Daniel took a few days to accept the doctor's words that he now had a father. He knew of fathers; his "old man" was his father. They provided for and sheltered their young. However, with Dr. Marvin's weak physique, Daniel wasn't sure the man could provide well.
So, he raised this question to the doctor. The man had a good laugh over his inquiry and said that since he had no wife or children of his own to provide for, he had more than enough to raise Daniel for a lifetime if he wished. Daniel was curious how he could provide when he was too weak to even hunt for food.
The doctor patiently taught him how the world worked. He told him about education, the employment it offered afterward, the compensation from that employment, the eventual consumption from the compensation, and finally, the cycle back to educating future employees. He explained that he was a professional doctor who was compensated for treating the ill. He vaguely informed him that his compensation was above average, even though the concept was already beyond the boy's current understanding.
Although he didn't fully understand it, Daniel was in awe of his new father's ability to provide. Knowing he didn't need to risk his life in the future, he decided to find a career that would make more money than the doctor's.
When he was finally discharged, he was eager to go to school. But, as the doctor had said, he had a blind spot regarding the knowledge required for his age. To address the problem, he was given a tutor who would teach him until he had enough "knowledge points" to enroll in college.
Every day he spent four hours studying with his tutor. The rest of his days were spent accompanying the doctor's old parents, who accepted him well and doted on him. From them, he learned more practical things, like cooking from Grandmother Marvin and chess and basic carpentry from Grandfather Marvin.
Every day was fulfilling, and he greatly enjoyed it. Other than Dr. Marvin's parents, he also came to know his siblings, nieces, and nephews. They were a huge family, with only Dr. Marvin being unmarried among the five siblings.
They were mostly pleasant to get along with and were quite fond of him. It was a different matter with their spouses, though; they looked at him like he was a thief who had stolen their winter's rations. They hadn't done anything drastic other than saying weird things from time to time. Nevertheless, Daniel knew they were hostile toward him.
He did his best to ignore them and just live his life as best as he could. But even if he treated them like air, it didn't change the fact that they didn't like him. And now, he was in a pinch for not having addressed the issue with the family.
He found himself surrounded by many people, all busy with one thing or another. He was like a hapless little cub in the wilderness. There were many stores like those he saw on TV. Cars came and went. People generally just talked about their day.
He didn't know what was happening, but he knew that the third brother's wife had just left him in the middle of downtown like an abandoned kitten. He was in a place he wasn't familiar with, where everything was overwhelming his senses. He had made sure his cap was secured on his head and his mask was fitted on his face.
It had been a habit for years to make sure nothing about him was distinguishable. Being recognized back then often did bad things rather than good. Outside of Dr. Marvin's home, he made sure he was well-covered from head to toe.
He could call Dr. Marvin for help, but the woman had held his phone hostage in the back of the car. So, other than a wallet with a card he didn't know how to use and a little cash on him, he didn't know where he should be now.
He tried to ask for directions but was treated like a weirdo. While he understood that he was quite awkward in speaking with others he wasn't familiar with, he wasn't doing anything bad at all. But people had decided he was dangerous, so here he was, sitting on a bench with a bottle of water he had somehow managed to get from a nearby vending machine.
Thankfully, he was familiar with getting something out of one. His ward back in the hospital had been near a vending machine, so he'd had plenty of practice. Ordering something from a live person was something completely different for him.
Without any idea of how to get back, he was seriously thinking of turning himself in at the nearest police station. That way, the state could claim him and help him out. But it would reflect badly on Dr. Marvin, who, other than being legally his son on paper, was also his guardian as an extraordinary person. He'd probably lose his rights and custody of him once the incident became known and would suffer some sort of penalty for letting him get lost.
"What to do?" Daniel asked himself as he looked at the half-empty bottle of water. "It's been hours. Dr. Marvin will be angry if I don't get home before dinner."
Sighing deeply, he leaned back on the bench. He just stared at the still blue sky. From the giant clock on one of the nearby stores, it was around three o'clock in the afternoon. A few more hours before sundown, and he still couldn't figure out what to do. He had been there all morning and was seriously tired of wandering around with nothing accomplished.
"Should I just turn myself in?" He smiled bitterly, truly tempted to go with the least favorite option. He was out of options at this point, and he really wanted to go home. "I can probably defend Dr. Marvin if they start questioning why I'm out here alone."
Having decided, he stood up from the bench and started looking for the nearest police station. Suddenly, someone bumped into him. His cap dropped as he found himself on the ground. His blonde hair gleamed under the sunlight, and his blue eyes seemed to glisten as he felt his tear ducts loosening. In this life, despite being physically strong, he had a quite low pain tolerance for minor things.
"Are you okay?" A tall man with black hair and green eyes said as he reached out a hand. Like him, he was wearing a mask over his face. However, Daniel could tell he looked good.
"I-I'm fine," Daniel managed to say as he stood up. He didn't take the man's hand, as he didn't trust anyone to suddenly want to help him out of nowhere when he had been trying to find help earlier.
The man seemed relieved. He picked up the fallen cap and handed it to Daniel, who was quick to take it and put it back over his head. As he saw the blonde secure the cap, he was about to speak when a piercing scream rang out from a group of people. Unwittingly, the black-haired man took Daniel's arm, and they took off.
Daniel could have shoved him off, but he was seriously disoriented and lost his balance when the man took off. He could only keep up as he tried to make sure he wasn't tripping over his feet.
When they finally stopped at an alleyway, the man leaned against a wall with one hand over his mouth and the other wrapped around his stomach. The adrenaline was currently rushing in his head, and Daniel simply wasn't thinking about what was wrong or why he was even in this place. All he knew at this moment was that he had lost sight of the nearest police station and had to look for it all over again.
When the man finally took his hand off his mouth, Daniel took a deep breath and shoved him away to make a distance between them. His mask was now crooked from the man's hand covering it, and he had to remove it and refix it on his face.
Just briefly, his full face was visible. However, the tall man stared in a daze. Daniel was pissed off with the guy for so many things that had happened in the past couple of minutes.
He wasn't angry at the third brother's wife for trying to lose him in some faraway place. After all, he understood she was hostile to him. He didn't mind her finally acting on her thoughts against him.
But this guy in front of him, he was a total stranger. Daniel didn't know him, and he definitely didn't want to be acquainted with him. No matter how pleasant-looking he was, he was delaying Daniel from going home.