Chapter 51: Punishment

Erick savored the beer and closed his eyes.

Suddenly, an old memory from the past surfaced in his mind—something perhaps only he remembered now in this world.

It was a memory from when he was eight years old, when his father, who had drunk himself senseless once again, had beaten him before kicking him out of the house.

It was a bitterly cold winter day.

Sitting in the cold wind, trembling, he had thought he would freeze to death that day.

Countless people walked past him.

Yet none of them even glanced at him.

Strangely, the thought of dying that day brought him not fear but a sense of relief.

Ever since his mother ran away, his days had been filled with misery, and perhaps death would finally free him from it all.

But that day, someone had walked up to him—a kid who looked like a filthy beggar.

Gray eyes calmly studied him for a few seconds. That tall, silver-haired boy was wearing even less than he was. Even his short-sleeved shirt was soaked through.

Yet he still took off his own shoes and pushed them toward him with a frown.

"Go home. It’s cold outside."

Erick stared blankly at the shoes.

The boy himself was pale from the cold, even trembling. Yet he dared to give him his shoes? The silver-haired boy turned to leave toward a store nearby, but it was as if Erick finally couldn’t hold back his grievances.

He grabbed his pants and started crying, something he had stopped doing long ago.

His voice was filled with sobs.

"I don’t want to."

The gray eyes were stunned.

The boy seemed flustered. He awkwardly sat down in front of Erick, gently patting his back before eventually wrapping his arms around him. In the process, his soaked shirt became dirty, but he didn’t seem to care.

"Okay, okay, stop crying."

It took a long time for Erick to finally calm down. He didn’t put on the shoes the other had given him. Instead, he picked them up and followed the boy, who told him he had to stand somewhere, or else he would get scolded. Both of them walked barefoot until they stopped in front of a clothing store.

From inside came the joyful laughter of a middle-aged woman, preceded by the shop owner’s and assistants’ words of praise.

Erick stood with the boy at first.

But eventually, he grew exhausted and sat down, leaning against the shop window.

Yet the boy never sat down. He continued standing straight in front of the store for a long, long time. Erick had even asked him.

"Why are you standing here?"

Only to receive a concise response.

"Punishment."

Erick froze for a moment before glancing inside the shop through the glass window.

"Is the person inside your mother?"

"Hmm."

After that, it was as if they had silently come to understand each other’s secrets.

Neither of them spoke again.

In the cold, they simply stayed together.

One standing, the other sitting.

Erick hugged himself. He had always wished his mother would come back.

But now, after seeing a mother like this, he couldn’t help but think that perhaps it had been better that his own mother had left.

Then, in the silence, the silver-haired boy suddenly nudged his shoulder and spoke hoarsely, his lips tinged blue from the cold.

"Hey... you should really go home."

He even bent down to help him put on the shoes before stumbling back to his feet.

Erick’s eyes could barely stay open.

Yet he still remembered what happened next. The silver-haired boy had collapsed, his body falling limply to the cold ground. A shop assistant, who had been keeping an eye on him from inside, shouted in alarm.

Only then did the boy’s mother walk out.

Instead of checking on him, she frowned and called her driver to pick up the boy.

After they left, Erick staggered to his feet and made his way back home. The boy’s last words were the only thing ringing in his head. He had no idea what happened next.

The next time he woke up, he was in a hospital, an IV drip attached to his hand.

His neighbor was beside him, calling his father so he could come and pay the bills.

As for that silver-haired boy, Erick never found out what had happened to him. Yet the pair of shoes he had given Erick were placed beside his hospital bed. It was only a year later that Erick saw that boy again.

They were classmates.

But he didn’t seem to remember Erick.

Erick had always wanted to get closer to him. To become friends.

He even tried approaching the boy many times, but whenever the moment came, he somehow lost the courage to speak, as if he had suddenly forgotten how to speak.

He still remembered how he had cursed himself for it many times, staring at his reflection in the school bathroom mirror.

He practiced talking to other people and eventually ended up making all kinds of friends. But whenever it came to the one person he wanted to talk to the most, he just couldn’t bring himself to say a word.

Eventually, rumors about his family began spreading throughout the school. Even the classmates who were friendly to his face would whisper behind his back. In the end, Erick simply gave up trying to get close to the boy. Yet, after the first coincidence, for some reason he didn’t know, Erick always made sure they both remained classmates.

Remembering his silly younger self now, Erick sighed amusedly under his breath.

"At least we’re friends now. But human nature is always so greedy."

He had gone through a lot after Zephyr suddenly disappeared back then. To Erick, those days at school had actually been the most carefree time of his entire life—a time when he could ignore everything else and focus solely on one person. But after that, he slowly discovered himself wishing for the world around him to go straight to hell.

Crushing the beer can in his hand, Erick stood up and went back to his room. He opened the door and rubbed his brows.

Lucien was already gone.

It seemed he would have to go and get guiding from someone else tomorrow.