14

Joseph

Joseph sat silent on the bench as he looked at Ricky who was buying some canned drinks at the machine near the park.

            What am I doing…?

He monologued, feeling awkward being comforted by a college kid. However, he did admit that he was almost at his limit on searching for Serah after a full 20 years.

He lowered his gaze to the sandy ground and sighed. Then, he leaned against the back of the bench and looked at the dark blue sky. The stars were glittering brightly.

I wonder if, Serah also sees the same sky as I am right now?

What is she doing at this moment? I hope she's fine.

He fell silent again. At those silent moments, the only words that he muttered were "I miss you..."

At that moment, Ricky had already reached Joseph and he heard his muttering. He cleared his throat and pretended that he didn't hear his lonely words.

Joseph who noticed that Ricky was already there, quickly sat straight and looked at him while smiling, as if nothing had happened.

Yep, this guy is heartbroken.

Ricky thought. He kinda regretted asking for them to hang out. He didn't even know him.

Yep, I'm doomed

Joseph thought, the guy must've regretted wanting to hang out with him.

After a long while of awkward silence between them, Ricky handed Joseph a can of sarsaparilla.

"Here."

He said. Joseph slowly accepted the can and Ricky sat beside him while gently put some more can of drinks from his jacket onto the space between where the both of them sat.

"Take some more if you've finished drinking that one."He took a can and opened it. A pssh sound could be heard from the lid. "I'll listen to your story."

He gulped down the drink and leaned against the bench while crossing his legs loosely. Joseph looked flabbergasted for a moment.

"Well, uh, I don't know you?" Joseph said. Indeed, the both of them just met randomly at the playground and suddenly Ricky asked to hang out, and suddenly he asked what's Joseph's problems were.

He admitted that he had many troubles these days that maybe, just maybe, he couldn't even digest what's been happening to him at that time.

"The name's Ricky, nice to meet you."

He grinned and finished the remaining sarsaparilla in the can.

"What's your name?" Ricky asked, the second can already opened in his hands.

"...My name is Joseph, a writer."

Joseph introduced himself to Ricky. The writer part was unnecessary though.

"Oh, writer eh? Nice." He grinned and leaned against the bench again, he slowed down his pace to match Joseph’s. The atmosphere fell silent again.

"Hey, Ricky..." Joseph said, breaking the silence.

"Hmm?" Ricky answered as he sipped the drink. The sarsaparilla tasted surprisingly good for someone like him who drinks beer as his daily necessity.

"Do you, believe in fairies?"

His sipping stopped. He looked at Joseph and suddenly, the image of the shiny golden dust appeared in his mind. He shook his head slightly and looked at Joseph again.

"Fairy? Why did you ask that?"

"Well..." He hesitated. He was afraid of Ricky's response towards the story that he would tell him. Since the time he met Ricky, this person in front of him gave off the vibe of a bully who like to abuse others. Although he’s 24 and might be older than him, he’s still wary of the chances of getting targeted.

"Don't worry."

Joseph looked at Ricky and was met with his blue eyes and a tinge of... gold?

Ricky’s tone sounded strangely calm, like he tried to assure Joseph on purpose or it was his nature to make people feel safe with him. Joseph took a deep breath and exhaled. Then, he told the exact same story about Serah to Ricky just like how he told the librarian named Noel before. For some unknown reason, Ricky gave off an uncanny vibe like the librarian.

Joseph finally stopped at the part where he still searched for Serah until that day, and took a sip from the sarsaparilla. He moaned, surprised by the amazing taste of the sarsaparilla. Ricky nodded, third can in his hand.

"Well." Ricky chugged the last bit of the drink in the can and sighed in satisfaction. Then he said to Joseph. "I'm sure you'll find her soon. Don't lose hope."

Ricky smirked. Joseph's eyes widen in surprise as a glint of hope were shown in front of him. Ricky looked so confident saying that he could find Serah, and mysteriously, it made him happy to hear other's support towards him.

"Thank you."

He smiled warmly at Ricky. Soon after that, he took out a small glass bottle, the size of a pinky finger, which was half filled with golden dust out from his light brown trench coat.

"I will find her. I won't lose hope."

He squeezed the bottle tight. Without Joseph realizing, Ricky had actually been staring at the bottle with a surprised face all the time.

"W-What is that?" He pointed at the bottle that Joseph held.

"Oh, this?" Joseph brought the bottle closer to Ricky.

"This is called pixie dust. When pixies fly around, they emits some golden aura that turned into dust because of the mix of their powers and the molecules of water in the air. I found this dust scattered around the spot where Serah disappeared years ago." Joseph explained, which added more surprise to Ricky.

Wait, doesn't that mean...

Suddenly, Ricky's phone rang, snapping him back to reality. Annoyed, he picked up the phone while Joseph sipped the sarsaparilla and enjoyed the taste. His face looked brighter after telling Ricky about his search.

"What do you want?"

Ricky answered, sounding perplexed.

"Bro, it's almost 1 o'clock in the morning. Where are you?"

Ricky glanced at his Casio wristwatch. 12.28 a.m.

"It's still 12 am, Adam." He retorted, eyes rolling.

"Yeah, but come on. The party is getting even lit. Those guys are attempting to make a pool party now, in a middle of spring season."

Ricky’s face instantly smirked evilly. "Wow, crazy."

Ricky chuckled. Pool party in a temperature below 5°c sounds cool, but he didn't want to risk his health just by doing that, so he's just gonna look from afar. Wait, will his stalker make him some porridge if he caught a cold?

He stammered for a bit, agonizing over the fact that he was hoping some unknown stalker to assist him if he’s sick.

"Alright, I'm coming soon."

Ricky ended his call and looked at Joseph, who was halfway through his second can of drink. He snorted.

"I gotta go, my friend called. Enjoy the sarsaparilla that I gave you. And don't give up!"

He said as he stood up. Joseph also stood up, and reached out his hand.

"See you anywhere. And thanks." He smiled. Ricky grabbed his hand and shook it as he smiled back at Joseph.

After exchanging farewells and waves, they both parted ways.

***

The surrounding were bustling with loud music and chattering of the people. As some of them hopped into the freezing pool at the backyard and shouting something incomprehensible words due to the influence of weed, Ricky sat on a sofa alone in the corner of the living room while enjoying a glass of whiskey.

From afar, Adam and Taylor approached him and sat on his side.

"Yo! You finally came. What took you so long?"

Taylor asked. He's drenched in water after jumping into the pool earlier. Oh, he's gonna get them flu alright.

"Nothing. Just chilling in the park with some sarsaparilla. They tasted amazing."

Ricky answered while grinning to them, although he's not smiling inside. After chatting for a bit, Adam and Taylor left Ricky alone and went back to the crowd.

Ricky crossed his legs, and enjoyed his whiskey sip by sip. As he closed his eyes, his wavy bangs fell to his eyes. His minds were spinning with many thoughts, especially on one thing.

"Pixie dust, huh?"

He muttered, slowly opening his eyes and showing his blue turned slightly gold eyes. Then, he smirked.

"So my stalker is not a human, huh?"