On the Way to a Smile, Episode: Denzel [Revised]
All of the adults had moved on now, but about twenty of the kids stayed behind as the Triple S.
They knew about the new town, known as Edge, and that it was growing in leaps and bounds. They also knew that there was a facility there for orphans. But they were helping with the building efforts right where they were, and got by without relying on adults. They saw no reason for them to leave. They also thought about how bad it would look to be called orphans and needing to be protected. Still, their pride couldn’t stop the new town progressing. Soon, work was re-centred around large machinery brought in from various places. In the time it took Denzel and his friends to carry one short girder, a giant crane could lift up an entire house and carry it off. And so, even the proud members of the Triple S started to leave, one by one. Before long, only six members remained, including Denzel. All of them were starving. Eventually even the last girl left announced she was going to Edge.
* * *
Denzel laughed with a smile.
“What’s wrong?”
Reeve looked at him with a puzzled expression.
“I hated that girl. The guys said a girl would just slow us down and stuff. But they all wanted to be in a group with her. Once there were less than ten people, she was a pain in the butt to work with.”
Reeve laughed.
“But I realize now. All that meant was that I’d gotten to the point where I could – I don’t know – worry and get mad about normal stuff again.”
“You should be grateful to her.”
“She’s not around anymore.”
* * *
When Denzel woke up, he learned that all that remained of the Triple S was him and another boy named Rix.
“What can two people scavenge? Screws and lightbulbs?”
“Think of the killing we’ll make,”
“I’ll go buy us some breakfast and look for some jobs.”
“Hey, wait a sec.”
Rix went over to where they hid their cash box and opened it.
“Hey, Denzel! We’re in trouble!”
The change that remained in the box couldnt have bought them a slice of bread. The two of them sat silently for a while. Rix was the first to open his mouth.
“We’ll just have to live in Edge now. Get food for free .”
“So that’s it?”
“Yup, that’s it. I ain’t starving to death.”
Suddenly, Denzel recalled something his father had said.
“Wanna catch some rats to eat?”
“Rats?”
“Yeah. I hear that everybody in the slums is too poor to eat anything but rats. My dad said so. Filthy, grey rats. This is the slums, and we’re pretty poor.”
“You serious?”
“Yeah, I’m gonn eat a rat. I’m gonna be a real kid from the slums.”
Rick slowly got up and clapped the dust from his clothes. Denzel stood up too, and looked around.
“We need a spear.”
“Oh yeah? Do it yorself. ”
“huh?”
“I’ve been a kid from the slums since the day I was born.”
Denzel realized his mistake and tried to smoothe things out.
“…I didn’t know.”
“So, what? You would have just refused to be friends with me if you did?”
“Of course not!”
“Whatever. You’re just like all the snotty Plate kids.”
“Rix…”
“Just so you know, thanks to the contaminated water you punks dumped on us, the rats here are full of nasty germs. Find one person who’s gonna eat that.”
Saying that, Rick left Denzel behind.
* * *
Denzel sighed.
“I didn’t go after him. I didn’t think he’d forgive me…”
“Why not?”
“Because he was right. I was a stuck-up kid from the Plate. I was used to the terminal and all the debris in Sector Seven, but I wouldn’t be caught dead going to the other slums. I think that’s why I didn’t go to Edge either… because I thought of it as a slum. Poor and dirty”
“And Rix?”
“He’s doing okay. But he still won’t talk to me.”
“Well, I’m glad you still have a chance to make up.”
* * *
Denzel sharpened the ends of the steel rods he had gathered, and using them as spears, he went hunting for rats.
“I was ready to catch one of those rats and eat it. I had no money, no job. The slums would’ve been a step up. A Sector Seven kid like me could never be anybody in that world. But a rat full of nasty germs would solve that ploblem.”
Loneliness had slowly stolen Denzel’s will to live. His situation was no worse than when Sector Seven disappeared. But what made it worse was his presumption that nothing awaited him greater than his parents, Arkham, Ruvie, Gaskin, the Triple S, and all of the other encounters that had sustained him so far
He felt he would never smile again.
There’s no meaning to life without smiles. Isn’t that right, mom. A rat full of nasty germs should help me solve that problem
* * *
“Hey, now hold on a sec there!”,
Without them noticing, Johnny was standing close by, listening to Denzel’s story.
