First Encounter

"Happy birthday, little bun."

A woman cheerfully greeted a young boy. A typical birthday hat sat on top of her head and she held a confetti cannon in her hand. It appeared to have been planned as a surprise for him, but the boy was not surprised at all. Instead, his face was reddened with embarrassment.

"Mom! Stop calling me little bun. I'm not a kid anymore." the boy replied while pouting. "Sure, Sure. Big bun." She said as she ruffled his grey hair. "Mom!" The boy looked like he wanted to voice his complaint, but he was quickly silenced by his mother's pats. After all, who could possibly defy such divine techniques? Afterwards, they sang the happy birthday song together and the boy blew out the candles.

"I wish dad was here with us." The boy looked up at his mother, his teary eyes filled with sadness and longing. "I'm sorry, Sean. Dad is very busy so he can't come. I'm sure he wants to spend time with us, too. Don't worry, next year will be different." The mother tried her best to cheer her son, but she herself looked like she needed a consolation. However, she made sure to not appear that way to her son.

"Yeah, next year will be different, hopefully." Sean rubbed his tearful eyes and smiled at his mother. That scene almost made her want to hug her son and cry, telling him how sorry she was. Of course, she couldn't do it. She had to be strong.

"Mom, I want to eat at my favourite restaurant."

"Sure, let's go. But before that, I have a gift for you. Close your eyes for a second."

The boy did as his mother told him, literally. He closed his eyes for a second and opened them back immediately.

"Hey. Don't take it literally, you tiny literalist. Close your eyes until I tell you to open them."

The mother chuckled and took out a box wrapped beautifully in colorful papers and ribbons. She looked at her son who was visibly impatient and told him that it was okay for him to open his eyes now. As soon as she said the words, Sean happily opened his eyes. But, he flinched slightly and his smile turned upside down when he saw the box.

"Mom, that's so girly. You do remember that you have a son, not a daughter, do you?"

"Of course, I do remember that I only have an adorable son. The shop only had that wrapping paper left so it turned out like that. Don't judge a book by its cover. Open it and you will see."

"It's a box, not a book." He retorted and opened the box. In the box lay a Gameboy in all its glory.

"Oh my god, thank you so much, mom. I'm gonna show this to my classmates tomorrow. I can't wait to enjoy the look on their faces when they see this."

"Like the face you have right now?" The mother replied as she stealthily took a photograph.

"Mom!" Sean wanted to complain, but his mother cut him off.

"Sorry, little bun. This is going straight into the album."

"That's it, mom. I'm gonna eat the whole cake. Even your share!" The boy took a large piece of the cake and chomped it down without hesitation. His mother was surprised at first, but she let out a chuckle and took another picture.

"This is going into the album as well."

"Mom!" Sean shouted and tried to complain again, but it was unintelligible as his mouth was full of cake. They continued to tease each other, laughing as they cherished those joyful moments together.

Several years flew by like a whirlwind and the once-little boy was now in high school, enjoying his youth to the fullest.

"Hey, loser. What are you doing here in high school? Go back to elementary school, you imp." The bullies humiliated the boy in front of everyone and went away. Some snickers could be heard among the crowd, and it was not the chocolate kind. On second thought, the once-little boy seemed to be unpopular at school. However, it was true that his small stature made him look like a kid.

Sean ignored all of them and continued walking. It seemed that he had already gone through this a lot. He found his classroom, went inside, and took his seat. After a while, the class bell rang and the teacher arrived. She started the roll call, but Sean's name was not called.

"Ma'am, my name wasn't called."

The teacher ignored him.

"Ma'am."

He was ignored again. The students started sniggering at him at that point. So, he stopped calling the teacher and decided to give no fuck about it. Time passed by and eventually, the school bell rang.

Ring! Ring!

Everyone started leaving the classroom as soon as the bell rang. The teacher in charge was still talking, but no one cared. Sean was already out of the classroom by the time others finished packing their things and he went straight home.

Sean let out a sigh as soon as he entered the house. The once luscious green garden had become barren and dry. The family house had become a very lonely place for Sean after his mother's sudden passing several years ago. He could clearly remember that particular day as if it was yesterday despite the years.

He could remember the detestable car that took his mother away from him; her final words became akin to a moral compass for Sean. "If only I hadn't asked mom to take me to that restaurant" always came to mind whenever he thought about her. He also channeled all the emotions he had but did not know how to deal with into hatred for the reckless car driver who wasn't caught and his own father.

Even after the incident, his father did not show up even once and only provided money. Everything was hard for the young Sean. If not for certain people helping him out, he wouldn't even be here today. The Gameboy given by his mother became his sanctuary during those harsh times as he used the games as an escape from reality.

Fortunately, time healed his wounds... at least some of them.

Sean went back out again after a while. Excitement filled his usually expressionless face. On the other side of the road was a game store, his favourite place to be. The game he wanted to play came out today, so he had to go and get one copy before it was sold out. Sean, amidst his excitement, carelessly crossed the road unaware of the incoming car.

Honk! Honk!

"Watch where you're going, kid!"

Fortunately, Sean wasn't injured. However, he was stuck in place. Cold sweat ran down his body as he was reminded of his mother's accident. He snapped out of it when he felt a hand over his shoulder. Sean looked up at the driver.

He was a tall, burly man with a distinctive goatee. Worry filled the man's eyes as he ruffled his brown hair in anxiety. His worry was justifiable since Sean was sweating buckets and his face was pale. He looked like a zombie who just went for a swim.

The driver was saying something, but Sean didn't hear as he was still not completely out of his confusion.

"Hey kid, Hey! Are you alright? Kid!"

"Huh? Yea, I'm fine."

"Phew, you freaked me out there, kid. You should be careful when crossing the road. That was dangerous. Where are your parents? How could they let a child roam around like that?"

"Umm, sorry. I won't do it again. Also, I'm not a child."

Without waiting for a reply, Sean escaped the scene as quickly as a startled squirrel scurrying up a tree.

"That was a bizarre experience", the driver whispered to himself and drove away.

Sean went into the store and as soon as he entered, he was met with another surprise. Not the kind of surprise that happened just now, but a good kind of surprise.

Pop! Pop!

Confetti flew out and landed on his head.

"Welcome, you are the 100,000th customer of the store. Congratulations."

The staff welcomed Sean with smiles and applause. Their voice, however, was monotone. Sean wondered if the robot uprising had already happened since the staff said their lines as if they were robots.

"You get one free game of your choice and a discount coupon for later."

With no hesitation, Sean replied "Okay."

They were surprisingly cheap for a 100,000th milestone gift. But, there was no way Sean was going to decline it. The staff went back to their assigned places immediately as if nothing just happened. Of course, Sean also went on his way to the shelf that held new games.

Suddenly, he felt something attracting him. He looked around, but couldn't find anything out of the ordinary. Curious, he followed the direction where the force of attraction felt stronger.

Sean came to a stop in front of a certain shelf. His eyes focused on a single game on the shelf. The attraction force became stronger the more he got closer to it and a warm feeling started to overwhelm him.

He reached out his hand to grab that peculiar game, but before he managed to do so, a familiar voice called out to him.