Archaggelon
The Question
Back at home, Daja was working on a program to find a way to detect any arrivals from those humongous things that were trying to turn their city into shreds. He used a small sample from the one that was eliminated from the androids to see if it would be of any use to him.
Alas, all the things he experimented it with, was all a failure. Daja could not find a simple way to figure out when the monsters will strike again.
When Daja stopped to think about what had occurred on that day, he could tell that the day before was a peculiar one. He felt some particular aura, which sure did not seem like it was any weather change. Unfortunately, he had to wait till the next arrival and he did not want to take the chance. But when he thought of the whole scene of what had happened, he remembered that strange look on Alex’s face which made him wonder if Alex had the ability to sense them before the monster could possibly do anything to humanity. But the thought made him sound like he had gone mad. Thinking more deep into the situation, Daja considered Alex being all behind this catastrophe so he could just prove to Daja that there are some people that want to make androids of their own. “But Alex would not let this happen to his country or any other part of the world for that matter. Besides, I have not even taught Alex how to make any beams of the type that the monster produced.” In the end Daja made his decision that when Alex arrived from school, he would ask him directly if he knew anything about them.
Later that day, Alex had come back from school. When Daja looked at him, he could tell that Alex was very tired. “How was your day at school?”
“It was OK, I guess,” replied Alex, trying to find a way to leave the room, fast.
“Are you not going to eat?”
“Not really, I’m not that hungry.” Alex left, skipping dinner.
When he saw Daja all his thoughts about school left and all his misery about the androids just came back on the surface. But Daja could not stand Alex’s behavior anymore that he ended up getting frustrated. He ran after Alex, calling out to him until Daja grabbed Alex’s hand with force, spun him around to face him and said as calm as he could. “Please Alex, you can’t ignore me forever. Let’s just stop and talk for a second.”
Alex remained silent, getting his hand freed from Daja’s grasp and left. He went to his room and started on his homework.
Daja could see that Alex was not ready to open up yet. So he left him to settle down for a few days, even though he did not have a chance to get his question answered.
In the afternoon, when Alex had finally completed all his studies, Rachel came inside with a tray. “I hope you are hungry. I made your favorite dish,” leaving the tray next to Alex.
“Thanks.”
“Now tell me, what’s going on with Daja? Did you boys have a fight?”
“No, we did not. I don’t want to talk about it.”
“Alex, you have to let everything out. I can’t stand you being like this. Daja looks really down when he sees you. I even caught him before, talking to himself and you know what that means?”
“Maybe it’s because I disappointed him.”
“I have been working here for many years and I know how everybody feels without even telling me. When I looked at Daja’s face I saw that he his worried about you Alex. He can’t stand you being like this anymore as much as I do. Please, just open up to me so I can help you. At least a little,” said Rachel, pleading kindly to soften Alex’s heart so he can talk.
Alex did not know what to do so he finally conceded and told Rachel everything from the day with the monster till the day when he went to school. He could not believe how cooperative she was and how she understood what he was going through. But when he had finished talking, Rachel gave him some good advice that was very useful for him. Even though Alex thought it was a good idea, he was not really prepared to do it. Facing his problems was not one of his best abilities.
“It’s OK Alex,” said Rachel. “You can do it whenever you are ready. Don’t push yourself. Just make sure it won’t take you a long time to do it though.”
“OK then,” giving her a smile so she could be sure that he’ll definitely do it.
Rachel was just about to leave. “Hey Rachel,” he yelled. “Thanks a lot. It really helped.”
“Glad to hear it. Remember, whenever you want some support, I’m here.”
“Sure,” making Alex smile once more, thinking only of the things that make him happy again.
Alas, all the things he experimented it with, was all a failure. Daja could not find a simple way to figure out when the monsters will strike again.
When Daja stopped to think about what had occurred on that day, he could tell that the day before was a peculiar one. He felt some particular aura, which sure did not seem like it was any weather change. Unfortunately, he had to wait till the next arrival and he did not want to take the chance. But when he thought of the whole scene of what had happened, he remembered that strange look on Alex’s face which made him wonder if Alex had the ability to sense them before the monster could possibly do anything to humanity. But the thought made him sound like he had gone mad. Thinking more deep into the situation, Daja considered Alex being all behind this catastrophe so he could just prove to Daja that there are some people that want to make androids of their own. “But Alex would not let this happen to his country or any other part of the world for that matter. Besides, I have not even taught Alex how to make any beams of the type that the monster produced.” In the end Daja made his decision that when Alex arrived from school, he would ask him directly if he knew anything about them.
Later that day, Alex had come back from school. When Daja looked at him, he could tell that Alex was very tired. “How was your day at school?”
“It was OK, I guess,” replied Alex, trying to find a way to leave the room, fast.
“Are you not going to eat?”
“Not really, I’m not that hungry.” Alex left, skipping dinner.
When he saw Daja all his thoughts about school left and all his misery about the androids just came back on the surface. But Daja could not stand Alex’s behavior anymore that he ended up getting frustrated. He ran after Alex, calling out to him until Daja grabbed Alex’s hand with force, spun him around to face him and said as calm as he could. “Please Alex, you can’t ignore me forever. Let’s just stop and talk for a second.”
Alex remained silent, getting his hand freed from Daja’s grasp and left. He went to his room and started on his homework.
Daja could see that Alex was not ready to open up yet. So he left him to settle down for a few days, even though he did not have a chance to get his question answered.
In the afternoon, when Alex had finally completed all his studies, Rachel came inside with a tray. “I hope you are hungry. I made your favorite dish,” leaving the tray next to Alex.
“Thanks.”
“Now tell me, what’s going on with Daja? Did you boys have a fight?”
“No, we did not. I don’t want to talk about it.”
“Alex, you have to let everything out. I can’t stand you being like this. Daja looks really down when he sees you. I even caught him before, talking to himself and you know what that means?”
“Maybe it’s because I disappointed him.”
“I have been working here for many years and I know how everybody feels without even telling me. When I looked at Daja’s face I saw that he his worried about you Alex. He can’t stand you being like this anymore as much as I do. Please, just open up to me so I can help you. At least a little,” said Rachel, pleading kindly to soften Alex’s heart so he can talk.
Alex did not know what to do so he finally conceded and told Rachel everything from the day with the monster till the day when he went to school. He could not believe how cooperative she was and how she understood what he was going through. But when he had finished talking, Rachel gave him some good advice that was very useful for him. Even though Alex thought it was a good idea, he was not really prepared to do it. Facing his problems was not one of his best abilities.
“It’s OK Alex,” said Rachel. “You can do it whenever you are ready. Don’t push yourself. Just make sure it won’t take you a long time to do it though.”
“OK then,” giving her a smile so she could be sure that he’ll definitely do it.
Rachel was just about to leave. “Hey Rachel,” he yelled. “Thanks a lot. It really helped.”
“Glad to hear it. Remember, whenever you want some support, I’m here.”
“Sure,” making Alex smile once more, thinking only of the things that make him happy again.
♠ ♠ ♠
Would Daja end up ever asking Alex the question to solve his problems and would Alex every forgive himself and apologize to Daja or just stay there in silence?