Chapter 497: His very own Paradise
Valen’s eyes couldn’t get any wider if he tried. But he wished they could, since he wanted to take everything all at once in his vision.
When was it, the first time he saw an amusement park?
Ah, yes--it was in a family movie. It was sparkling, and colorful, and for a child like him, it looked like a paradise. When he saw how happy the child in that movie was, going with his parents and siblings, Valen was even more convinced that it was a paradise.
Because the old man in that tall building where people went to pray every week told him he’d get what he couldn’t get in this world in paradise.
As he watched the movie alone in an empty hospital room, Valen thought it wasn’t bad then, even if he died. Death wouldn’t be so bad if he could spend it with his family in an amusement park, would it? And it became his spell every time the pain in his wrecked body became unbearable.
It’s okay, it’s fine, it’s not bad.
You’ll be able to see the paradise.
But as he grew up, that notion of paradise slowly dwindled. Did he still believe in paradise, even? Valen wasn’t so sure, since his mind was getting number and number and he didn’t even know if he was in his right mind when he died.
But he still visited that memory from time to time, because it was nice and fun and colorful and dreamy and...
And everything he saw in front of him on that beautiful afternoon.
It was a burst of color that was different from the festival. Tall, big, wide structures filled a huge field in front of him. Big statues and mascots decorated the structures, and flower beds flanked the walkway. Ribbons and balloons adorned the gate, and garlands hung around the fence. Colorful flying lanterns filled the sky, holding banners with celebratory messages. Stalls bearing all kinds of street food and drinks caught his gaze, and Valen almost cried.