Disclaimer: There is little to no romance in this story, but if you liked the characters in the original flash fiction, I think you will enjoy this short. The story is also inspired by real-life events and people without proper permission. I humbly apologize.

 

*****

 

No matter how many futures I try to foresee, there’s no happy ending— or at least, there’s none where I don’t take matters into my own hands.

 

No one deserves such bad endings, and I dare say this power, if was at all “given”, was given to me to avert atrocities like this.

 

There’s no use delaying the inevitable, nor is there any use suffering such a fate, thus,

 

Today’s the day I clean this god-forsaken wallet.

 

‘What’s with the overdramatic bs?’ you ask? No, you simply don’t understand.

 

My wallet is a leather type and somehow it had been infected with some type of fungus which causes it to have this really dusty smell, coupled with a white layer of dust-like particles.

 

And so I looked into the future of the wallet, and of course, there were many—

 

There was one where I just left it be and got mocked for having a smelly wallet.

 

There was one where I kept washing it with tap water but the white dust just wouldn’t go away so I had to repeatedly wash the wallet once a day for the rest of my life.

 

There was even one where the dust managed to cause someone to have allergy symptoms.

 

And so, even though I really didn’t want to do something so cumbersome, I slowly took things out of my wallet.

 

‘Credit card... ID... Emergency glasses-cleaning tissues... My first strand of grey hair that I plucked out back in high school that was somehow proof that I was becoming K●neki K●n... Hmm is there anything else...? Oh yeah the hidden compartment’

 

I reached into the well-hidden nook and pulled out a picture, it was one of my girlfriend when she was still 4.

 

Even though we’ve only dated for a few years, I’ve had this thing for a while now.

 

What? Don’t look at me with those creeped-out eyes! This actually has got nothing to do with her! This is a memorial of her grandfather who treasured this more than anything in the world! I keep this with me to never forget the lessons he taught me when I was a child!

 

Okay, most of that is actually a lie. I just keep this because I can and it seems romantic.

 

Though, it’s true that he taught me many things— many great things. Truly, no one deserved such a great teacher.

 

*****

 

I love my parents, but I’m not a good child so they scold me a lot. Sometimes, if I do really bad things, they hit me. I’m really sad when they hit me.

 

But then I realized, whenever I wanted to do something, I could just guess if my parents would be angry because of it. And just like that, I could avoid getting scolded.

 

It worked! A month passed and I wasn’t scolded even once!

 

But one time, dad and mom were sad and angry at each other.

 

“Where the fuck is the money?! We should still have a lot left in the safe. Did you hide it?”

 

“Yeah I hid it. Do you even know how much you’ve lost?!”

 

“Who the fuck cares? We’re rich, we can just make it back anyway!”

 

Eh? Why are they angry at each other? Did they both do something wrong? Money? Lose? Are they going to be happy if they win money?

 

I wanted to ask but I was scared. They were yelling very loudly.

 

Not knowing what to do, I started crying.

 

Noticing my crying, they stopped the argument.

 

But from then on they would argue more and more, and every time they did, they would lock me outside the house.

 

The first time that happened, I started wandering around town to end up near a fishing spot.

 

I didn’t know how fishing worked at all so I started guessing which grandpa wouldn’t get annoyed if I asked them about it.

 

That was when I found Big Grandpa sitting alone, waiting for his granddaughter.

 

I guessed that he was really kind to the girl so he must have been a kind grandpa.

 

And so, I sat down and started watching.

 

*****

 

I'm old, that much is obvious. People my age ought to come to terms with Mr. Death next door or they can never have any kind of peace whatsoever.

 

They ought to, and yet there I was, heartbroken to find out I only had a few months left.

 

A few months to give all this love to my children and their children, to make sure they're as happy as they deserve to be, and to teach them how to do the same.

 

As sad as I was, I was still someone who knew when to give up.

 

With a heart full of feelings of resignation, I loosened the grip on my fishing pole and slowly turned to the side to take a good look at the beauty of my favorite fishing spot, something I've always taken for granted.

 

It was then that I found a boy sitting next to me, staring intently.

 

His narrowed eyes, filled with the boundless curiosity of a child, were staring daggers at my fishing gear. Did he like fishing? Did he want to try? Or was it just simple curiosity? I couldn't tell. But regardless,

 

"Where are your parents kid?"

 

"They're at home."

 

"Where's your guardian?"

 

"Garden? My house doesn't have one."

 

Ah, I forgot to avoid difficult words again.

 

"Did you come here alone?"

