A medium-sized bookstore stands proud between big buildings in this small size town. This bookstore gives a quaint feeling for anyone who comes across it. It has rustic look with a moderately-sized yard that resembling a meadow. Even though it seems old-fashioned, it gives an odd but calming sensation, reminds you about life simplicity before the modern era.

If you go inside the building, you’ll also experience the same novelty with its exterior. There are many books neatly arranged by their category in their wooden racks. Wherever you look, there always book in your vision, but it doesn’t feel cramped at all while the silence felt soothing. The book’s unique smells, its wooden furniture, and its orange light from antiquated ceiling lamps could alleviate your anxiety.

*Ding*

Bell’s ring echoed across the room; it’s come from the front door. In this slow evening, a young man followed by a teenager showed up and then walked toward the counter near a window where an old man sits down with his eyes glued to today's newspaper.

“Evening, old man,” the young man greets the bookstore owner with a laidback smile.

This young man wears unassuming casual attire, his appearance makes him difficult to spot in the crowd, and his average height’s not helping either. His short black hair sloppily combed backward. People who look him from afar may see him as an office worker in his holiday.

“How many times I must say it to you, never call me an old man. You brat.”

The old man put down his newspaper and looked at the young man. Even though his word was with a reprimanding tone, there no frown on his face, he looked at the young man like a person who meets his old friends.

“So, who’s that boy behind you?” asked the old man.

“This boy? He’s from Scona High School, I met him about a month ago, and we’ve been together ever since.”

“You don’t mean together as, you know, together. Right?”

“Scram, you know what I mean old fart. I’m still straight.”

“Still?”

“No, nope, never, nada, nah. Forget it, and here’s your book. I’ll borrow another one,” the young man put a book in the counter and walk toward a rack with fiction category.

The old man chuckled at the young man's rapid denial while the young man was searching a book on fantasy section.

After a moment, the old man looked at the teenager who standing awkwardly beside the counter. He tried to start some conversations with the teen.

“So, how did you two meets?”

The timid teenager startled when hearing the old man voice, after a moment he answered with a small voice, “We met on my way to home from school, that time bullies from my school harassed me and then...”

The shy youngster voices become smaller and smaller until it’s not audible anymore. However, the old man still understands the general idea of what the teen wanted to convey.

“So, he did it again. Well, it’s just like him, I guess.”

“Again?” the teen timidly asked.

“Yeah, he can’t just leave people in trouble alone, like you. He also helped me when someone scammed me four years ago. He always like that, can’t turn blind eyes to people in need.”

“Doesn’t he afraid that people will exploit his kindness.”

The old man shrugged his shoulder, “I often warned him to be careful as some people already exploited him in the past, but I don’t think it’s necessary anymore, his judgment keeps getting better – Now, he just needs a short time facing them to know whether a person really needed his help or not.”

The teen was silently listening.

“He’s kind but not naïve. It’s a rare sight nowadays. What do you think about him, boy?” the old man asked.

“I think, he’s just like a superman. The thing that every boy aspires to be, but as they grow up, they understand that it is unrealistic.”

The teen silent for a moment, he looked at the man who was still choosing between two books in his hand, and then he continued his words.

“No, I guess someone like that truly exists, but I, at least, couldn’t be like him.”

“If there someone who likes him, I want to see that person,” the old man muttered which then replied by the teen’s giggle.

*Ring* *Ring*

While they’re talking, the teen’s phone ringing loudly in this quiet store. He looked at the unknown number on his screen and then proceeded to pick that up.

“Melvin, you son of a bitch. You better listen to me if you still want to live a normal life, delete that fucking…” a series of curses came from the phone.

“Yeah, you must be Harris.”

The young man who just come back from the fantasy section snatched the phone from the teen after hearing the threat in the loudspeaker.

“…” there was a short silence from across the phone.

“You’re not Melvin,” Harris, the voice across the phone, tried to sound calm, but the anger still leaked out from his tone.

“Yeah, I’m his helper, nice to meet you. Oh, you must already do your homework. So, I’ll make it simple. Fuck. Off.”

“Do you even know who I am. I am…”

“Yeah, yeah, I know who you are — an arrogant child from some influential politician. Wait a minute, I mean a corrupt politician, a very, very shady one. However, that shade now shined by the light.”

