77. The first friend

Pele's early life had been marked by tragedy and adversity. The loss of both his parents during the dalki attack had left him orphaned and vulnerable, thrusting him into a world where survival became a constant struggle. In the shadow of the lesser district, where gang crimes thrived, he found himself alone, without the support of family or the solace of true friendship.

The streets of the district were unforgiving, the air heavy with desperation and fear. Pele navigated its dark corners with cautious steps, always on guard against the dangers that lurked within. But despite his best efforts, he couldn't escape the pervasive sense of isolation that gnawed at his spirit.

Days turned into months, and months into years, as Pele learned to fend for himself in a world that showed him little mercy. He faced countless trials, enduring hardships that tested his resilience and strength. Loneliness became his constant companion, and the weight of his solitary existence grew heavier with each passing day.

But everything changes that day, when he met Abraham in the playground. He met a young boy named Abraham. The latter gave him some motivation and promised him a gift. So days after the gang war has ended in the lesser district, Abraham has approached Pele for the second time. And this time, he taught Pele about Qi energy. Since then, his life has changed drastically. He became physically better and was able to join the military. The military personnel saw his potential and offered him the responsibility to patrol the district. Later on, he got promoted and was given the role to collect beast crystals from different planets.

That was when he came in contact with the people on Lintarnia, more specifically Leo and Master Sabre Hunt. Everyone on the planet lead a very peaceful life and had great respect for Master Sabre. To the surprise of Pele, Master Sabre taught him about Qi, but as he was already practicing it for years, he was considered a great student among the villagers. Everyone was cheering for him boosting his motivation. It was the first time Pele felt included like there were people who he could rely on.

But even after a change of destiny, Pele never forgot who gave him this chance. This beckon of hope.

And now that person was back in front of him. Even though Abraham looked older than when he met him in the lesser district, Pele's heart was telling him that the person was indeed Abraham.

Pele's eyes widened, filling with tears as realization dawned upon him. Abraham had been his teacher for a just day, but that was enough for Pele. Tears spilled from his eyes, unabated and unrestrained.

Abraham was momentarily stunned by this overwhelming surge of emotions coming from Pele. He was not expecting anything of that sort. Not far away, Happy was monitoring the two in the corner of her eyes. Frankly, she was admiring his prince charming; Abraham.

Happy lived in a fantasy world of her own, still believing that one day her prince will come to take her. She had seen many men and had a temporary crush on them, but never did she feel that way when Happy saw Abraham coming from the portal. He looked like a mysterious man hidden behind the hoodie, he was all in black. When she got close to him, Happy was mesmerized by his appearance, his face looked so polished and she also caught a glance of his red hair.

But her imagination came to a stop when she saw the weeping Pele. There was one thing Happy could not tolerate, and that was the harmed cause to the people close to her. She dashed quickly by Pele's side fully her body with Qi, preparing for any wrong move from Abraham.

Just as she was about to question Pele why he was crying, the latter moved.

Overwhelmed with emotions, Pele threw his arms around Abraham, embracing him tightly. Tears streamed down his face, mixing joy, gratitude, and a touch of sorrow.

"Abraham!" Pele choked out between sobs, his voice filled with a mixture of awe and profound gratitude. "Thank you... Thank you! You were there for me when no one else was. You taught me, believed in me, and showed me the way. I can't thank you enough."

Abraham's eyes softened as he returned the heartfelt embrace. He held Pele tightly, offering a sense of comfort and reassurance in the face of overwhelming emotions. Words seemed inadequate, so he simply held on, allowing their connection to speak volumes. As they slowly released their embrace, Pele looked into Abraham's eyes and saw something unexpected. There were tears flowing down Abraham's cheeks. Unknown to him, Abraham's emotion took over him, and some drops of tears were dropping unconsciously.

"It's okay, Pele," Abraham whispered softly, his voice filled with empathy. "I only showed you the way, it is you that was able to become what you are today."

With a deep breath, Pele composed himself and slowly wiped away his tears. His trembling hand moved gently across his cheeks, erasing the evidence of his emotional outpouring. Pele looked at Happy and spoke. "It is ok sister Happy. Abraham is the person I told you that I admire. Like I told you Abraham looked like a child when I first met him, and now he looked like an adult. That was the reason I did not recognize him."

Happy was going through a rollercoaster of emotions. First, she was amazed by Abraham, then she felt worried for Pele and angry at Abraham for making Pele cry, but after knowing the reason, she felt a spark in her heart, her prince was so kind. Finally, her hope was crushed, if what Pele had told her was true, then Abraham was supposed to be a child of around 10 years old when Pele meeting with him. Based on her estimation, Abraham's age should be around 13 or 14. But the physical appearance of Abraham did not match up. Did he get an ability to increase his height and size? All sort of thought was going inside Happy's mind but there was just one that was cruel.

His prince charming was a minor.

Having heard Pele, Abraham decided to address the issue of his physical differences to solidify Pele's mind that he was really the Abraham he met in a lesser district. He had no clue what was going on inside the mind of Happy.

"Actually, I'm an adult. At that time, I used a smaller figure to appear in the district to avoid unnecessary trouble." A little lying mixed with the truth was not going to cause some trouble. As for the first part, Abraham fully considered himself an adult, just that his body has lived on for 13 years and he was soon reaching his birthday.