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Reddened skies on the horizon loom over the dystopian land decorated with ruins and debris of fallen structures. What was once a glorious city is now shaded with the stains of dried up blood of cold bodies littered on the cobblestoned floors as eerie silence accompanied the strong scent of gasoline thick in the air: a constant reminder of the price the citizens of this town had to pay.
Lifeless as it may, hearty-laughters echoed within the remnants of the walls. Within the confines of this land brimming with death and sorrow stood two boys fueled by juvenile determination.
“You’re cheating.” Kawasemi, the ginger-haired boy, said in between his laughter. Blue eyes stared at his friend’s challenging vermillion ones.
“You just suck at this game.” Kuina said in retaliation. His boisterous laughter grew louder upon the sight of Kawasemi pouting and crossing his arms against his own chest.
“No, I don’t suck at it! You clearly skipped a count!” Kawasemi said petulantly, pointing a finger at the board game they salvaged last week from another destroyed building. Kawasemi was not liking the game so far, more so whenever he played it with Kuina.
“Let’s stop for now.” Kuina suggested, and they did.
The two of them cleaned up the board with thorough care. The fraying edges of the board were getting more severe due to its time underneath the ruins; its several remaining game pieces stuffed within a ragged bag. Monopoly was the only thing they’ve been playing since they got it as a means to distract themselves from the hunger building up within their systems.
Within the building that could barely stand on its own, Kawasemi and Kuina walked upstairs, careful to skip the steps with missing wooden planks. As they were making their way up, Kawasemi heard his own stomach growl. With no food to sustain their feeble bodies, sleeping the hunger off was the only option for today.
When they reached the second floor, it barely contained anything but it was already everything to them. To stumble upon a somewhat sturdy building as a temporary residence, far away from the policemen, was already a huge accomplishment for them.
This building, no matter how destroyed or bare, provided them momentary solace, and that was enough. It only contained different clothes bundled up in the corner of the room, next to a shelf with a missing level or two, where they store the food and trinkets they collected throughout their time trying to scavenge for food.
For as long as he could remember, it’s always been like this for him and Kuina: waking up early in the morning to search for anything edible or entertaining, and then going back to this building they dubbed as their home before the sun sets. All of this while avoiding the predators brandishing police badges hunting down any living being within the confines of this city.
To live everyday as a prey going around in circles; to constantly have to look behind their backs in case a predator was on their trail; these were how they survive.
“I’m tired.” Kawasemi said, sitting in the corner of the room next to the hill of rags, taking one and cocooning himself within it.
Kuina gave him a quick glance before putting the board game on top of the only shelf within the floor. “We barely walked far away from this house.”
“I mean I’m tired of this. Living like this, like wanted criminals when we’re only survivors.” Kawasemi closed his eyes tight as he clutched the rag of cloth tighter in his grasp. “I just really hope we meet anyone who can help us.”
The rawness of his emotions were there, yet, to Kawasemi’s confusion, Kuina only giggled at his statement.
“If we keep waiting here for help, we will just end up being better at Monopoly .” Kuina said with a laugh.
“I won’t mind that if it means waiting with you.” Kawasemi said with a small smile playing on his lips. His mood drastically improved upon hearing Kuina’s joke and laughter.
“No one can help us. The policemen hot on our trail are literally the ones supposed to help us in the first place.” Kuina said as he walked in front of Kawasemi and knelt down to his level. His hand fished something from the back pocket of his pants before revealing a rolled up paper.
Kawasemi raised an eyebrow towards Kuina’s direction to silently ask what the paper was for, and Kuina understood it immediately as he gave a toothy-smile towards him before unraveling the rolled up paper.
The paper revealed an ambiguously drawn blueprint of an airplane in the very center. There were notes on the sides regarding the parts of the plane. Kawasemi didn’t know how Kuina was able to come up with such a detailed blueprint but he was too amazed by the concept of it.
“You made this?” Kawasemi asked, his voice giving away the excitement he felt.
It only made Kuina’s smile grow. “Yep. And that’s not the only thing I made.” He said as he gave the blueprint to Kawasemi’s hands and grabbed something from the side. Kawasemi’s eyes glistened as he stared at the figure within the blueprint.
