Episode 3

Enear Flos

"I wanna be a farmer."

The first day Enear entered school as a transferee, the whole class was choked by a deafening silence. The wind blew the edge of the white silk curtain, letting the morning sunshine pierced through their white tables rested with tablets. As if the world had stopped, and only young Enear's thumping heart served as the ticking clock. Until the class bursted into laughter, including his teacher.

Enear knew it. Being honest won't help in this world. Or maybe he should just refuse to answer it from the start. Or perhaps it's her teacher's fault to ask such a question and then respond with an insulting laugh.

After the wave of mockery ended, his teacher picked up the displayed rose from the vase and lent it to Enear, curving her posture down to see Enear's reaction, vibrant leaf-colored eyes buried in his light coffee hair.

"Look at this synthetic rose, Enear. It has the same texture as the real ones. But do you know their difference?" she said, leaving the question hanging for seconds, inviting the other class to pull curiosity to the trivia she was about to announce, a jaw-dropping one: "This one never withered."

Fourteen-year-old Enear eyed the fake rose with hatred, felt disgusted to touch it, and disgusted by the logic behind his teacher's wisdom. "How did you know it was the same texture if you never touched the real ones, teacher? How rubbish reasoning. A kind of teacher that will teach me to be smart in the next 12 months."

"You have a bad mouth, farmer kid."

~

"Enear, you won't gonna believe it!" Dycron's enthusiastic voice echoed throughout the rooftop under the orange skies. "My client last night paid me twice the price!"

"Nice" Enear responded in a phlegmatic tone.

"Since you're my only supporter, I will treat you in the Capital!"

Suddenly, Dycron's smartwatch vibrated, illuminating a blue hologram revealing an inbox message. He froze, letting his blonde hair whipped by the warm, rusty air. His eyes widened as he touched the icon to unfold the email. "The client's message! Oh no! I'm not ready for the mass production of–"

His thoughts hung in the air. Is he reading it right? The message said that the item broke out easily, and they would never order from him again.

"What? I-I swear I used all the S-graded materials I have and even tested it yesterday! You saw how durable it is, right? The teachers and the guards even saw it! I even forced my boss to lend me money to buy those expensive materials! How could it break out easily?" After the panic, he lay on the floor losing all his enthusiasm into disappointment. He was truly confident that the client would love his invention. He made sure of it. But what had gone wrong?

"Did he ask for a refund?" Enear asked in a tone as if he barely cared.

"No," he said depressingly, feeling a heavy gravity pinning his body on the floor. His eyelids were shutting down, like a drained battery. Enear was expecting that reaction, though. But not the one after:

"Nevermind!"

Before Enear knew it, Dycron was already standing in a good posture, staring at the giant statues, filled with fighting spirits. "The next time I get a customer, my inventions will be like ecstasy. They'll ask for more and more until they can never live without it. Because I'll make sure I'll create the best and highest quality innovations in this whole world!"

Dycron pointed his finger to the statues in front of them. "And you! I'll replace one of you in no time, so enjoy until you can!" He climbed up the edge rail of the rooftop and stood fearlessly, spreading his arms to embrace the warm breeze, announcing to the clueless students below who couldn't hear him, "I, Dycron Geux, will someday be the Greatest Scientist of 2150s–the Era of Artificials!"

The orange sunlight blinked through his blonde hair, brushed by the air. A silhouette of a young man bravely standing up above the edge rail as if he owned the world.

Before, Enear thought they were on the same page, the reason why destiny bound them together on top of the rooftop every morning and lunch breaks, and almost every day after the class. The two loners, the two nerds and delusionals who dreamed higher than the stars shimmering throughout the multiverse.

But he was wrong. Because Dycron believed in himself. Dycron has the ability to turn his misfortunes into fuel, giving him more reasons not to give up. Enear felt envious of him. To have the guts to pursue fantasy rather than survival–to have that kind of opportunity.

"This dream is the reason why I kept living even if I had a choice to end my life on that day." Dycron turned to his friend, like an angel shining bright as the warm sunshine went against him. "No one will going to miss me anyway, will you?"

"I won't," Enear bluntly replied.

Dycron went down from the railings and lent his hand. "What are you waiting for? Let's go!"

The Capital at night was surrounded by the gigantic buildings in neon lights. The infrastructural design was influenced by the cyber motif but based on modern buildings. Instead of cement as the foundation, they were made of thick black metals, while the walls were made of glass. Doors were like small carousels whirling slowly as the people come and go. Dycron had time to play with it, walking in circles and inviting kids to join him, and would likely be scolded by their parents.

The Capital, they called the city of Alpha, the center of all. Exceptional designs and systems that only rich people could enjoy due to high prices of living and products, but promises a good quality of materials, services, taste, and experience.

They went to the bank to pay all of Dycron's debt, then went to shop for tools and materials for his workshop. When they're done, Dycron pointed to a girl-shaped neon red light displayed beside the door, and the inside was filled with tables and alcohol.

"I never tried that kind of thing in my life!"

"That's for adults," Enear said in his dull tone and passed without peeking.

"I can modify our digital I.D.!"

"That's not what I meant."

They passed through the titanic statues they see every day. They took pictures and selfies, and Enear did his best to resist his urge to stab a knife into the thick metals as if it could pierce through. Now's not the right time. Patience.

Afterward, they went on a dark roller coaster ride. When the countdown turned to zero, a light spread in a honeycomb pattern, revealing a fresh green grass filled with trees and a mountain of flowers. Enear tilted his head above and finally saw blue skies without hiding the bright sun any more.

