[Seven-Minute Semblance] GENIUSFORSALE & VORSTELLUNGEN

VORSTELLUNGEN || Chapter 20 - A Part of a World

Norcross James Germaine.

17. April.
Monday, 7:00 p.m.
Vorstellungen Archives.

THERE IS a thin line between fantasy and reality.

Mad people often find it hard to differentiate the two, thus blurring the lines between fiction and non-fiction. It's like reading a story. When a reader is fully engrossed in the world an author created, the gap between the reader's reality and the fictional reality is closer.

It's called aesthetic distance.

When you hear the author's voice instead of the narration or the characters', when you are reminded that you're reading a book, and when you can't fully immerse yourself in the story, the aesthetic distance is being violated by the author.

The thin line between fiction and reality becomes thicker and thicker, jarring the readers from the fictional world.

But I could make that thin line between fiction and reality disappear, with a rather thicker line:

Hello, dear reader. I know you've been reading this book for a while now.

You must be smiling, reading how the new Seven-Minute Semblance has just made up. I know I am. It's like watching my old self with my old friends, vicariously living my old life before everything went to shit.

I wouldn't describe Siegfried Lukas as brave for pouring his heart and soul into that monologue. He's strong. Not because he managed to send Uresonderry flying with a punch, but because he endured everything my son threw at him, painfully for my son's sake also.

And I know, because of Siegfried's sacrifice, my son has learnt a huge lesson. All of them have grown, and what has happened to them has only made their bond stronger than before.

Otherwise, they wouldn't be able to smile and cry in each other's presence. They have missed each other so much. I could feel their love. I've felt that once.

It's that cosy feeling of security and belongingness that submits one into a state of calm and belief that nothing could go wrong.

But you know what will happen next.

You know who will barge into this cave in a few moments, and you know how much hatred he has in his heart.

The boys don't.

"Fu, 'wag kang umiyak!" my son says, sniffling and chuckling himself. It feels surreal, watching him in real life. He's everything I imagined him to be and more. Taller, even.

The four of them sit together on the ground, creating their own warm home amidst the coldness of the Archives. Harry stands close, watching them. He's teary-eyed himself.

Fraulein wipes his face with his hands, grinning widely. "Hindi ako umiiyak! Luha 'to dahil sinuntok ako ni Lae!" He hits Siegfried's shoulder. "Nasa Vors pa lang tayo nakakailang suntok ka na sa 'kin."