I walked down the busy streets of Kerning City, wearing my civilian cloths and knowing that my Arc Staff was in my bag as well as all my other junk, with a smile printed on my face. I stopped by a local fruit stand and decided to buy some fruit.
“Welcome young lady,” the stand owner greeted, “what would you like to buy?”
The fruit was just as average as any fruit that recovers health. Some apples, an orange here and there, lemons of course, and watermelons. As washed my hands before coming out onto the streets so I decided to search the fruit. To my amazement I found an Onyx Apple.

“How much is the Onyx Apple kind sir?” I asked. He looked like he was thinking for a few seconds.
“Well I think I can give it to you for a thousand mesos,” he replied. I took out my big sack of mesos and threw down the one thousand mesos.
“I’d like to buy a bag of apples too, small please.”

After I payed for my fruit, I carefully wrapped the Onyx Apple in some plastic and placed it gently into my bag. I left the fruit stand and started chewing on an apple. I saw my friend Nicole near some store. Oh great. She’s at that bar. I thought to myself. I picked up my pace, before I noticed that she was shouting. I couldn’t hear what she was saying until I was only a few feet away.
“Which one of you morons touched my butt!” she shouted. Everyday I wished that she never said anything that made me feel embarrassed that she was my friend. Three guys were on the ground.

“Look lady, we didn’t do anything,” the one with the shaven head said.
“Yeah you’re just drunk!” the assassin on his stomache said.
“I isn’t drunk!” Nicole shouted. I threw some water at her. She blinked for a few times and turned to me. “Uh what was I doing Jamie?”
“You were harrassing these three guys because you thought one of these guys touched your butt,” I replied, eyeing the three men on the ground.”
“Uh, oops?” I turned to the three men.
“You may go, but if I find out that you guys really did touch my friend’s butt, I’m going to hunt you down and hurt you.”

The three men ran towards Perion. I scratched my head and handed Nicole a towel. It has become a routine for me to carry Pure Water and a towel just incase Nicole is drunk- which is usually twice or three times a week.
“So you think you’ll enter to that tournament?” Nicole asked me.
“No,” I replied firmly.
“Why?”
“You know why Nicole.”
“Is it because of those years ago?”
“Yes. And I don’t want to talk about it.”
“But you were young and weak, it could’ve happened to anyone.”
“Nicole, I got beaten by a rogue and I was still a cleric.”
“Oh right.” She was thinking about something as we walked to nowhere. “How about that Zakum party everyone keeps talking about?”
“Nicole, I don’t want to die yet.”
“Jamie, it’s been years now! Get over hiim.” I didn’t reply.

We stopped at Nicoles apartment. She said that she wanted to go to bed, to get rid of her embarrassment of earlier today. I walked aimlessly around Kerning City, slowly emptying my bag of apples in my stomache. I gave the rest of my apples I couldn’t finish to a swordsman. Nightfall arrived before I even noticed. I stop by a Maple TV and watched the advertisement. It was for that stupid tournament.
“Yes this tournament will be for the best of the best Maplers, awarding the winner ten million mesos and a coupon for ten cash shop items! Now if you want to enter this tournament just sign up at Lith Harbor! But it won’t be easy, for the champion Troy was never beaten! Yes he made his win at a tournament a few years ago as a rogue and even beat a cleric…!”

I couldn’t stand another second of the advertisment but I couldn’t force myself to stop. I realized that I was going to cry.
“Don’t cry. Don’t cry. You’re a young woman. Young women don’t cry, not in public.” I couldn’t force myself to believe that. I felt someone put a cap on my head. I turn and looked at him.
“You know wearing hats can help you cry but people might not notice with the shadow blocking your eyes,” he said and gave me a smile. He walked away and I turned to him. He turned around and walked backwards while giving me a gesture to rearrange the hat and turned around and kept walking.

His face looked so familiar but it was his smile that convinced me. Tears poured down my cheeks, but this time I had a good reason to cry.

He was that boy that I saw in my childhood those many years ago.

To be continued.