Tanjelavi

Ree

"And you told me it was unrepairable just two weeks ago!" heard I Rods turn up at the entrance to the garage, having tested out my new bike—after more than a week of construction, not reparation! 

"Y-yeah... Sorry for that, Rods ,s-sir..."

To this, he only patted my shoulder with a sudden hit of his palm and said, "It's okay, don't worry... Oh, you have upgraded the wheels: looks nice"

"Not only it looks nice, but it always drives nice: much nicer and faster than before actually"

"Yeah?" stepped he now to the bike and kneeled to the ground to take a closer look at the improvements I'd made

"Yeah", said I, moving the bike away from him, as if wanting to take it back to our garage

"How fast?" turned he to me with curiosity shining in his green elderly eyes

"Well, I just finished driving across the town... in around—" here, I looked pointedly at the clock hanging under the garage's roof, "ten minutes"

Unpleasantly astounded, he stood up, sticking to the bike as if afraid to fall down, and turned to me, with his palm being on the driver's seat, "You could've been caught by cops, Ree..."

I only pffed at him and calmly said, "Nah, you shouldn't worry 'bout me: I'll be just fine", and went back to take my bike to its legitimate place when he put his palm on my hand, grabbing and bringing it to his face, thus making me turn to him and look right his eyes, and sternly said, "This isn't a game, Ree: you're not at least in a position of a human to think like this: it's your life—your only life, Ree; don't end it without letting it even bloom up"

I just grabbed my hand madly out of Rods's and screamed, "Bloom up? How the hell you think it can bloom up in a world like this?!"

"Quiet, Ree, quiet—"
"I don't want to keep quiet anymore!"
"You have to, Ree: you have to—"
"Why?! Just—just why the hell I must do this?"
"Because if you save your life, you save the lives of so many others, Ree: it's just not gonna happen now—"
"But when then? Just when?! Later? Stop messing 'round with me!"
"It's you who's messing 'round, Ree: I appreciate your becoming more self-assured—but not that self-assured, Ree"

"Now go on and tell me we have something in common!"
"I was also once too self-assured myself, Ree: that's why I'm warning you—"
"If that's it, I'm outta here—"
"No, wait!"

"Tell me at least one good reason—"
"It's better you'd tell me the reason why you rush it"

I was so mad at him, I wanted to bare my teeth and hoarsely roar like some sort of a savage animal, but held myself from it and said with an angry sigh, "It's none of your business, Rods"

He stepped closer and wanted to put his hand on my shoulder when I stopped him, saying, "I thought we established it a week ago: you're not my father"

And even with my head turned away, I could hear him gasp again, nervously putting away the hand he was still holding in the air, motionless and speechless, only after a moment mumbling something resembling my name, and, fed up with this all, I just said, "I got no time for guidance, Rods: any beginning has an end; so does life: any life—and I wanna live mine to its fullest"

He strangely didn't stop me from getting away and I was slowly wheeling my bike back to the garage, expecting him to do at least something—but he seemed to just be standing there, doing nothing—nothing to stop me; I was thinking then to turn around, but pushed the urge aside, moving away faster and faster—until my ears caught him say, "My experiment was a success after all..."

"Experiment?!" rushed I back to him, dropping, letting my bike fall behind, feeling it all somehow had something to do with my curse-blessing

"You said several times I wasn't your father: but the first memories you have is what I left for you, as a present: they're usually deleted, but not yours—don't you remember me giving you everything you know, everything you're now capable of?"

The rage was boiling up within me and I just yelled out—"ALL I REMEMBER IS SEEING MY HALF DEAD HALF ALIVE COLLEAGUES AND BEING KICKED IN THE HEAD BEFORE PASSING OUT"

"R-Ree ,a-ah..." whispered he, stepping away backwards, scared to death now

"DON'T A-AH ME RODS! YOU DON'T—YOU JUST DON'T UNDERSTAND HOW INFERIOR MISERABLE AND DEFECTED I FELT MOST OF MY LIFE 'CAUSE OF THIS PRESENT OF YOURS!"

My hands were aching with a strong desire to strangle him right away—or at least fattily slap him in the face to just let him feel all the pain and all the fear I've experienced 'cause of him!! But I was forcefully holding myself from it and grabbed my bike instead and drove away—wherever my gaze fell upon