Deep down, Lied knew. His parents were… already dead.

“Answer me! I told you... TO ANSWER ME!!”

Lied rushed towards the man ten meters away from him. However, the boy found himself inexplicably paralyzed. Something invisible strangled him. If the pain had continued for a few more seconds, the boy would have probably died.

Lied noticed, before passing out, the killer's effrontery – the smoke covered a self-satisfied smirk. It was all too fast…

“Have they told you...? That you have the eyes of a snake?”

…

“What?” Lied opened his eyes.

He found himself lying on the floor of a dark and cold space – the place of his dreams. Completely alone, as he always were in his life.

Inside the basket was the apple. It didn’t look shiny, kind of like him. Lied stared wearily at the black ceiling.

“…To think that the place I visited many times in my dreams would be the stage of my last breath. How ironic.”

He had no strength to get up, it was as if something was telling him to stay there.

“I’m really… going to die?”

“No” a sudden voice denied, however too low.

“So this was my fate...?”

“No.”

Lied plunged deeper and deeper into the darkness of his soul…

“I... failed?”

“No” the voice spoke louder and woke up Lied.

The dark dimension was suddenly filled with light, as the apple that lay in the basket began to radiate a golden glow. Lied tried to cover his eyes in hopes that the golden glow would not hurt him. However, he soon realized that the glow didn’t hurt him; quite the opposite, it healed his wounded heart.

A thin woman older than Lied, with long turquoise hair and eyes the same color, came out from the fruit. She held out her hand to him.

“Who... is it...?”

Lied simply accepted the loving token of the lady and embraced the warm light. Happiness. Yes, he was saved. The lad who had been lost… was found.

…

Lied regained consciousness. He was resting on a stretcher and surrounded by busy paramedics. A crowd of onlookers watched the house burn, the firemen desperately tried to put out the fire.

Who was that woman, and why would she save him? He got off the stretcher and walked back towards the park. Naomi saw Lied and followed him.

The flames gobbling down his home, the whispers of the people who witnessed the scene... a cluster of feelings deeply stirred Lied. Old memories came into mind.

Ganeden, 8 years ago

Regenbogen, the only orphanage in Ganeden. The building was well maintained, having recently undergone a makeover.

Its exterior was vividly colored by the seven colors of the solar spectrum, a rainbow painting was seen crossing from one corner of the building to the other.

Its interior was very plain, but newcomers might be shocked at the sheer size of the hall. Inside, on this hot summer afternoon, an 8-year-old orphan was adopted by a relatively young couple.

“Thank you so much for taking care of him” the caretaker thanked.

“No, we are the ones who need to thank you. I always wanted to have a child, but I’m barren…” the woman smiled alongside her husband.

“I see…” the caretaker turned to the child “Look, from now on they’ll be your parents. Greet them.”

“He doesn’t speak much, huh?” the man said.

“Yes… it turns out this boy has no memories of before coming to the orphanage. The whereabouts of his biological parents is also unknown. A complete mystery, one could say he ‘fell from the sky’.”

“Amnesia...?” the father said.

“The only thing he remembers is his name – Lied.”

“Lied, is it...?” the mother bent down “Nice to meet you.”

Lied stared at her for a few seconds and then looked away blankly.

…

The park could already be seen. The memories kept coming up…

6 months later

Lied left his home without saying anything to his parents. When he wasn’t at school, he used to spend time in the park closest to him. Lied was scolded once in a while by his dad, but his mom allowed him to do whatever he wanted.

In the end, she always said the same thing:

“Don’t forget to come back home, alright?”

…

Lied fell on the park lawn, sunken eyes, dizzy and mostly frustrated.

It was as if meeting the mysterious woman had awakened the sleeping, or rather pent-up emotions, during all this time. The words Lied never managed to speak…

Tears flew down his cheeks. For the first time ever… he cried.

…

Naomi hid behind a park bench. Two small blue dots swirled around Lied, as he began to tear up frantically. They took the shape of people. The spirits of Lied's parents hugged their son. Naomi remembers Lied talking about that. When she realized, they were no longer there. Lied was still crying. The girl thought it was better to leave him alone and left.

Coincidence or not, a new face showed up afterwards. It was a white hooded man in his twenties. Lied calmed down a bit. Dozens of blue dots suddenly filled the atmosphere. A breathtaking scenery. The hooded pointed his index finger at Lied.

“Are you going to let those tears blind you and run away again? Or... will you face it? Your own destiny?”

“I…”

Lied felt drowsy. Was it that man’s doing? Curiously, the sunset was coming. He gave in and let himself rest on the lawn. His conscience said… that it was bedtime.

Long time ago, someone used to tell him something before sleeping. He couldn’t remember who, just the complex and smooth phrase:

“Carpe Noctem” Lied muttered, falling asleep.

Enjoy the night…

[END OF CHAPTER]

[ARC “GANEDEN” STARTS]