Day off

And so, everything continued as it should be, there were no further discussions nor strategies, everyone kept it quiet, doing what they must do. None sat next to each other, and no one spoke to each other if it wasn’t for something related to work, like the time they were in social service. And so, a month passed. The team didn’t pass ahead of the 1501st floor, they were sent back-to-back to other rooms that needed mapping or eliminating nests.

And with that, the team had their first free days, every month, the members have their pay and have the chance to go back to their houses for a bit of time, Yasu was having a déjà vu, watching the news on the train while looking at the city, listening to the music on his music player, but this time, with the uniform of the collectors.

Even if he wanted to or not, people treated him with more respect than before, they offered him a seat, sometimes food, but Yasu rejected everything and just went home, calling a driver to go as soon as possible while he was talking to Ren on the phone via text.

—Do you really live here, sir?

—Yeah, why?

—Well, these areas don’t seem to be, you know, I don’t want to sound offensive or anything.

—Then don’t say it… here is ok.

—Alright.

When Yasu was about to pay, the driver held his palm in front of Yasu, saying that he didn’t need to play, Yasu nodded and got out of the car.

—What’s wrong with living here, you piece of…

Yasu sighed and went ahead to the elevator, in there everyone got a bit of respect for him, he sighed one more time, he entered his room and left his things on the table. He sat down and rested his head on the edge of the couch. As he was closing his eyes the door was hit.

Yasu stood up and opened the door, Ren was there holding a pot of food, he entered and they started eating a good amount of sauce with meat along with some vegetables.

—Every person that serves in the IFED has a couple of days off every month so I prepare this in advance.

—Thanks, Ren.

—Did you check your account? Is it true that they pay a lot?

—Yeah, will this only pay I could probably never worry about rent anymore, not like I was before this but at least I will not depend on and expand more in my savings, I knew the pay was great but it shattered my expectations seeing in first person

—That’s great, maybe I'll ask you to let me borrow some, my parents’ business is great and I make some money, but nothing like some extra cash.

—I’ll help you in anything you need, Ren.

—Come on, don’t get that serious, I’m only joking.

Ren smiled and laughed at Yasu, Yasu smiled too but it faded after a few seconds.

—Is something wrong, Yasu?

—Well, work is not that great, we have some pretty rough first days, and then an awkward mood… and now the only jobs we get are doing basic chores, I guess my team is never going to get along, I even said that to their faces…

—There you go again saying the first thing that crosses your mind… But did you regret saying that in reality?

—Not really, it was the truth, but, part of me feels bad, but that’s not all, people here respect you and fear you, looking down on others, just what did they think this area is… it makes my blood boil…

—Ah, don’t worry about that Yasu, we are used to that, but I heard some of the residents feeling proud of having you here.

—I don’t care about what they said, it’s not like I changed or have done anything worth of pricing, I’m just working like everybody else, that’s one of the reasons why I moved here, because I hated the prestige of people thinking that ones are better than the others.

Ren sighed and hit Yasu’s back

—That’s why I accompany you in this journey, my parents leave in a wealthier and I understand you, at least like you said, you haven’t change, and that’s a relief, people tend to change with money or status, but you are still the same as always, Yasu, and I like that about you, so feel a bit of proudness for yourself, you got into the collectors, you are part of the IFED.

—I guess you are right… Maybe I’m just tired, work is about as long as the day lasts and I’m not thinking straight… letting everything make me grumpy…

—Then make sure to eat properly, you can have as many free times starting tomorrow.

—Yeah, I want to sleep but also.

Yasu took a bag off the ground and pulled it next to the couch.

—I made some finds.

—I guess that’s the only thing that genuinely makes you smile.

Yasu's expression had changed to a more cheerful, almost tricky, once they were done eating, Yasu opened the bag.

—I found a variety of jewelry, a ton of necklaces and bracelets, but just a few electronics, most of them without their card but I found three that serve that purpose.

As Yasu was taking out all the junk inside his bag he took out his little computer too, as it was turning on, he saved everything and got close to Ren.

—Look at these, man.

Yasu was showing the pictures of the cards that were already copied into Yasu’s computer, a ton of photos of fauna, landscapes, people.

—There’s a ton of things that we don’t have here anymore in the city.

—Well, it’s been a while since everything stopped being toxic for us, but we can’t even reach the nearest beach thanks to the monsters…

—Visiting the beach, huh? I’ll be fine with a lake, I think is better, plus it seems that lakes are not as salty as seas, so you will probably be able to drink from it.

—I don’t think that makes it drinkable, Yasu.

—Well, we only had the text books… if only they didn’t stop…

—Yeah, but the people let go a long time ago doing that.

Yasu kept it quiet for a couple of seconds and just nodded.

—Everything from the pre-nuclear era is not forbidden to talk about and we even have records of how it was… but people forget about it… thinking that we will never reach those times again… we can… everyone is doing their part to do it…

Yasu had a sad expression while holding his computer with force. Ren pat Yasu’s back as he sighed.

—You already know the reason, people are more comfortable living here than expecting to go anywhere, or trying to rebuild what was once lost. The IFED was built with the same mentality that you have but, it’s been a ton of time since it was created and there’s only a fraction of what everyone can do, look at me, for example, I’m too scared to work in something like that.

—I didn’t mean that everyone should go to work.

—I know, I’m just saying. You were always like this, Yasu, that’s the main reason why IFED caught your attention, wasn’t it?

—Yeah —Yasu sigh—. I… I don’t even know what to say.

—Haha, come on, don’t look that down, tell me more about it, I don’t think that’s the only thing that those cards have.

—You’re absolutely right about it.

Yasu smiled a bit but one could feel the sadness on his face, it would eventually disappear once he started to play the music on his computer and just like that, the rest of the day vanished, Ren went to his home and Yasu was saving everything.

In one part of his room, he opened the door of his closet on the other side and there was a ton of junk in a box, but on top of that was a table with two picture frames and some incense. He lit up the incense and sat down on his knees while resting on his arms while looking at the pictures.

—How did you two work that much with strangers? Only in my first month and I think that I should be in another place but I like the job where I am, they are risky but everyone took risks like you two… I never blame you for that, and I never will, you two built something for me and taught me a lot before you parted… mom… dad… I only wished you could tell me what to do…

Yasu held his head down and let the exhaustion on his body take him to sleep. The visions on the real realm were disappearing, entering a dream where a younger Yasu was eating while his mother and his father were at the two sides of the table enjoying a meal like a happy family.