"Welcome to the old world. Are you ready to visit a different era of our Earth?" a calm, inviting woman's voice announced.

His heart was thumping as the ride started to move. He was unsure of what he felt. A half excitement and a half of frustration and disappointment. How he wished this all was real.

"Yes! I am ready!" Dycron said, full of enthusiasm, together with the people in the rides.

After the ride, they dug into a prestigious restaurant every person dreamt of tasting. Dycron told Enear to order everything he wanted, so he ordered a mushroom pizza. He lifted the triangular cut part from the whole, and the sticky melted cheese resisted cutting ties with each other like a web.

He gave a little bite then an ice cream was puffed on his head, messily sliding like a slime through the strand of his brown hair and leaving it viciously wet. His green eyes remained emotionless while Dycron was bursting into laughter–the one who threw the ice cream.

Dycron wasn't satisfied. He bit the edge of the same pizza hanging in Enear's mouth. Their faces came close together. The heat of their breath was almost touching. But Enear's eyes remained calm as he watched his friend steal the only thing he ordered, when Dycron couldn't even finish its baked mac, muffin, egg sandwich, red velvet cake, and just threw ice cream at him instead of savoring.

"If you want this pizza, you could just grab some slices from the plate, not from my mouth."

"But this one tastes better--nyum!" Dycron playfully smiled, reaching its ear, chewing while talking.

"These brats don't know the value of the food. Didn't they know many kids died of hunger, yet they're just wasting it?" a customer beside them commented.

"Beggars eating in a five-star restaurant, really? Do they even have money to pay for the food they're wasting? I can't wait to see them in jail."

"I ship them."

Enear knew Dycron heard them, yet his friend continued acting like a child, having fun as if there was no tomorrow. How stupid.

The night was going deeper when they rode on the bus. Enear watched the street lights they were passing through. It was already midnight, but many busy people still come and go. Shuttles in traffic never deceased.

"By the way, Enear, who is your partner in your Science Drone Project?"

"None," he answered without hesitation as they passed through the dark tunnel and slightly saw his own reflection in the mirror. Only glimpses of linear yellow bulbs installed on top were guiding the way.

"All my classmates begged me to partner with them. But when it comes to English, Math, or group activities in other subjects? They pushed me away. They say I overdo it." He shrugged with his hand raised and cast a confused look. "Such as creating my own mathematical formula or digging history in every literature report. I'm just making it fun and not overdoing it!"

Dycron then looked at Enear, pointing at himself with a smart-look grin. "So I decided to be an individual in this project!" He patted Enear's back. "If only we're in the same class, we're gonna be the best partners in this world! I was making a surveillance drone with a secret twist. How about you?"

His question pulled Enear back into his senses. Right. He never thought about it and had no intention of complying from the start. Until he remembered the Old World tour they went together. The thin abstract clouds passed through the blue skies, complementing the sun's existence, gleaming over the green grasses, trees, and flowers dancing through the air. He witnessed many things in an hour, of how people destroyed the peaceful world with buildings and technology.

But even after many decades, few people held hoes and a cup of dirt with sprouts, placing them on the cultivated dirt with warm hands under the strike of the scorching sun. The land might become smaller and smaller, but still, he can feel the hope inside of those people. Small people who have a big fire in their hearts to go against society and preserve nature.

But the reality of this era was that people like them no longer exist today, together with plants and animals.

"A farmer drone." Even it will only serve as a remembrance of the old world.

A happy-go-lucky blonde with bright yellow eyes heard his ridiculous idea. Dycron started to think about it.

"Hmm... A drone with a foldable sickle can also be used as weapons to intruders, thieves, and pests..."

He knew he would burst out laughing at any minute. But instead, Dycron raised his thumb up and gave him a qualifying smile.

"That's the most interesting concept I've ever heard!" he said loudly then shook Enear's shoulders. "Enear! Be my assistant scientist, please! You also have revolutionary ideas! I work part-time in a junk shop, and they let me borrow their workplace filled with equipment! Let's do that drone tomorrow! I'll help you, and I also have lots of suggestions that you will love!"

Enear's eyes widened. For the first time in his life, he felt a heat in his face. That's too much of a compliment. He never expected to meet someone who would like his stupid idea someday. He was about to say yes when he remembered that he was not a normal brat like Dycron. Tomorrow night and the night after, he will be busy killing an innocent soul. It's very seldom to have a rest like this day. Does even Dycron deserve a monster friend like him?

He looked away, avoiding his friend's gaze. "I'm busy tomorrow."

"How about tomorrow after tomorrow?"

"I still can't."

"Three times tomorrow!"

"Still not."

Dycron's brows knitted in disappointment. "Huh? How many tomorrows will you be available?"

"Sunday."

"Then that's just four times tomorrow! You should have just said it earlier–wait, Sunday? Monday was already the deadline? Nevermind. I'm just going to finish mine before that day and believe in my skills 'cause I will be the greatest scientist someday!"

The bus stopped in front of the train station; their parting time had come. Enear stood up and joined the flow of passengers going outside.

"Wait, Enear! I have wanted to tell you!" Dycron shouted, staying on the bus. But Enear had no time to stop or look back at him. He didn't wait for him when he landed outside the door. "Let's apply at the same university after graduation!"

Enear was petrified in front of the doorway, letting other passengers pass through him until the bus started moving. He can't resist the smile forming on his lips. He barely remembered the last time he felt this kind of foreign feeling.

"I will, Dycron."

Enear lifted his head and started to walk. And he whispered in his mind,

"Together, we could change this world."

Quintessence Nightmare | mvcabusas