The morning atmosphere in that small town was indeed very pleasant. Fresh air, warm sun, the smell of grass wet from the overnight rain. With the warm sun filtering through the swaying leaves. The cheerful chirping of birds on tree branches and squirrels chasing each other after finding their food. Behind all that, the sound of children's laughter in the small field next to the house, where Val, already awake, was playing soccer with three or four orphanage children.
"Come on, pass it!"
The sound of cheerfulness woke James, who was enjoying his sleep. He had slept so soundly that he didn't wake up even when the room began to be filled with sunlight.
"Hoa." James looked beside him. Val's bed was neatly folded. He pulled himself up and looked around. There was some activity in the kitchen, Mrs. Jema with another young woman helping with the kitchen work. James pulled himself up; he was already late.
"Come on, kick it here!" shouted one of the orphanage children playing in the field.
Val was starting to get tired; his legs hurt. He limped to the edge of the field and sat in front of the house.
"Ugh, how pathetic," he hadn't brought suitable shoes for playing soccer, his white sneakers were now dirty with mud, not to mention he accidentally hurt his foot when he enthusiastically kicked the ball. Pathetic, this would be a problem tonight, Val thought.
Val took off his shoes, and sure enough, the surface of his foot was red; it hurt so much. Val was about to massage it when someone approached and bent in front of him.
"What happened? Why is your foot so red?" said James, worried.
Val was surprised to see the stranger already there. He wanted to hide his foot, but the man had already seen it.
"Heh, this, it's nothing, just a slight bump earlier, it'll get better after a little ointment," said Val.
James looked at Val and pursed his lips. How could he say it was nothing when his foot was red and almost swollen like that? It looked painful.
"Wait here, I'll go get some liniment," said James.
Val was too late to stop him as the man already stood up and hurried back into the house.
"Eh, this."
...
The sky, which was so bright, turned dark, and rain came again that morning. The sound of raindrops was quite loud, especially falling on the tin roof on the side of the small complex.
Val was silent, staring blankly into the distance, watching the falling rain, like a slow-motion observer, drop by drop of rainwater falling onto the ground. What had happened in his life all this time? Just when he felt he had gathered enough happiness for himself, all those bad things came back.
Lately, Val seemed to be able to remember what happened that night. The rain was pouring heavily, like now, the dark road with dazzling lights from the front, which he later realized were the headlights of a large truck that hit his parents' car, causing it to tumble into a ravine.
"Screech!"
Little, he also began to remember how his parents no longer moved while everyone kept calling them from outside the car, knocking on the car window. That woman, whose face he had forgotten, was his mother, who hugged him very tightly and protected him from all injuries. Despite the wound, she still managed to smile at him. Val vaguely remembered that beautiful smile.
But all he could feel was coldness and silence; he didn't feel sad or want to cry at all. Was he numb? While he could still hear his own screams that night, as if the world was crumbling with him.
"Mommy!"
The vehicle overturned, with the entire weight of the car pressing down on his mother's body. Thinking about it made Val's chest hurt; it felt so hard to breathe. He closed his eyes and ears tightly, trying not to think about it. All those unpleasant feelings.
"Mommy!"
All those screams, until something touched his shoulder.
"Val"
That voice.
Val turned his head, seeing the shadow of a face he missed, someone who smiled widely at him and gently stroked his head.
"Everything will be alright, don't worry about it," that was little Jason's voice stroking his head when he had just cried because kids in the orphanage bullied him.
But, it wasn't him; it was someone who was now standing behind him, touching his shoulder. Suddenly, all the sounds in his ears disappeared, seeing the figure of the man who was already smiling, bending his body behind him.
"Hey, why are you still sitting here? It's so cold."
James had come closer again, carrying a blanket and an ice pack in his hands. The man gently covered Val's back with the blanket up to his chest.
"Thank you, sir."
James sat beside him. Val shivered slightly when the man placed the ice pack on his reddish foot, compressing it.
"Akh," soon, the cold sensation makes him shiver.
"Sorry, it's a bit cold, isn't it? Mrs. Jema said the liniment just ran out; she's asking a kid to buy it, but, with such heavy rain, it seems we'll have to wait. Does it still hurt?"
Val shook his head. He was lying, it wasn't just pain, the bruise was also throbbing and hot, a little ice compress could relieve the pain.
"It's better, thank you, sir."
James looked at Val. The man with the flat face finally chuckled, which made Val look at him, confused.
"Eh, is there something funny? Is there dirt on my face?" Val asked, touching his face.
James held Val's hand, lowering it from his cheek, truly a perfect face, even in any situation, the man thought he couldn't take his eyes off Val. He then quickly lowered his head, avoiding Val's gaze.
"Ehm, pardon me, I didn't mean to laugh, it's just, you've been calling me 'sir' all this time, do I look so old?"
Val looked at the man and finally smiled shyly. He scratches his neck.
"Heh, forgive me, that's not what I meant, it's just a habit, I usually call people 'Sir' or 'Boss', only those two, and, you don't look old," said Val, awkwardly.
James smiled. The young man was indeed so adorable. His smile was very sweet. A pair of sweet bunny teeth shows up behind his plump lips. His smile alone could make him forget the words that were already on the tip of his tongue.
"Eh, that, actually it's fine, it's just, it feels strange, just call me Jamie, or, if you feel more comfortable calling me Boss, you can call me 'Boss', just not 'Sir'"
Val lowered his head, smiling shyly.
"Yeah, I guess 'Sir' is a bit strange, in that case, Boss Jamie then."
James frowned.
"Why does it have to be Boss 'Jamie'? Why not just Boss?"
Val scratched his head. It felt strange to call someone else 'Boss' again; he had promised Boss Jason that he would only call him Boss, no one else. Come to think of it, that was a strange request. He would often meet other bosses. Was that title so special?
Soon, a sweet sixteen-year-old girl approached and placed boiled sweet potatoes on Val's table. The cold air, with the boiled sweet potatoes, was very pleasant. Val and James enjoyed the sweet potatoes while watching the rain fall harder. The view was quite beautiful, facing the river, which was already partly filled with water flowing from the hill.
"This is delicious," said Val.
James was stunned; even something so simple as enjoying boiled sweet potatoes could make those beautiful eyes sparkle, making his heart beat fast. This feeling was so strange, but so warm.
"Later, I'll come back to buy you ice cream, wait for me here, okay?" James said.
Val nodded. Yes, where else would he go? He indeed intended to stay there for the rest of his life. James frowned, thinking.
"Are you going to stay here? What if you come with me to Barmin, my company is opening a new hospital there, at least there's a good supermarket there, nice garden."
Val turned, looking at the man for a moment,