Eidolon Earth: Candidate Author

Awaken, the fruit of my Divinity

See far with the vision thee carry.

A vision that embraces even the vices that hath been created,

Only in such a vision shall you find which thee seeketh.

Open your eyes, symbol of my love,

The last bastion of hope, Proud child of Eldoris.

"You don't seem alright" Hayato-san whispered to me at the breakfast table.

I nodded as I struggled to keep my eyelids from being closed.

I couldn't sleep last night pondering on the words of the poem.

I took a bite of vegetables and grilled fish. It was spicy and sweet at the same time.

I took the bowl which lay near my elbow and gulped down the green water in it.

"Who knew vegetable soup could taste so good" I heard Hayato-san whisper to himself sitting beside me.

I heard low footsteps and wooden floor creak behind me.

I turned around.

No one

I turned back but something caught my eye.

A pair of little hands and two big eyes protruding from below our table.

Those eyes stared at me for couple of seconds and then changed their line of sight, I followed them and saw it eyeing the leftover food.

Ah!

A smile made onto my lips.

"Are you hungry?" I asked.

The boy looked at me again but didn't say anything.

Seeing me talking to the boy Hayato san and the escorting soldiers stopped chatting.

"Didn't I tell you to not even come close to the inn?" simultaneously with a scary voice I saw a shadow covering the place where the boy stood.

I looked up to see the receptionist lady with a broom looking at the boy.

I swear I saw veins popping out of her forehead.

"Why did you come here again?" the receptionist lady asked or rather threatened the little boy.

The boy didn't say anything, however he grabbed the edges of the one piece cloth he was wearing, that too was full of patches. He lowered his head.

"I will count to 3, before that run away" she said.

"1"

Other guests stopped eating and began to turn towards the commotion.

"2" the receptionist lifted her broom.

Some looked at the boy with pity, some ignored after a glance and started eating again.

"3" the countdown finished.

The boy still didn't move.

Seeing that the receptionist lady swung the broom with as much force as possible, the boy shut his eyes.

But the broom never came down.

"ENOUGH!" I raised my voice while she desperately tried to free the edge of the broom from my hand.

"Respected sir, you have only come for today." She gulped choosing her words carefully. "This brat comes everyday and….." she stopped.

"And….?" I caught the word.

She bit into her lower lip and looked on the ground.

"And disturbs the guests" she said.

"......." I kept quiet letting more flow out of her.

"The guests complain as they go" she spoke again, eyeing my reaction.

"......."

"I-I thought…." She stammered.

I sighed.

The boy still kept his head down, enduring whatever insults she threw about him.

I looked at the boy first, there was no reaction, just a quiet fact of acceptance.

His clothes were filled with patches, dirt was stuck in his nails and his hair was also messy, He may have been 5 or 6.

His arms were thin, more than a child should have.

I looked at the lady, who had stopped speaking and waited for the verdict to arrive.

The guests were all looking at us now.

I closed my eyes and opened them as the world partially dissolved.

"IS THERE A CIRCUS GOING ON HERE?" my voice pressed on everyone.

CRASH!...THUD!…

Some fell to ground gasping for air. Most of them paled and stared at their plates like it was the most interesting thing they have ever seen.

Meanwhile some near exit ran away.

Even the receptionist fell on her knees trembling "M-m-mercy" she squeaked.

The child just turned his head not knowing what was happening.

I scanned through my gaze as the other guests started to mind their own business.

'Sheeesh, I was so cool right now!' I desperately tried to suppress the grin from showing up on my face.

I looked at the receptionist lady and helped her stand.

"No, Your little hands won't be able to lift this much" I said to the little boy who stood in front of me with his hands spread open towards the big cloth bag full of packed food.

At my words he quietly receded his hands and began to walk somewhere, we silently followed.

He kept walking and walking and walking.

Changing lanes, going through alleys and above the walls alike.

I saw a stray cat fall from the wall just because we casually jumped over it.

Just when I was about to speak he stopped. I looked at the place only to see a small hut.

I looked around, the whole colony was like that, the houses were made up of mud instead of bricks and stones. The roofs were made up of hay supported by wooden columns and logs instead of stone.

The air smelled of soap and wet dirt.

I also saw an old lady washing clothes, one man preparing his cart on which lay polish and brush of many colors.

Some kids in a one piece cloth playing on a mountain of sand, lost in their own happiness.

"So even knowledge couldn't erase discrimination" I muttered while pondering on the fact that this city was called 'City of Wisdom'.

Creakkk!...

I heard the hinges cry as I looked towards the hut. The little boy opened the door and we saw a woman, a fairly young malnourished woman lying on a single bed.

Her lips were dry, she looked older than she probably was, her cheeks were sunken and dark circles settled under her eyes giving her a tired look.

The room or the house which amounted to that single room was simple, an earthen pot at the right hand of the room, a platform of dried earth on which a bowl of water lay under which burnt wood rested.

A one piece old wooden table with three drawer sections and a small cupboard.

On the floor lay some papers with half drawn drawings and crude writing as if someone was trying to write.

The sleeping woman opened her eyes and turned her head. Her expression relaxed as she saw the little boy but then, her eyes found us.

Her face went from Relaxed to confusion to horror in a span of a second.