Chapter 1 page 11-17

Davi

relaxed, and let the breath he'd been holding return, smiling at Pedro, and

turning his attention to a sandwich, not letting go of his friend's pinky.

And so, Davi

had a new dream to achieve, anything would be possible with his best friend by

his side.

“Hurry up,

Pedro!” – Davi said dragging his friend through the streets in the early

morning of March. He had sneaked out, and waited for Pedro for hours in front

of his house's gate.

"What

is this rush for?" – Pedro knew very well what day it was, and he smiled

when he thought that two years ago he himself had done something similar to Davi.

“You know

today is a special day.” – Davi said smiling, his eyes shining, he wanted it to

be perfect. – “When the first sunlight hits our Ipê, it will shine in two

colors, wasn't it?”

Pedro felt

his face burn, flushing at the memory that he had said that to Davi too, and he

walked faster to catch up with his friend.

It felt

like no time had passed, that they were still two brats running wild wherever

they went. But at fifteen, time seems to run different, Pedro thought to

himself.

Arriving at

the top of the hill, the sun had not even risen. Davi had already put the

picnic, and Pedro laughed, his friend was always too eager to do things.

When Pedro

finally sat down, Davi was grinning like a madman, hands behind him. Pedro knew

that Davi wanted to give him a gift, for which Pedro insisted that friendship

was the greatest gift he could ever want. Davi had laughed a little but nodded

effusively. Of course, that wouldn't stop him from doing something meaningful. Davi

then showed the gift, a tiara of flowers.

“I know

I've gotten you into a lot of trouble.” – Davi said, with his hands shaking a

little. – “And you have no idea how much it means to me, you have been by my

side all this time.”

“You were

always the most emotional of this relation...” - Pedro began to say. – “Friendship.”

“And yet

you stayed. You are my first friend, and my best friend. And today, when the Ipê

does not shine two colors, I crown you, my prince.”

Pedro stood

motionless as Davi smoothed the tiara over his hair. What that meant, Pedro

tried to understand, but his heart insisted on roaring louder than his

thoughts.

Davi then

hugged him tight, something that has become less rare in recent years. The

tallest boy has always been the most affectionate.

“I love

you.” – Davi whispered. And Pedro didn't know what to say.

“Of course,

I'm your best friend.” – That was it, wasn't it?, Pedro thought, just as a best

friend.

Davi

stopped the hug and walked away, and Pedro felt inner inside it wasn't that.

Davi threw himself back to his place under the Ipê. Every second of silence

that followed only added to the fear that haunted Pedro.

Someone had

already made a rumor about them, and Pedro's adoptive father had punished him,

even when the boy denied it and swore that none of it was true, Senhor João

said it was a prior corrective, so he would remember not to do no acts of

depravity while under his roof and name.

Pedro

wanted to say that he wasn't afraid, of not having a house to live, or a name,

but that wouldn't be true. He wanted to think that as long as he had a friend,

everything would be okay. But Mr João was perhaps more intelligent than he let

on, as he made an even bigger threat than physical violence. If he found out

about anything about that, instead of punishing Pedro, he would do it to Davi.

Pedro

wasn't able to sacrifice his material possessions, but above all he couldn't

and would not let Davi suffer any harm.

If Davi

felt something for him, if he reciprocated, it could only end in tragedy. This

was not what Pedro wanted to spend his fifteenth birthday thinking about.

Pedro

hadn't talked to Davi for a week, and it wasn't because they weren't seeing

each other, they saw each other every day at school. But every time Davi

approached, Pedro almost ran from him. Davi could not understand. Just last

Sunday they were together on the hill, laughing and talking nonsense. Well, Davi

was talking nonsense, and Pedro was laughing.

Was it

really? Davi tried to remember. Maybe not laughing laughing, but smiling? A

little bit. Now Davi was worried. Perhaps something had happened at the

Pelegrini house. Maybe they finally got tired of Davi taking so much time away

from Pedro. Davi's thoughts spiraled, but only one person could clear his

doubts, and to talk to Pedro he would have to ambush him.

So that was

it. Davi looked at the bracelet he had been carrying with him for eight years,

he could feel his chin drenched with tears. Disheartenned, he returned home,

and buried his face in the pillow, still clutching the bracelet, as if somehow

those intertwined green lines could free him from that anguish. What could have

gone so wrong?