 

"Yes."

 

"Do you know the way home?"

 

"No, but it's fine because I can guess which way is right."

 

Ah, that's dangerous. I'm glad I talked to him before he got himself lost.

 

"Alright, after gramps here catch the next fish I'll help you get home, alright?"

 

"No. That girl will come here looking for you and she'll be very sad if she doesn't find you. I don't want her to be sad."

 

"What?" I instinctively asked, "That girl?"

 

"Your... Errr... Gran... Granddaughter." He struggled to pronounce the word, it seems even that word was difficult for this kid.

 

Though, he's her friend huh? So they promised to meet up here? That's my granddaughter for you, already breaking hearts at that age.

 

Before I knew it, a warm smile crept onto my face.

 

At the end of such an exchange, I felt a bite and reeled the fish in.

 

It was a big one, so I innocently and excitedly showed it to the kid, thinking he would get excited too because he seemed interested in fishing.

 

To my surprise, the kid just seemed sad for the fish. It seems his interest from before really was just curiosity.

 

Dejected, I threw the fish into a water bucket and reached for some more fish bait. It was then that I met with the child's eyes again, though this time he was all teary.

 

"Eh? Why? What's wrong?" I panicked.

 

"W-wormie's getting hurt." He points at my fish bait.

 

Baffled, I frantically made up an excuse "But look, isn't it ugly and scary?"

 

"B-but teacher said, even though they look like that, they're kind. They make the dirt good and would never hurt you. So you should never hurt them either." He said, tears in his eyes, but not yet crying.

 

Eh? Is that the case? Education has gotten really good huh? They even teach kids this kind of thing.

 

I then paused and stared at the little earthworm in my hand.

 

Objectively speaking, what I'm doing to this little thing can only be considered utter selfishness. I'm simply robbing it of its everything, subjecting it to pain that it can never understand only for my own self-satisfaction. Isn't that just evil in every way?

 

And yet, society doesn't care, because why would they? It's just an earthworm. I myself still didn't care that much for its life either. It probably couldn't even feel pain.

 

But there was something else here that I should care about.

 

The boy who would cry over injustice and unfairness and the kindness it requires to do such a thing.

 

Once he grows wiser, he'll probably treat the worm just like how the rest of society treats it— but that kindness, that kindness has to be preserved so that it can be directed towards other humans.

 

This was the first time I got to witness a virtue in such a pure and vibrant form.

 

And so, I decided that I— no, that no one had the right to sully such a beautiful thing.

 

*****

 

"Sorry kid, I was wrong. I shouldn't do this to them." Grandpa stood up and started finding a place to release the worms.

 

Seeing that, I was relieved. When he released the worms he even said sorry to them.

 

"Gramps is really nice! My parents usually yell at me when I ask them if I can give the fishies some water or hatch the eggs at home!" I smiled brightly.

 

Gramps just stood and looked at me without saying anything. But I instinctively knew that he was angry. Ah, I forgot to guess what I should say again.

 

"A-are you angry gramps? I'm sorry! I'll be careful in the future!" I frantically said the words my parents taught me to say whenever they were angry.

 

"N-no, I'm not angry at you kid. Don't worry about it. Errr... Right, it's just that the worms haven't started digging, I wonder if anything's wrong with them."

 

When gramps said so, I looked at the worms and started guessing.

 

They were all fine, it's just that it was going to take very long for them to start digging again.

 

"Don't worry gramps, they're all fine! That small one will start digging in a bit and the others will start too!"

 

"Is that so?" Gramps stared at the worms, looking a bit confused.

 

While he was staring, gramps' granddaughter started running towards us "Graaaaamps buy me ice cr— eeeekkk" she shrieked when she saw the worms crawling on the ground.

 

"Oh, you're late. Your friend here has been waiting for a while now."

 

"Friend?" the girl tilted her head.

 

"Yeah, him. Didn't you tell your friend to come here today?" gramps said, signaling at me with his chin.

 

The girl, confused by the situation and scared by the worms, just hid behind gramps without saying anything.

 

"Oh, is it the worms? Alright, since you said you wanted ice cream, I'll get some for the both of you and then you two can play, alright?"

 

Hearing that we were going to get ice cream, both my and the girl's face lit up.

 

*****

 

"Pick that sword up, wormmancer." my granddaughter threw a stick at the boy.

 

Kids are terrifying learners. With the help of cartoons, they can even learn words like "wormmancer".

 

But what about the boy who struggled to even say the word "granddaughter"? What's up with that?

