The 1001 Flat World Tales

He just lied there, on his little bed, gazing up at the ceiling. He was tired, yet no sleep would come to him. He turned his head towards a mirror and saw his reflection with the light from the star-filled sky.

  He stared at it as if in search of something – his eyes seemed to have lost life, and sadness and distress had taken place of every other emotion. Glistening with painful tears, he closed his eyes and allowed the tears to flow down his face.

  The sun was not up, yet he got up anyway. Around 4°C with a light chilly southerly breeze – perfect. He allowed the darkness outside to engulf him as he started to run, the street lights his only guide. His run only got faster as the morning wind blew stronger in his face. Droplets of sweat trickled down his forehead. His lungs tightened up, his heart pumped as if it was to double in size, and his legs were slowly becoming heavier and heavier. But anything as trivial as physical pain was not going to slow him down, and he ran towards the dawning sun.

  He was a young adult who upheld his values a little higher than most his age. Because of his perseverance, his spirit in life and his ability to see hope in the most dire of situations, he was regarded that much higher than others too.

  This is his story – the story of Kain Wallace.

  The lights in the showers were already on as Kain walked towards it, rubbing his eyes in an attempt to pry them open. His steps, with drowsiness still hanging over him, were irregular. He entered one of the many shower booths and turned on the hot water. He just stood there, enjoying every second of the miraculous powers of a hot shower on a cold Friday morning. But here was the first lesson, boarding school law no. 1: Good things never last long. As Kain started to lather the shampoo into his hair, the fire alarm burst into life and started to create some very, very loud noises.

  “What the?! Oh … My God … Just perfect timing.”

  He jumped out of the shower booth, shampoo still in his hair and only a towel around his waist, and ran outside to the assembly point. It was twenty metres away from his boarding house, yet it felt like two hundred as the cold morning wind pierced into every single bit of his once warm body. It must have been a sight: around sixty young men, with their age ranging from fourteen to eighteen, standing out in the tennis courts at six in the morning, many in their boxers and their duvet wrapped around their body in a feeble attempt to stay warm. And there was Kain, half-naked and dripping wet with only a soaked towel around his waist. It was not the greatest of starts to a Friday.

  Kain could only allow himself to laugh at what happened in the morning. He was seated with many others in the massive dining hall for lunch, talking about the ‘interesting’ incident that marked the start to an otherwise very mundane day at school.

  “Oi, Wallace, I heard you had a nice start to the day. A fire alarm at six o’clock in the morning, ay,” said Dean, one of Kain’s best friends.  He couldn’t contain his laughter.

  “Yeah, bro, it couldn’t have been better, man,” said Kain, fatigue dripping from every word he spoke.

  “Anyway, what’s up with you, mate? You look sick. You alright?” asked Dean, looking uncertain. Kain opened his mouth to reply, but closed it and simply nodded. Kain tried his best to pull a smile.

  “I’m just tired. Nothing to worry about …” said Kain, his voice contradicting his words.

  “Okay, mate. Go back to the House and rest. Looks like you need it. Thank God, it’s a half day,” said Dean. He patted Kain’s back and walked off towards the tray return area. Kain just sat in his seat with his appetite lost. Inexplicable emotions loomed in his mind. It was hard labour just sitting on his chair, his confused mind sapping all his energy. He clenched his fork till his hand turned white. He needed to stop himself, disallow himself to think about it, because he knew it wasn’t worth the effort. “Come on, Kain, don’t do this to yourself …” he muttered. He stood up and jogged towards the tray return area.

  He walked a lonely walk on his way back to his boarding House, with a slight drizzle falling, and with it, some of the last remaining autumn leaves from the large cherry oaks that lined the school pavements. He knelt down and picked up a crimson leaf, dry and lifeless. In the background, he could hear the screams and shouts coming from one of the closer rugby fields. Kain stared at the leaf, and accidentally ripped the delicate piece of nature.

  When are the times when one realizes that we know the least about ourselves? When are the times when one is so sure about something, when you just know from the very bottom of your heart that there is nothing to hinder you from this known ‘fact’? Yet as time passes by you realize that such certainty was based on doubt. Kain asked himself those questions, with his head held up towards the gray sky, spitting down the tears of nature. Simply put, it did not make any sense to him. There was him, staring at a long closed door. He knew that the possibility of it reopening for him couldn’t be anything other than zero. Then why was he waiting? What was the point? It was as if major parts of a jigsaw puzzle were missing and the complete picture was nothing more than blots of colour. With that sorry thought coursing through his head, he slowly made his way towards his House as the drizzle ever so slowly dampened his uniform … and also his dying spirit.

