Chapter 37.6. Melting Chocolate.
It was the first day of kindergarten. Silas couldn’t be more excited to eat his lunch in recess under the big apple tree on the playground. The tree provided good shade on hot days like today.
He sat down on the soft grass next to the tree, his legs crossed and his eyes on his lunchbox. Pulling out his yoghurt, he grabbed the little spoon and started eating the vanilla treat.
The sounds of other children laughing and playing echoed all over the playground. No one was sitting under the tree.
A bird was chirping in its branches, jumping around from twig to twig as he took another scoop of yoghurt, before he knew it the bird had come down and landed on his knee, cocking its head at him. It was a black bird. He stared back, a bit weirded out by how close it was.
A giggle escaped from nearby and he looked up to see a girl with silver hair and bright green eyes.
“You have a friend!” She said and came to sit next to him, her own pink lunchbox in her hands.
The bird didn’t fly away, in fact it hopped closer to him and pecked the spoon he held in his hand. Silas took that as a sign of friendship and smiled as he gave the bird some more yoghurt.
Then the bird screeched, taking the entire yoghurt with it as it flew back in the tree, eating it up there.
Silas felt his stomach clench.
“My treat...” he whispered. He was sad.
The girl with the silver hair, laughed again. It sounded like bells.
“That bird sure is mean.” Her smile was bright as she opened up her lunchbox and took out her chocolate bar. She broke it in half and held one half for Silas.
He looked at the chocolate, then at the girl. She was pretty. Her cheeks were rosy and her green eyes sparkled in the sun.
Reaching for the chocolate, he stopped short.
“Mom said that your teeth will fall out if you eat chocolate,” he said.
The girl blinked rapidly then frowned. She took back the half piece of chocolate and broke it into another half. Finally she handed him a quarter.
“If you love someone you won’t care if they are toothless.” She nodded to herself.
Her hand was still outstretched, waiting.
Silas took the quarter and ate it. It was sweet. His mood instantly better. The girl in front of him was happy, smiling with her chocolate in her mouth, chewing loudly.
“I’m Silas Vane. What’s your name?” he asked as he extended his own hand for a shake.
She took it and shook it with a firm grip.
“Elizabeth Rose,” she giggled.
His heart was beating fast. The smell of her hair was like vanilla.
The bell rang and they got up from the grass. Elizabeth looked back at him with a smile.
“You should come for a playdate one day! My mommy makes the best cookies. She can give them to your bird friend too.”
That was the best idea Silas had heard.
“Today?!” He said.
She nodded and put her hand to her chin, thinking about it.
“Just take the 47th bus and then get off at the fourth stop. The red house!” Elizabeth said with confidence.
He repeated the directions and she nodded.
With one last wave, she ran to her class while Silas stayed for a minute, thinking on what kind of toy he should bring over to show her. He was excited. She liked him.
After school at his house, he was sitting in the living room, looking at the wall where he had hung his toy swords. He needed to decide.
His brother walked in and went to the fridge.
“Lil bro you look like you’re in an existential crisis,” he said and grabbed a beer.
Silas turned to him with a confused look.
“What does that mean?” He asked.
His brother laughed and took a sip from his beer.
“It means you’re thinking too much. Just make a choice already.” His voice was rough from the drink.
That didn’t help. The door bell rang and his brother went to open the front door while Silas went to the fridge for a juice.
“Hey Jakob,” Lisa said as she got into the house and noticed Silas, rummaging through the fridge like a cat.
An idea popped into Silas' head as the smell of cheese hit his nose. There was a chocolate bar in the fridge and he remembered the girl with silver hair liked chocolate.
Silas grabbed it and closed the fridge, the cold breeze gone.
“Big bro, can you take me somewhere?” He asked.
Jakob looked down at him, a small eyebrow raised.
“Can’t lil bro, car is in the shop and dad has the other one,” Jakob replied, chugging the rest of the beer before going up the steps to his room.
A pout formed on Silas’s face and Lisa laughed.
“What are you planning lil buddy?” She asked.
“I want to visit my friend, her mommy bakes good cookies and she loves chocolate.”
Pushing the chocolate in Lisa face, he was met with a wide smile from his big sister from another mother.
She ruffled his black hair.
“I can take you. Let me just tell Jakob okay?” She said and took out her keys from her purse.
A loud yell came from upstairs, Jakob was calling her upstairs now.
Lisa sighed and shook her head. Silas didn’t understand the world of adults sometimes.
“I’m sorry Silas, I can’t take you,” Lisa said, her hand squeezing his shoulder.
It was unfair. He frowned. He wanted to see Elizabeth and give her the chocolate.
Taking out a twenty dollar bill from her purse, Lisa placed it in his hands and squinted her eyes, leaning closer to his face, her red lips pursed.
“Do you know how to take the bus, lil buddy?” Lisa said with a sly smile.
He grinned. Yes he did.
“And what about your mom’s phone number?” She added.
Silas thought for a moment.
“No.”
“Dad's?” She asked.
He remained quiet for a second before shaking his head.
“Jakobs?” Her eyebrows raised.
Another shake.
Lisa sighed again and grabbed a pen and paper from the nearby cabinet. She scribbled down her phone number quickly and folded the paper.
