stop him, that's when I noticed that a tube was connected to me.

I am on a drip, and I also notice that I am wearing my necklace. Looking at my necklace, I find another chance of discovering who I am.

"So were you able to find anything about my necklace?" I asked

"How could I concentrate when I heard a mad person dancing across the field." He snorted

"Hey, don't call me a mad person!" I replied in annoyance.

"But you are, anyway, I was unable to concentrate and check it out, so next time come to my base and I'll have it checked, and next time, make sure you don't run mad on me again." he said

"You passed out for a complete 8 hours, so you're up in time to not miss your classes." He said before leaving.

"Oh great, school." I sighed and looked at the artificial pink flower that was beside me, and beneath it was a note.

"He could have given me the natural flowers from his field, why did he stress himself buying this for me? It's not like I'm dying, or was it another person?"

I said, picking up the note, to read, it read:

•••••••••

Don't give it much thought, I did not give you my natural flowers, simply because, they're too good to be given to the likes of you. 

 Bleh 😜

•••••••••

*Is this man a kid in the shell of an old man*💢 I thought, annoyed.

*Anyways, it's good to finally have a person who looks after me, even if it has to be an annoying old grandpa*

Tiredly , I let myself fall back to the bed

*A new day huh? What's in it for me? Is it going to be as weird as yesterday? Let's hope it isn't.

 †**********Old Man's POV**********†

Walking through the corridor, I was lost in thought.

[Why didn't you tell him the truth?] A robotic voice said, it is Rust, he's an AI that's connected to my base, my phone, and even my watch, he's my partner, my other brain.

"Do you think telling him the truth was going to be best for him? He already seems conflicted, it's better he finds out himself what's happening to him. I'm meant to protect him, and when I went inside and saw how frustrated he looked, I kind of pitied him." 

"Beats me, everything about him is weird, the way he changes, his fighting skills, his necklace, everything. I wonder why he uses "that" to make me protect him." 

[Hmmm... What did the doctor say after the test? Is he normal?] 

~Sigh~

"The doctor says that he hasn't seen his kind of brain before and even brain surgeons haven't discovered his type of brain. It's like it's made up of different brain cells. He even offers me a huge sum of money to use him as a test subject, which of course I turn down." 

[I think we'll have a hard time protecting this kid. Many people are going to come for him once the doctor leaks this information.] 

"Don't worry, I have already taken care of that. I think I'm going to have fun with this kid. He's going to show me things I've never seen before."

[Me too, but that begs the question "What is he?"]

"We'll find out soon, Rusty. We'll find out."

He says as he leaves the hospital.