Pedro was

gone. That was it. After three whole days without seeing even a shadow of his

friend, he went to the Pelegrini house, perhaps Pedro was ill. That would

explain why he had avoided him so many days in a row. That was it. That could

only be it. But then Mr. João Pelegrini informed him, over the intercom, that

Pedro had gotten a scholarship to study at a school in a city that Davi no

longer remembered the name.

How? Why? Davi

didn't understand, couldn't understand, as his best friend, his only friend, he

could have left like that, without giving an explanation, not even a goodbye.

And the promise they had made? Had it meant nothing to Pedro? The more Davi

thought, the more it hurt. To think that...

Pedro

hadn't said it back. Two years earlier, under the Ipê that was practically

theirs, Pedro had not said that he loved him. Of course, Davi at the time

hadn't thought of it as a romantic confession, but still, he hoped that one day

Pedro would say it. He waited for Pedro to say when Davi rolled down the hill

because of a very strong wave of energy he had released, and with his arms

around Davi, the taller boy waited for Pedro to say. Davi waited for Pedro to

say the three words when someone insulted Pedro and Davi, for the first time,

wich was countered with a punch, only getting him to take an even harder punch

back, and while Pedro took care of his swollen eye, and holding his hand, Davi

was hoping Pedro would tell him not to get into this kind of mess, because he

loved him, and he didn't want him to get hurt.

Pedro never

said. Even when on Pedro's fifteenth birthday, when Davi made a tiara of

flowers for his friend. The birthday, which had been a month ago. And when the

sun hit the first lights on the hill, and Davi crowned Pedro his prince, Davi

really thought Pedro would respond, even when Davi repeated that he loved him

and hugged him tight, Pedro didn't say anything back.

And a month

later--thirty-three days, seventeen days after the last time they spoke, Pedro

had abandoned him. Perhaps Davi was exaggerating. Maybe Pedro would send a

letter explaining everything. Maybe he would come back soon, maybe on vacation.

And everything would be resolved. Everything was going to be fine.

Pedro

didn't come back. Davi burrowed himself into books, to study for the Setemptrionalem

entrance exam, and other random stuff, just to distract his thoughts, and he

discovered his passion for reading.

Davi

already knew when the application for the entrance exam would start, so he

saved some money so that he could go to Vila de Sant’ana to apply online. Six

months later he would sit quivering with anticipation to answer the ENCC's 200

questions. And with two more months, he would go to Carapiúna, with his

mother's blessing, and trust in his eyes. Until that moment, in his eighteen

years, Davi had refused to see the negative side of things. Even when his world

had fallen apart and he had no one else as a friend, he still had hope that

things would work out, that one day it would be just as he dreamed. He didn't

know his world could be destroyed, in every way.

Davi had

been overjoyed with his grade, it had been so long since he'd been really happy

– a year, nine months, and twenty-one days, to be precise. The pop-up wasn't

even flashy, “Viper spreads terror in Igaratí”. Davi didn't thought twice

before clicking on the news. The images were of total destruction, as Davi had

just skimmed the headline, he hadn't read that "Viper" was a bomb,

the realization only hit him when he recognized his burning school, so he

searched, and found, a list of places affected, among them were six small

towns, including local communities, the death toll was still being counted, but

the name of Rio das Dores was there.

The boy ran

out the door of the lan-house, as soon as he reached the sidewalk his world blacked

out, everything just disappeared, and he'd like to have disappeared too.

When he

regained consciousness, Davi found himself in a white room, it didn't quite

look like a hospital room, but everything was white and that shouldn't be a

good sign. Davi tried to get up, a little too quickly, only to fall back onto

the bed, his legs trembling and a sharp pain in the back of his neck.

Agonizing

minutes passed, then two men entered the room, Davi would have tensed every

muscle in his body if it obeyed him. One was an elderly man, wearing suspenders

and a red bow tie, dark glasses not allowing him to see his eyes, so Davi

deduced that the old man was blind. The other was younger, no more than forty

years old, tall, athletic, his face was strong but friendly, with an affable

smile, as he was wearing a window and a stethoscope, Davi deduced that he was a

doctor.

“Where I

am?” – Davi asked with a shaky voice.