 

One shouldn't speculate, but from what he's said, it's probably that his parents are terrible teachers.

 

As the kid picked the stick up, my granddaughter charged at him with another stick in hand, trying to hit him.

 

"Trying", because no matter how quickly she swung her stick, the boy would always be able to block it with his. It seemed like he could read her like an open book— which made me wonder if this was a routine for them.

 

"How dare you use my only fear against me, this great princess!"

 

"Wormies are actually really nice! you should try and make friends with them!"

 

"Silence! Such mockery!"

 

The sight before me was so amusing that I couldn't help but chime in

 

"Tame her with love, boy!" I teased.

 

For a moment the boy looked confused, but then he narrowed his eyes and started thinking.

 

After a while of serious thinking, the boy broke into a devious smile. It seemed he finally found something good to say.

 

"I love you!" he yelled.

 

"Wah?!" the girl froze.

 

That simple? And yet it took you that long? And it actually worked?

 

I burst into laughter.

 

One onlooker whistled, and another one yelled "that's a man right there!"

 

Apparently, they had attracted quite a bit of attention with that routine of theirs.

 

Taking notice of the onlookers also made me notice that the sun was already setting. I had to get the both of them home as soon as possible.

 

I picked up my beet-red granddaughter and placed her on my neck, giving her a piggyback.

 

"I'm all for budding romances but, it's getting late so let's get you home", I said, smiling.

 

*****

 

Contrary to my expectations, the trip to his house was relatively smooth-sailing. Even though he said he didn't know the way back, we made all the right turns and arrived at his place in what felt like mere minutes.

 

'All's well that ends well I suppose', I thought, ringing the doorbell.

 

A man in his 30s opened the door, and, for a moment, I could see the insides of their house— there was broken glass everywhere and the place looked to be a complete mess.

 

A sense of dread overtook my body.

 

"Ah, um, here's your child. He was a very good kid today."

 

"Ah? Ah. It's you. Get inside." the man told the boy.

 

Seemingly afraid, the boy timidly walked in. The man then shut the door without saying anything more.

 

Not knowing what to do or say, I just took my granddaughter to her parents and went home myself.

 

I'm not one to have regrets in life, but not taking any action that day haunted me greatly, even as I drew my last breath.

 

*****

 

And that's how I first met Big Grandpa.

 

From then on, our encounters only became more and more frequent as my parents argued more and more.

 

"Oh, kiddo, you're here again. Ah? Me? Oh I came here only to realize I don't have any bait so I'm just enjoying the wind. Oh, what say we go buy you some ice cream and I'll buy myself some bait that won't get hurt?"

 

Every time they locked me out, I would find myself happier than I'd ever been.

 

"Is the fish hurt? I usually try to kill it without making it suffer. But even though there's no pain or sadness involved, you should still be grateful to it. Life is precious, so be grateful that even in death, it still gives you happiness, or fullness for that matter!"

 

He was someone I didn't need to use foresight to "guess" what to say or what to do because when I did something wrong, I would always learn something from him.

 

"Kiddo, don't call people what they aren't, don't say things that aren't true. You don't understand this yet but remember this so that one day you will: Always be right, no matter the cost."

 

Even as a child, I could feel that he was 'genuine', unlike the actors on TV who recites lines or the teachers in school who simply tell everyone the same things over and over again. He was all that he was. He loved, and so he cared, and so he protected.

 

"What's love? Ah you don't need to worry about it right now. You'll acquire love in a few years and, when that time comes, if the one you love is my granddaughter, I give you full permission to kidnap her. Eh? What's 'acquire'?"

 

For the first time in my life, I understood someone.

 

"You're happy? That's good, remember that. This one is for future you to recall and cry about: never lose sight of what makes you happy, what makes you sad, what makes you angry. Every step of the way, remember to look around to find yourself."

 

That random kind burly old man by the lakeside was my teacher— nay, my hero.

 

"These days we come here pretty much every day huh? Have you done your summer homework yet?"

 

And, as he approached the later stages of his leukemia, he would have frequent bouts of confusion, which meant he couldn't even form coherent sentences. While younger me couldn't notice such a thing, he dragged himself out to the fishing spot practically every day to meet me.

 

Even now, I still don't know why he tried so hard for some random kid, and I haven't become conceited enough to dare think he found any fun in all that— even though that's what he would have had me believe. His smile was always so brilliant that it was the only thing I couldn't learn from him.

 

The days I spent with him by that lake were mostly quiet days, but whenever words were exchanged, I could never forget them for the rest of my life.