“…” Harris became quiet, waited for the young man's next words.

“Look at channel seven, and you’ll understand that your backing is no more. If I’m you, I’ll run as far as possible. Many people with hatred – no, your victims, is coming,” he hung up the phone without waiting for Harris’s answer.

He looked at the old man and the teenager who’s staring at him with a weird look after he closed the phone.

“What?”

“It’s just like you I guess,” the old man said.

“Hu-umph” the young man lifted his chest proudly while smiling widely, “another arc got a happy ending it seems.”

“You, really…”

Before the old man finished his words, a scream reverberated across the street.

“THIEF!”

All of them look towards the window, and they saw a fat man who screamed while trying to catch the thief, but it seems the thief was too fast for him. It’s a stamina difference between an office worker with someone who spent his life in the street.

That man could only hope for someone to stop that thief. However, after people noticed that the scary-looking thief was holding a knife in his right hand, they choose to move aside. They don’t want to bring trouble for themselves just for someone they don’t even know.

“Well, that’s as expected. Most people won’t help if there any chance that it’ll implicate them,” the old man mumbled when looking at people's actions outside.

“Well, it seems my job’s calling,” the young man let out an excited smile and then immediately rushed outside.

After a while, the teen finally remembers something, “Ah, my phone.”

---

Call me Tobias, from long time ago – no matter how long, I always love books. I spend most of my childhood with them. Each of them has unique charms that drew me in, each of them has a unique story to shown whether it’s the story about heroes who protected everyone, anti-heroes who disappointed with the world, or even monsters who rejected by their loved ones. I always imagine that I was in their feet and seeing through their eyes.

When I was a kid, I envied those protagonists. Their life is always eventful and exciting. I, on the other hand, always spent my life at home with my strict grandparents. They rarely permitted me to go outside with my friends, and I often resented them for that.

I felt they were annoying and exasperating, but when they pass away, I know that I lost something important that day. Something that won’t be coming back – ever.

When I think it again, they only considered what is best for me – my grandfather often brings me hunting and fishing even though he also forced me to wear many protective pieces of equipment. He also often tells me his tale as a war hero, his story was stirring but there no proudness in his eyes – only guilt, sorrow, and regret – his story usually ends with life lessons about knowing what right, wrong, recognizing whether I could uphold it or not, also how to acknowledge my weakness.

My grandmother is a kind and smart woman. Every day she always teaches me many things whether that’s life skills or explains something that doesn’t come up in class. She always knows all the answers, that’s how I saw her. Many people asked her advice and there nothing she can’t answer. She was busy, but despite all of that, she always cares for me. She understands my love for book, and even though she tired from all-day work, she still took her time to read me a book before I sleep.

Truly, I was an ungrateful bastard who don’t know important things before he lost it.

I was immature and foolish; there’s no denying that. Now, I’m trying to grow up as their ideal, a man who know right and wrong and a man who smart enough to uphold it.

I want to be a man that I, myself, can be proud with. You know, there a term for these kinds of people in every book – protagonist, a leading character in their story.

I want to be a great protagonist. No, I’ll become the best protagonist.

*Ring* *Ring*

Melvin’s phone ringing in my pocket while I am drowning in my thought, I unconsciously put his phone there before I went after that mugger.

It seems the phone was already ringing for some time, but I don’t get any chance to pick it up when I caught that mugger earlier and give back that fat man’s purse.

“Is this Harris again? I thought he’s a smart man.”

I look at the phone while grumbling and find a simple question appear on its screen. Weirdly, there no number or sender’s name on the screen. Unconsciously, I knit my eyebrow when reading cryptic words there.

[Melvin the Bastard. I saw your suffering. Do you want to leave this world and play a different game?]

[Yes] [No]

“Is this a new kind of bullying?” I ask myself.

I want to ignore it and press home repeatedly, but weirdly there no response. I can’t move to other screens or even turn it off – what a waste of a virus, why they use it for harassing other people.

“Fine, let’s see what you got here,” I said as I press [Yes] button.

After I press the button, I saw everything around me distorting, and the people's voice started to fade away. I saw blobs of darkness descending from the sky and then stop inches above the ground. Before I understand what’s happening, all those blob’s surrounding me in circle and then they finally engulf me.

“What the…,” before I finished my words, my mind went blank.