A plane. The same plane they would usually see beyond the caged bars whenever they would daydream of what it was like to live without constraints. It was a nice thought to entertain.
“Check this out.” Kuina’s voice interrupted Kawasemi from his own thoughts, making him remove his eyes from the paper on his hand.
And there it was: an actual prototype of the plane within the blueprint.
“Kuina!?” Kawasemi exclaimed in surprise, his hands lowering the blueprint on the floor. It was only a toy plane but it was enough for Kawasemi to be filled with childish hope.
“One day, we’ll make a bigger version of this. One that can actually fly, and we’ll make it fly! And then we can escape this town once and for all.” Kuina said as he handed the toy to Kawasemi’s slightly trembling hands. “It’s you and me against the world, Kawasemi.”
Despite the darkness of the room, blue eyes only shone brighter upon seeing the figurine of the plane and the endless possibilities this single prototype offered to them. A chance to finally be free, to escape the ominous future set upon them by the confined city. It sounded like a far away dream; a task too arduous for a pair of children to be able to accomplish.
Yet one look at Kuina’s mischievous yet confident vermillion eyes and his extended hand were the only promise Kawasemi needed to know that this wasn’t an impossible feat as long as they have each other.
“You and me against the world.” He said as he grabbed Kuina’s hand.
And that was enough for Kawasemi.
* * *
But that wasn’t enough for Kuina.
“‘You and me against the world,’ huh?” Kawasemi whispered to himself and the person behind him.
He looked back with an unwavering smirk on his lips, eyeing the signature orange blindfold of the police force to hide their own identities. The blindfold was futile since he already knew too well the policeman now standing in front of him. After all, who else would know the escape routes Kawasemi usually took whenever he’d escape the police?
Yet, as he quickly glanced at the gun held by the policeman, he already knew that he no longer knew the man he thought was his best friend, partner in crime, who would stand with him and face all the challenges the world has to offer with fierce boldness.
With practiced ease, Kawasemi grabbed the knife from its holster on the belt and threw it towards the blindfold he always detested. One swift throw was all it took to cut the seams of the blindfold and land on the ground.
His grin only grew upon the sight of the familiar pair of vermillion eyes he grew up looking at, but they were now of a darker shade.
“You’ve got something on your eye.” Kawasemi said haughtily, no longer wanting to hear a reaction from Kuina. He slid his aviation goggles from his forehead to his eyes and bolted to the staircase.
And he ran, knowing a hunting dog was hot on his trail, as he ignored the memories resurfacing in his mind. Not even the adrenaline could make his heart tug at the nostalgia clouding his senses at the sight of the staircase where he and Kuina used to test out their old toy plane.
And he ran, despite the tears threatening to spill from his eyes and the smile waning from his lips. When he reached the very top of the building he and Kuina once called their home, when he finally looked at the airplane he built alone in the past few years to cope with Kuina’s departure from their dream, from his life; the truth of the situation started to weigh down on his shoulders.
He was alone against the world. Against Kuina.
In one quick swoop, he hopped on the only seat of the plane. His mind was on autopilot when his fingers flickered the switches needed to activate the engine, too busy entertaining the resurfaced memories he never wanted to remember but missed so dearly. With the engines revving loudly in the makeshift hangar, Kawasemi couldn’t hear the footsteps of Kuina but he just knew the policeman was near upstairs.
One final look behind him was a reminder to himself why he only made the plane with one seat in mind. A hasty pull on the rusty lever on his side was all he needed to solidify his resolve as the plane began to move forward with uncalculated speed.
Kawasemi gritted his teeth as he held on tightly — too tightly — on the yoke. Ruined buildings left his peripheral vision as quickly as they went, his surroundings were all a blur as his eyes were trained on the bars that held this city; held him and Kuina for the most part of their lives. His immense focus on the bars that caged him for too long didn’t let his mind wander on the flickering error lamps and warning signs, and the deafening sounds blaring from the cockpit. He was so close to reaching his goal. Freedom was within his grasp. These thoughts only provoked his hand to raise the altitude and—
Time stopped for Kawasemi. Finally, he let out a smile as he embraced the type of freedom he chose: one different from what he and Kuina once dreamt of.