  The pieces of the ripped leaf, cradled by a gentle breeze, slowly fell on a puddle. They floated until, overwhelmed by the falling raindrops and it sunk helplessly to the very bottom.

  Sitting on his armchair in the common room, he closed his eyes and forced himself to rest. He leaned back in his chair, feeling more tired than ever.

  “Mate, I knew you would be in depression mode.”

  Kain opened his eyes once more and saw Dean sitting on an armchair in front of him, having been following Kain secretly from the dining hall to check how he was doing.

  “Ah … really?” said Kain, almost a whisper.

  “Bro, talk to me man… No, actually, come to think of it, rather than you tell me, I’ll tell you what’s wrong with you.”

  “Haha, go for it mate,” said Kain.

  “Do you like her this much?” Dean had barely whispered, yet for some reason it echoed loudly through Kain’s head.

  Kain could only smirk at what he was hearing from Dean, but Kain’s discontent did not hinder Dean.

  “Don’t do this to yourself. Most of us think holding on makes us strong; but sometimes you just gotta let go.”

  Now Kain’s impatience grew enough to express itself freely. However, his friendship extended just enough for him to retain his self-control. He stood up without a word and attempted to slip out of the room but Dean blocked his way.

  “Dude, just get the hell out of my way.” Kain’s voice seemed to have found its energy back but only to be charged with the annoyance of Dean.

  “Just sit your butt down on your bed, bro!” Dean pushed Kain hard onto his bed. “This is for your own good.” Kain fell on the bed, dumbstruck at how his friend was acting. Dean looked straight into Kain’s eyes and Kain’s did so back. Dean didn’t see any anger or impatience in his friend’s eyes. He saw confusion, misery, and, to a certain extent, fear. Kain didn’t see any anger or malice in Dean’s. He only saw affection and love … and so, Kain didn’t fight back or retaliate. He just sat very still.

  “You and I both know that she ain’t gonna come to yah. You and I both know she doesn’t like yah. She has a guy at her side. And you can’t bear to watch it with your bare eyes.”

  Dean laughed a bitter, hollow laugh, as if he couldn’t believe what was coming out of his own mouth. Kain didn’t want to admit it, but Dean was reading his mind to the smallest detail. When he thought over his dilemma and mulled over things in solitude, it wasn’t a fun experience. When a friend completely read one’s mind and paints a picture of it in words, it did not feel much better.

  “I have no idea what is going through your mind, but …” Dean could not finish his sentence as he looked at his friend.

  When Dean saw the expression on Kain’s face, he was astounded. He expected a more despondent face, grimmer, darker … But what he saw was nothing like it. Kain wore a sincere smile, blossoming as a wild flower. When Kain read the confusion in Dean’s eyes, his smile widened even more and said, “It’s funny how this thing called love makes so little sense. But you just live with it, you know? One of the great mysteries yet to be solved.” Kain looked into Dean’s eyes and all the confusion evaporated into thin air.

  “Are you prepared for some of the longest days, the longest hours of your life?” demanded Dean.  However, Dean somehow already knew what Kain was about to say.

  “Mate, love comes to those who wait for it and ‘patience’ is my middle name.” Kain lightly punched Dean’s arm.

  With this said, Kain left the room, Dean didn’t stop him this time. But as Kain went through the door, he whispered, “Don’t ever let her go, bro.” Kain didn’t hear the word through his ears – he heard it through his heart.

  Kain walked outside, and couldn’t believe what he had told Dean. He had that feeling of odd satisfaction without knowing why or where it came from. The weather that dampened Kain only hours before was long gone, and was replaced with the blood red of the setting sun. The spreading rays of light brightened up the horizon just as it was about to reach the hours of evening darkness. At that moment, his phone vibrated in his pocket. He pulled it out and saw that he had received a text message. As Kain checked the message, he couldn’t help himself but smile. He stared at the horizon once more. “Thanks for that.” he said aloud. He lay down on the grass, head propped up by his arms, and closed his eyes. The phone lay beside him, and the message read:

The quote of the day: “There is no remedy for love but to love more.” — Thoreau

Boarding school law no. 2, and the more important one of the two: You are the decider of your own fate. All the autumn leaves may have fallen off and have shriveled up by now. But there’s no doubt the leaves are going to grow back. And like waiting for those leaves, Kain is going to wait because nothing is more worth it.