“At a

private clinic.” – The doctor replied. – “I'm the resident physician, you can

call me Salomão.”

“And I am

Fausto.” – The older man spoke. Despite his age, his voice was young, strong

and cheery. – “How are you, my dear?”

As Davi

looked at the two in confusion, without giving an answer, Salomão took a card

and explained the situation to the younger boy:

“Mr. Fausto

found you lying on the street and called us, an ambulance picked you up, we did

some tests and checked your identity.” – Salomão said, his voice candid and his

eyes fixed on Davi. – “Due to your situation, we'll keep you a few days under

observation.”

So far Davi

had understood, in a way. But when he thought about what he would do when he

got out of the hospital, Davi remembered that he had nowhere to go back, and he

began to shiver.

The doctor

handed him a glass of water and some medicine, which Davi took without

hesitation, and a minute later he was already sleepy. He heard Salomão say that

a nurse would be in charge of him, but the voice came as if Davi were submerged

in a river, so he blacked out and slept for the rest of the day.

Davi did

not realize how many days passed. Every day a nurse, Damasceno, would come, ask

some questions and give Davi some medicine. Salomão did not come every day.

Losing track of the days, the idea of going home was less and less frequent,

until Davi no longer thought about it.

Other

thoughts came to haunt Davi. His community on fire, the smell of smoke, the

screams, his mother just one more body on the count. Davi wasn't there, but the

dreams seemed more and more real, and some days he woke up screaming. After

that, some strange ideas surrounded Davi's foggy mind, something about revenge,

and a big plan, and changing the world.

One day, Davi

was sitting on a terrace, talking animatedly with Salomão, as if they had been

friends for many years. Salomão explained concepts about evolution and how it

would be possible to expand the capacity of powers to a new level. Davi

listened fascinated. Salomão's eyes always shining, one ruby eye, one golden.

"What's

your power?" – Davi asked, something he hadn't paid attention to so far.

“I can see

the future.” – Salomão said, looking a little embarrassed. – “But I can only

see the future of other people, and only if I look into their eyes.”

“That's why

you're a doctor!” – Davi concluded. – “It must be very useful, you can save a

lot of people with its power.”

“Yes,

that's how I used to think too.”

Both were

silent. Which was a rare thing. When another thought hit Davi. What is my

power? Davi then felt a twinge in the back of his neck, and the thought faded.

Days turned

into weeks, and months. Davi just knew he was in the hospital. And that Salomão

was his friend. The nurse still came every day for check-ups. Salomão also came

to pick him up and take him to the garden, or to the terrace, where they spent

hours talking.

Salomão one

day told Davi about a project called Cerberus. He explained to Davi about the

shackles of the New Government and how it affected the Turras.

“I mean…” -

Davi was pale. – “They did that on purpose? How could they! Why kill so many

people?”

Davi

couldn't believe what Salomão had told him, but it made sense, with Salomão's

voice echoing in his mind, Davi came to understand more and more how Cerberus

could work. They could create a new world where everyone would have an ability

or power.

Without realizing

it, Davi agreed with everything Salomão said, and more and more Davi got lost

in who he was, or who he should be.

Davi no

longer had nightmares. Now his dreams were filled by a room of mirrors.

Memories appeared in the mirrors, and every time the boy got close, the mirrors

broke into pieces. In his dreams, Davi always tried with all his might to pick

up the pieces and assemble the memories, but every dream he gave up a little,

until he didn't try anymore, and all that existed in the white space of his

memory was shards.

Then, Salomão

gave his last instruction to Davi.

Davi woke

up from a strange dream. In his room, in Setemptrionalem's dormitory, the boy

remained dizzy, his last memory was...

“What

was it again?”

“It

should be what you saw in the last class, right, Davi?”

“Not

that Lucas, I remember that, I was speaking from before that.”

“Before

you were in class, what happened to you man?”

“You're

good for nothing, huh? I’m talking ‘bout before I joined Setemptrionalem...”

“Oh, I

know what's going on!”

“What?”

“It's

because you're getting old. The voice chuckled in her head.”

“Oh yes.

Twenty years.”–

But Davi

didn't remember the last two years. Or even before that. His last memory was...

a tiara of wild flowers, and the face of his best friend.

***Download NovelToon to enjoy a better reading experience!***