September 21, 2312, 8 a.m.

"Steve, can I come in ? we need to talk"

The silhouette of a woman appeared in front of Steve, roughly 5 ft 2, long black hair, the same color as his, her epicanthic fold eyes aged by the time fixed him. It had been more than two hours since he had returned from the runner but Steve had not managed to close his eyes. He was looking forward to the appearance of the source of his insomnia, Luise.

Steve sat on the side of his bed, his elbows resting on his lap, staring at his mother, Luise approached him, sat by his side and then took his hand.

"Steve, I know it was hard for you to accept everything you've accepted until now and I understand your desire for freedom"

"If you did, we wouldn't be where we are right now, we wouldn't be having this conversation" said Steve.

"Steve, I admit that I was a little too oppressive, but you have to understand that all of this, is for your own good"

"And so I have to accept to become the perfect puppet, don't I Luise ?"

A hint of sarcasm was heard in the tone of his voice, in his eyes, a mixture of anger and exasperation.

"No....., that's not it..." said Luise.

Steve abruptly removed his hand from his mother's grip, and then rose from his bed. The shock could easily be read on her face, but it was not the only emotion he could read in her eyes, he decided not to focus on those, afraid of failing in the trap she was making. Steve walked to his dressing room took a T-shirt and a jeans and then walked to the bathroom, in the front of the door, he stopped and turned to Luise.

"It's the last time, after today I will not follow any of your so-called directions anymore" Then he disappeared behind the door.

His behaviour might Have seemed extreme to an outsider but after yesterday's evening and his discussion with Yuri he understood that he alone was the master of his life, he alone had to leave with every single decision he took whether they were good or bad. And that if he continued like this, his mother's grip would never leave him.

After reaching this conclusion, he decided not to make excuses again. As soon as he returned from the runner, he started a series of apartment searches, Yuri had offered him their guest room but Steve did not want to impose himself and abused of his hospitality, especially since he had enough money to take an apartment on his own. The runner's races could bring in a lot of money and he never really needed to spend what he earned, his pocket money was enough to cover all his expenses.

He had spotted some interesting apartments during his research, they were all located at the other end of town as he was trying to distance himself from his mother, he had even applied for a visit already. The first one was planned in the evening, he decided to visit the place after returning from the museum.