The sound of heavy footsteps could be heard as the man walked closer and closer to the boy. He couldn't help but tremble as he struggled for that one last breath. Some part of him wished it was just a nightmare, though it felt so real.
"Please," the boy cried.
"Hurry up, what took you so long," the caretaker said to the man who went in to get the axe.
"Stop crying. You think by crying everything will be better," he continued.
"I won't make it hurt. It will be fast. You just need to take a deep breath and everything will be okay," One of the men said while holding the boy's arm tightly so he wouldn't run away.
"If you are scared, you can close your eyes," he continued.
"No, please. I promise I won't run again. Please, I am sorry," the boy cried.
"Behave while I am being nice and considerate," he shouted at the boy.
As the man with the axe reached, the other man held the boy's hand tightly on top of a tree stump.
"Please, no! I'm sorry," the boy shouted with a sniffle.
As the man lifted the axe, an arrow was fired straight at him, and the axe fell on the ground.
"Who is that?" The caretaker shouted.
"I order you to stop on behalf of the crown prince of Quirinus," one of the knights said.
"Why should I stop when I am trying to help this country?" The caretaker said, as he hurriedly held the boy and used him as a shield.
"Do you think who gave this poor child food to eat or cared for them?" he continued.
"Do you think they all would have survived without me? I gave them everything," he continued.
"Let the boy go," Prince Leon shouted at him, as he jumped down from his horse and walked towards them.
The boy cried heavily and begged for help.
"Stop. Don't come forward!" The caretaker shouted. He knew he couldn't fight back, as one of his guys was injured and the other was too stunned to move.
"You think I chose to do this? You think we wanted this to happen? What choice do we have?" He continued.
"Tell me. What made you torture and use these poor children if not for your own benefit?" Prince Leon said as Sir Felix came to his side slowly as both of them slowly walked forward.
"I said stop where you are, or I will hurt this child," the caretaker said, as he held a pocket knife on the child's throat.
"You all don't understand what happened to us or how we live our lives. You got everything with just a snap," he continued.
"Tell me what the most difficult situation you've gone through? Have you ever seen a child who was too sick to live but still trying hard not to die? Do you?" He asked harshly.
"But you don't have anything to give, but only just watch till you can't cope anymore. And one day you have to do what's best for that child," he said, as his voice gradually became slow.
"I have to let my boy go," he continued.
The caretaker had a happy life with his happy family before everything turned upside down, when his child fell ill. He, who had no money to cure his child, worked night and day. Every day, getting scammed and beaten was like a routine for him to earn that amount of money to save his boy. His child would cry in pain, but he couldn't do anything but cover his ears and let tears fall down his cheeks. He was desperate to save him but had nothing on his side. Even his wife cheated on him and ran away from hardship. At that point, he realizes that money is more important than love. One day, he sat beside his child and said to him, " You are my greatest gift, my dear son. You could have conquered the world with your kindness and good nature. I am sorry, my child. May we meet again." And with that, he gave his son a poison he had purchased with his last pay. He cried for a week because of guilt, though he knew he couldn't help it. He is convinced that he made the right decision.
"All these kids were all the same. Do you think their parents love them? Do you think they would send them here if they cared? I am sorry they have to live in this sick world. I am just giving them a chance to do something good for the world before they die, so their lives would not be in vain," he said.
"I want them to live a meaningful life. They are alive, but they are wasting it. What about those who doesn't have the chance they should have? I just wanted them to realize how precious life is. We can't just simply sit down and ignore everything while expecting things to get better. I want them to learn that," he continued.
"So do you mean that torturing them is the right way to teach them? Meaningful life? What are you even talking about? Do you actually care about them? Would you be happy if others did the same to your child? Or even when you were a child? Would you think the same?" Sir Felix asked with anger.
He was quiet for a while before saying it, silently and with doubtfulness in himself," I believe it was for the best."
"Stop lying to yourself!" Sir Felix shouted as he burst in anger.
"You don't actually believe what you said, right? You only care about yourself," Prince Leon said, as he held Sir Felix, who was bursting in anger.
"I feel bad for your child. Do you know the difference between you and your child?" Prince Leon asked.
"He didn't give up because of love, but you gave up because of hardship. You have no right to be his father or talk about him. You let him go while he was still fighting," Prince Leon said.
The caretaker was trembling, and his tears started to fall. His hands slowly let the boy go. As the boy ran towards the knight, the caretaker fell down on the ground and cried heavily. He realizes he made the wrong decision. His life was so hard before that he didn't realize he took the easy way out but not the right one.
What makes you think you have the worst life? If you compare yourself to people who are better than you, you will undoubtedly see yourself as lacking, but what about those who are less fortunate than you? Nothing in this world is sufficient for us, not money, not even life. We always look for something that we are lacking, so we forget about the things we do have. Who could tell they are not greedy? Everyone has that bit of greed inside them, but they always try to make things work with all they've got. They work hard to get what they want, despite covering all their greed, and act noble as they have compassion. However, not all greed is bad; we just have to know the limit. Greediness can lead to many terrible things. Make a better judgement of yourself.
As the boy ran, a few of the knights ran towards the caretaker and his two followers to apprehend them. Prince Leon walked them towards the caretaker to give them a piece of his mind.
"I know I am not in your place and I don't know how you are feeling, but all I can say is that you have to stop looking for a shortcut in life. Living is not easy; there is no shortcut. One day you will smile happily, and the next day you will cry desperately. Life itself is a gift, so don't treat it lightly and never easily take from others," Prince Leon said.
We never know what others are feeling or what they are going through. They might smile in front of you while crying silently. However, they might cry in front of you while seeking your attention. They might use you, but some may care for you. We don't know what they are feeling. We might have thought we knew someone well enough, but how well do you actually think you knew them? Despite that, everyone has their own hardships, so never judge another based on your understanding, because you are not in their place.
Some may say that life is like a rollercoaster, where sometimes you are at the top and sometimes you are at the bottom. Truthfully, I don't agree with this, because I believe when riding a rollercoaster, we anticipate the ups and downs. Hence, I believe life is like the weather, where rain can come suddenly during a sunny day. And sometimes, when the weather is cloudy, we would expect rain to come, but instead it is the sun that comes out to greet us.