“In case of emergency, you call me okay?” She handed him the paper and patted his head a few times.
He nodded.
And so Silas armed with a chocolate bar, a twenty dollar bill and a folded piece of paper, headed towards the bus station.
The station was bustling with people, people waiting for busses, people calling for a taxi.There were a boards placed all around the station with detailed schedules and lots of people gathered around them. His short legs took him to the board where he looked for the right number.
The board had numbers for busses, trains and even trams. He looked at all the numbers, scanning them.
“74!” Silas exclaimed, he saw it.
With a big grin on his face he walked towards the 74 bus. He gave the driver the twenty and he gave back a ticket.
The bus was empty except for an old man at the front and it was hot on the bus but there were fans, making the hot air move. He just needed to wait until the fourth stop.
The chocolate bar was melting slowly in the heat but he held on to it tightly. He was excited to see Elizabeth again.
It felt like forever had passed when he heard the speaker announce the next stop was the fourth one. The bus came to a stop and he jumped from his seat, quickly exiting.
His eyes searched the area. There were cows in the fields. This city seemed pretty small. He walked down the street, the chocolate sweating in his hand. The smell of grass was strong and the wind felt good on his face.
“Where is the red house?” He wondered.
He didn’t see any red houses around. Only white and brown. Maybe it was at the end of the road, so he continued to walk down the road, his legs getting tired and his mood dropping.
Maybe he needed to call Lisa. She would help him.
Silas rummaged through his pockets, searching for the paper she gave him, taking it out and unfolding it, before reading the number on it out loud.
"17-53-87-74."
It was weird that Lisa's number had 74 in it too, he thought holding the paper in one hand mut a strong wind blew the paper from his hands and Silas watched it float away in the field.
His mouth wide open.
“NO!” He cried and ran after it but it flew over the barbed wires of the farm. There was no way for him to cross that.
His hands covered his mouth. He lost Lisa’s number. Now he couldn’t call her and he couldn’t find the red house. It was a disaster. Where was the bus stop he came from?
Most importantly the chocolate was melting and it was becoming sticky.
A sob escaped his lips.
He walked down the road, the sun still shining bright. He felt like crying now. The chocolate was all mushy. How was he going to give that to Elizabeth now.
A bright light shined in the distance. The thunderous roar of an engine came and he saw a motorcycle come towards him from the opposite side.
Maybe that person could help him, he thought They seemed nice.
He waited on the side of the road, his small hand raising up, trying to wave to them. The bike passed him.
“Wait! Help me!” He yelled at the motorcycle. It stopped in front of him with loud screech, skidmarks on the road. It turned around and headed his way.
His eyes went wide at the sight of the rider. Big. Scary looking. Beard and everything. The rider came closer and stopped, his cowboy hat tilted a bit to the side and a cigarette in his mouth, the engine still rumbling.
“Kid what the fuck are you doing in the middle of nowhere?” His voice was deep and it had a growl to it.
Silas’ heartbeat raced. This man seemed angry, scary.
His little legs wobbled but he stood strong and took a step closer.
“Cigarettes are bad for you. They make your lungs black,” he said.
The scary man raised an eyebrow before bursting out laughing.
A black gloved hand took out the cigar and he threw it to the side. The bike was turned off.
He looked at the scared little boy with a grin.
“The name’s Berlin kid what’s yours?” Berlin said and got off the bike, towering over Silas with his sheer size.
His stomach churned. This man was very big, bigger than his dad.
Silas held the melted chocolate bar with both hands.
“Berlin isn’t a name. It’s a city...” he mumbled, his eyes locked on the maroon cowboy hat.
Berlin laughed again and crouched down, a hand reaching out to Silas' shoulder. It felt heavy.
“Kid where do you live?” The scary man’s voice was not so scary anymore.
He finally looked him in the eyes. They were brown like the ground and they were kind. The man also smelled terrible, smoky. Silas showed him the direction he came from with a small hand.
“I think over there,” he answered.
Following his hand, seeing its literally empty farmland, Berlin sighed.
“Fuck kid that’s useless information,” he said, his hand moving to rub his neck.
Silas frowned. But the man grabbed a blue helmet from his bike and put it on his small head, making him stagger for a bit. The strap was loose and the man adjusted it.
“Alright kid hop on.”
He nodded and hopped on the bike behind the scary man. The smoke from the discarded cigar was still present and he held onto Berlin with his free hand, the other clutching the chocolate bar to his chest.
After an hour they were in the city. It was getting dark out and the lights were turning on one by one. The ride was fun, the engine was loud, the streets flew by. He liked it.
As they stopped on a familiar street he hopped off. His house was in sight.
Berlin took off Silas’ helmet and put it back on the bike. He lit up a cigarette again.
The chocolate however was still melting. Silas quickly ran to the door of his house and opened it without knocking. Then he put it in the fridge.
As he slammed the fridge door, he realized he forgot to thank Berlin. Turning around, he ran back outside and saw the red light of the bike turn the corner, the sound vanishing and the bike disappeared into the darkness.
The ash of the cigar Berlin discarded was still on the concrete of his driveway. He stared at it for a while. The next time he sees the man he’ll thank him. Silas was sure of that.