“I’m just saying what I thought at the time. But I was wrong. That’s why i’m still around”
“Well, yeah… but…”
“… because you had the most fortunate encounter of your life”
“Just when things were looking the worst.”
* * *
There were no rats to be found. He wandered around searching aimlessly, eventually arriving in the Sector Five slums. He found a church there that was starting to fall apart. A motorcycle hat been parked in front of it. It was like nothing he had seen before. But what really caught his attention was the mobile phone that hung on the handle.
A smile crossed Denzel’s face. He figured it would be ok if he borrow it just for a second. He wondered if he’d be able to get through to anyone. Approaching the bike, he took the phone in his hand. As he dialed his home number, he imagined a phone ringing in the middle of the Sector Seven rubble.
“All Sector Seven lines are currently out of service.”
Denzel had looked for his parents while working with the Triple S, but never found them. He no longer clung onto the hope that they were somewhere out there, alive.
“All Sector Seven lines are currently out of service.”
With the phone still to his ear, he looked up. He could see the bottom of the Sector Five plate. He realized that on top of it, was Ruvie’s resting place.
“All Sector Seven lines are currently out of service.”
As he hung up, he thought about smashing is against the ground, but decided against it. He wanted to try dialling Ruvie’s number, but he never learned it in the first place.
Denzel checked the phone’s incoming calls. He decided to try the first number on the list. It rang. Someone picked up immediately.
“Cloud, what a surprise. You never call. Is something wrong?”
Denzel listened to the woman’s voice silently.
“Cloud?”
“…No, I’m not.”
“…Who, then? That’s Cloud’s phone, right?”
“I don’t know.”
“Who are you?”
“I don’t know what I should do.”
“Hey…Are you crying?”
“What’s wrong? Are you all right? … Coud? Are you there? Cloud?
He thought he felt tears flowing down his face. When he closed his eyes and went to wipe them, a surge of pain shot through his forehead. The pain caused his whole body to seize and he dropped the phone. He crouched there as the pain overwhelmed him. He felt a sticky fluid as he held his forehead. Denzel realised he really didn’t want to die. But the pain wouldn’t go away. All he could do was pray silently.
Don’t let it be black. Don’t let it be black.
He fought the throbbing pain and opened his eyes. His hands were jet black.
* * *
“I don’t remember anything after that. When I woke up, I was in a bed. Tifa and Marlene were looking at me. …The rest you already know, right.”
“Sort of.”
“I owe my being alive to so many different people. My parents, Miss Ruvie, Arkham, Gaskin, my friends from the Triple S. The living, the dead, Tifa, Cloud, Marlene. And, of course…”
“hmmm”
“I want to be like that for someone. It’s my turn to do the protecting.”
Reeve was silent.
“Please, sir, let me join,”
“No! N-O spells no!”
“Would you shut up!”
“But you’re still just a kid!”
“That doesn’t matter!”
“hmmm, Actually… the WRO no longer enlists children.”
“There, told you!”
“Then… why didn’t you just tell me in the first place?”
“Well, you see, I just decided. While listening to your story. Children have something only children can do. I want you to do that.”
“…What is it?”
“Bring out the strength in us adults.”
Denzel waited for him to continue, but Reeve stood up as if to say their talk was over.
“Oh, one other thing…”
Denzel looked at Reeve expectantly.
He took a hankerchief out of his pocket and waved it about. It had a pattern with lots of little flowers.
“Thank you for taking care of my mother.”
Johnny had started to clean up after Reeve left. Denzel looked down at his own hankerchief, which he had set on the table.
“You know, kid… if you wanna fight, you can do it any time you want. You don’t need to be in the WRO. Why’s that so important to you?”
“Cloud…”
“What about him?”
“He’s strong because he used to be in the army way back.I wanna be strong like that too”
“Times change, I think.”
“How?”
“Well,let’s see. Say, instead of some guy who swings around a sword… it’s the guy who always knows how to take away the pain… which do you think would be more popular.”
“It’s not like I want to be popular, though.”
Denzel remembered all of the hair ruffling and kind words, encouraging him. Men and women, adults and children – he would carry them in his heart for the rest of his life.