 

*****

 

Recently I'd been sneaking out to meet with gramps even when mom and dad weren't arguing.

 

And today wasn't an exception.

 

I went to the lake again, just like usual.

 

But today gramps didn't have his fishing rod with him.

 

When I arrived, he was just sitting on a bench, waiting.

 

"Oh, kiddo. You came."

 

"Hi gramps. Are we not fishing today?"

 

"No, I gave the stuff away. I came here today to tell you today's the last day."

 

"You don't want to fish anymore? Then can I come to your house to play?"

 

"No. I'm going somewhere far away soon."

 

"Eh? Where is it? My parents don't let me go far but when I grow up I'll definitely come and play."

 

"I'll scold you if I see your face over there." He laughed.

 

"Where is it gramps? Where is iiiiiit?"

 

"Can you guess?"

 

Ever since our first time meeting, I subconsciously never tried to guess anything about gramps so I never thought about it. But since he asked if I could, I concentrated and started guessing where he would be the day after.

 

"Eh? The hospital? Gramps is sick?"

 

"So it's true."

 

"Eh? Why are the days after tomorrow all black? Gramps? Why?" tears started to well up in my eyes.

 

"Alright, since you don't know how special you are, I'll teach you one last lesson: those things you see when you try to guess things, that's the future and no one else can do that. That's a power called foresight and you need to keep it a secret from everyone."

 

Eh? What is he saying? No one else can guess? Foresight?

 

"When normal people try to guess something, they often get things wrong, and they need clues for the guess. Not you, your guesses are always right, and you don't need any clue whatsoever."

 

So I'm not normal?

 

"But, you know, that's not your real gift, your real gift is... even though it's a difficult and vague word, your kindness."

 

*****

 

Don't cry so much kiddo. The little missy cries way less than you do. It'll be really embarrassing if you're the only one to cry at you guys' wedding.

 

"Kindness, is the willingness to give people a helping hand, the ability to sacrifice yourself for others, the warmth that will bring about happiness, and it is your greatest gift."

 

Even though these are all difficult words that you don't yet understand, I hope you remember them.

 

"Hide your gift, and always listen to your other gift."

 

And no matter where you go, you'll be loved.

 

"And with that, I'd like to ask for a favor from you—"

 

I paused briefly,  to ready myself for my first selfish request towards the boy.

 

"What happens after I'm gone?"

 

And then, with his words stuck between all the sobbing and the hiccups, he desperately tried to grant my last request.

 

Every word he said made the sadness weighing on my heart grow, and oh boy did it grow. By the end of it, I found tears trickling down my face for the first time in what felt like an eternity.

 

"That's enough kid." I stopped him and stood up. "Before I go though, here. Even though I don't have much left I can give you, this here is my heart. Take it. Keep it safe if this old man means much of anything to you." I took out a small picture of my granddaughter and handed it to him.

 

He took it and became quiet. His shoulders still trembling.

 

"Take care, child."

 

*****

 

And so the curtain closes on the encounter that saved my life. Now, holding his "heart" in my hand, I can't help but tear up a little.

 

Those days were undoubtedly beautiful memories and I couldn't have wished for anything better.

 

While I was reminiscing, I suddenly felt a warmth around my neck, coupled with a pair of arms.

 

My, how romantic of her to— chokehold me like this.

 

"I give up! I give up!"

 

"Care to explain how you have that picture of me?"

 

"I'll do it if you release your arms!"

 

"You can still talk can't you?"

 

"Fine! Fine! This is gramps'!"

 

"Oh? He kept this around?" she said as her arms released to form a normal hug.

 

"He called this his heart. But I guess it's my heart now. That transplant was terribly inexpensive. He was a good surgeon."

 

"Don't say both romantic things and stupid things under one breath or I'll get confused." she laughed. "Hey, do you think he was happy?"

 

"I don't know, but I hope he was. I want to believe that he was." I turned to look at her.

 

"Right?" She beamed at me.

 

"That smile of yours looks exactly like his."

 

"It's really hard to fake this one you know? I've tried a lot but it either comes out naturally or I'm getting arrested."

 

"Sounds like a scam pitch."

 

She choked me again.

 

Anyway, imminent threat to my life aside.

 

To finish this story off, I have to say that I disagree with gramps

 

My greatest gift? It was never foresight, nor kindness.

 

It was the chance to meet that man.

 

It was a chance to be saved, a chance to learn, and a chance to understand.

 

What about you?

 

Have you been saved? Have you saved someone?

 

Will you save someone?