Before heading to his kitchen to eat breakfast, Kris decides to arrange the mountain of clothes that has been lying on a chair inside his closet for 3 days now. They’re mostly the plain shirts he always wears at home.

When people look at Kris, most of them would give an impression that he’s a “very sophisticated man” who “doesn’t want to get his hands dirty” nor “does he do chores in his own house which he probably has a maid to do those things for him” but, little did they know, that a very fine, sophisticated man like Kris is actually fond of doing domestic chores.

Inside his own residence, he does most, in fact, all of the chores he needs to do in order to maintain a clean place. However, because he's been a busy bee for the past few days & given the fact that he only has one day off, he wasn't able to find the time to do the chores he usually does.

✺ ✺ ✺ 

Before Kris turned 11, he realized just how cruel life is & the most cruel part of that realization is that, he came up with that conclusion at a very young age where one would usually have fun & be shielded from the grim reality of life.

His parents’ tragic demise was caused by an unheralded car accident. Kris was home alone, patiently waiting for his parents’ return from the city while watching his all time favorite cartoon on TV. They lived in a rural area, one would praise for its fresh air & clean surroundings. 

The road connecting their place to the city, was unfortunately under construction at that time. There was also a shortage of electricity at the construction site where the only things that provided light during the absence of daylight were the cars that passed by.

It was 11:05 pm. The workers leave after dusk & cars usually stop taking that route after 9:00 pm.

The sudden ring of their landline snaps Kris who was on the verge of falling asleep after waiting for almost 3 hours. Before picking up the phone, he accidentally bumped into the glass of water placed beside him which shattered into pieces on the floor. It did not occurred to him that he needed to accept whatever the other line was going to tell him after he picks up the phone.

At the age of 7, a few months after the forlorn accident, Kris moved to his aunt’s house & that was when his life turned upside down as soon as he walked into his new home.

He did not recall meeting this aunt before & it might’ve been in fact, their first meeting. She’s a widow. Her first child died weeks after her husband passed away. Since then, she has lived in obscurity & has lost connection with everyone in the family.

Being the only child & his grandparent’s favorite, Kris was used to being pampered & showered with gifts, but he wasn’t a spoiled brat, though. However, it was his Aunt Victoria who slapped him with reality. She was the one who made him realize that the real world does not give away unceasing happiness for free & that the world is not all smiles & positivity. She was the one who made him feel all sorts of negativity by physically & verbally abusing him everyday for years.

The happiness he felt before was just a free trial. A free sample. A taste of what you will get if you decide to take on the consequences of life & walk on the road of thorns. Kris took on that challenge. He learned to be strong & bravely faced everyday until his emotions eventually faded away & his Aunt Victoria’s sharp words no longer had any effect on him.

“Hang these clothes outside now.” Aunt Victoria tossed a pile of clothes on Kris who was unpacking a box that was sent to him by his grandparents from Canada.

“Hurry up you idiot we don’t have the whole day! You still have to wash the dishes!” She grabbed the box from his hands & placed it on the table, forceful enough that some of its contents fell out.

Without saying a word, Kris couldn’t do anything but watch & stare. He took the pile of clothes & proceeded outside where he hung the fragrant & newly washed clothes just outside the gate.

A silver van parked just beside their house but Kris didn’t look & instead, continued doing what he was doing.

Before heading back inside, he stepped on something which turned out to be marbles.

“Oops, sorry!” he heard a voice but didn’t look up. He was still staring at the marbles beside his feet. A small hand picked up all the marbles but Kris was still staring— at the ground.

“Hellooo? Are you okay?” the hand snapped at him. He finally looked up only to bring his gaze down again to look at the little boy before him.

“Do you live in that house?” the boy pointed at the plain vanilla house beyond the rusting gilt gate. Kris nodded “Really? Well we just moved to the house next to yours. See that over there??” Kris did not say anything. “Hey, Can we be friends?” Kris nodded again “Yaaay! I finally found a friend!!” the boy threw his arms up, in ecstasy which bewildered Kris.

“What’s your name? You look older than me”

“I’m Kris, I just turned 11”

“Oh cool! I’m Tao & I’m 8. As a sign of our friendship, I’ll give you one of my marbles. I like marbles!” Tao smiled while holding his left arm out with a clear marble, with yellow & red lines inside of it, on his palm &, for the first time in a long time, Kris’ lips involuntarily formed a smile. It was a fresh feeling to him. Unfamiliar yet familiar at the same time & from then on, although his life did not return to its jolly state, it certainly became better because of the boy who brought back his smile.