I awoke the next day with a throbbing headache that bugged me all morning. I must've heard Franklin's voice in the distance for I opened my eyes just a little bit only to see some dark green eyes staring at me. Once our eyes met, Franklin's features gave way to a wide grin. He seemed confused yet relieved.

"Good morning. How are you?" He asked kindly as I awoke.

"I'm just fine, thanks," I said. 

My eyes were rather heavy at this point and I couldn't find the words to resume the conversation.

"Have you gone out drinking, Aaron?" Franklin asked with a hushed voice that clearly expressed his excitement in the debauchery. "Are you seeing someone right now? Oh! Pray, tell!" 

"No to both of those questions, Franklin," I laughed solemnly. He laughed heartily in return. Soon after, he bowed his head tilted downwards slightly, look at his shoes with a wistful look in his eyes. As his head moved lower, more curly hair covered his features that reflected his exhaustion. His fingers were interlaced together on his lap, struggling helplessly to comfort his thumping heart.

"Let us go to your house, Franklin, for breakfast," I suggested when I had fully gained consciousness. He seemed to immediately accept the change of pace and stood up immediately, helping me up. I figured he needed something else to do.

With a gentle smile, he spoke, "Along the way, I want to know what happened. I didn't expect you to be so irritated this morning, what's wrong?"

His house was not very far away from my office (just a few streets down) and the mere sight of it was impossible to miss. It was known as the "Crystal Palace" a year ago before he descended into his current state of mourning. As part of the UEC's efforts for self-promotion, Franklin held annual fairs in his home where he would showcase artworks from a large array of artists and creatives. There was a good variety of beautiful pieces in the mix and I greatly admired his taste. Upon glancing at a small wall, one would see a myriad of colours, mediums and backstories associated with the artworks.

"As long as I can afford it," I remembered Franklin boast to me once, "I'd gladly display whatever I could in my exhibition! It would not only delight me but my guests as well! How wonderful!"

Following this, I was inclined to believe that he had inherited his taste in suits from his late father, Aubery Carraway. While Aubery had died when Franklin was still a child, his limited influence was still evident in his character. Franklin donned expensive suits and went around introducing exhibits to interested people with a great smile. They ranged from the general public to potential investors. These events always had a carnivalesque atmosphere to them and according to Franklin, played a substantial role in raising funds for the UEC as everyone loved good art.

His house was a grand masterpiece. It seemed to be virtually made up of nothing but glass embraced by long and sleek panels of steel. Most prominently, there hung a gigantic balcony on the second floor, as if overlooking the world below with thoughtfulness. It was a semi-circle with a sheet of turquoise windows wrapping around the walls. As if guarding the home, there were larger statues made of bronze speckled with green rust, depicting Roman warriors and horses, all of which much taller than Franklin and I.

Franklin pulled me by the shoulder and we entered through the gates. Upon entering, one would see a long stretch of lush green plants on each side of the pavement leading towards a gold door that glimmered brilliantly. The long flight of white stairs towards the home made it feel like a grand castle and I told him as such. He shrugged indifferently and opened the door with a single key.

"I don't think I've told you about this, but I designed this house," said Franklin after some moments of silence. He caught me off-guard there for sure. He laughed heartily before continuing.

"I designed this house as a part of a final year project in my formal education. Still, I secured funds to eventually build it from the UEC because we had an agreement. The agreement was that I had the rights to live in it and hire whoever I pleased to maintain or destroy it. However, the UEC has the right to use it for whatever they deemed fit," he resumed. He said all of this in a special manner that charmed me into giving him my attention. Even in his sadness, I couldn't help but feel his warm nature behind his words and it prompted more sympathy from my end.

"I took James here once, and only once," he sighed as he opened the door, showing the way into a grand hallway. The walls were made up of a series of glass sheets, as I had previously mentioned, but the floor comprised of a solid block of white marble. There were flecks of black mixed with gold and it was enchanting. A diamond-studded chandelier hung over the main sitting area that was a series of velvet armchairs and sofas arranged in a circle for a friendly atmosphere.

James must've been in absolute awe at the grand atmosphere that the living room gave. He'd snap out of his small universe to fully enable himself to sink deeper into this. With a careful eye, he'd to take the time to examine everything and then express his deep appreciation for everything. Franklin glanced around too, in a subconscious attempt to hold the same appreciation James had. It was unfortunate that he could not capture the same feelings for himself. I felt a little of his sadness in his eyes.

"I assumed you offered," I inquired. He chuckled sadly and gestured me to make myself comfortable. He poured some water and prepared some bread; we sat together in the living room where sunlight streamed down towards us. In this light, his exhaustion became clearer to me but he still looked lovely.

"Yes. Well, he did express interest over some letters we exchanged," he replied after a few moments of silence.

"I finally decided to take him here to show him something. I'd show you, Aaron, but it's now long gone... It was a beautiful indoor garden full of sunflowers that towered over both of us (James and I) like magnificent trees. I wish you could see it. The least I could do now is tell you. Would you like to hear?" Franklin resumed with a bitter-sweet tone.

I nodded.

"Very well, let me tell you. So we've been seeing each other and sending letters to each other, as I'd previously mentioned. I met him at a train station in the afternoon I believe and the sun was shining brightly on us. I won't talk about myself, but I must talk about James. The sunlight spread evenly across his face and it made him glow. When we looked at each other, he had a gentle grin as he came over towards me as well. We shook hands and we immediately began walking towards my house.

I suspect that this was the first time anyone had taken the pleasure to show James the luxuries in life but he was thrilled with everything he saw. He had the same awed expression as you. He asked me about everything in this house.

"What does this do? Where did you get this from? Do you know who made this? It's really pretty!" He asked with a childish smile.

If I had known any better, I wouldn't be as annoyed with him but I was. This playful and honest demeanour of his should've been endearing but it wasn't in the slightest! I had no idea what he saw in all of this. I thought it was trivial and it meant nothing. Whenever I told him this, he was so offended and to this day, I don't understand why. I didn't see what he did and I should've, maybe then I wouldn't be so sad..." Franklin hesitantly stopped himself there and took a sip of coffee, avoiding eye contact with me.

After he spoke, he sighed heavily and he seemed so small. He suddenly broke down at the thought of what he had just said and his cheeks were flushed after a few moments. Franklin looked at everything frantically trying his very best to understand what's so wonderful about the rich and beautiful things he has. However, this is to no avail. It's clear to everyone else, including me, but he found it difficult to understand.

I find it important first to note that his circumstances are uncommon. Except for his embarrassing appearances throughout this account, many would see him wear tailored suits suited to his tall physique. Besides, he invested in some luxuries that suited him too. One of my personal favourites included the gorgeous flower garden I will speak of later.

Over time, he adjusted himself to accept this high standard of beauty as "normal". With this, he seemed to have lost touch with what real "normal" people see every day. I didn't think much of it at first but it seems to be more prevalent now. James was indeed a normal person and I was afraid Franklin couldn't seem to grasp that much.

"Franklin," I muttered, trying to reassure him. "You do not need to force yourself to understand James."

"It's not about that!" Franklin broke out, on the verge of tears. "I should've known him better then! I've been thinking about the question you asked about whether or not I thought about James as a person. I finally understand why it stung my troubled heart so much! I should've known him better then. Why am I only trying so hard now? I have so many questions and I miss him so much now. I had missed so many opportunities to ask him on his views but damn my own cowardice!"

We were quiet for a little bit after that. He was hesitant to say more and so was I so I can't provide more information about these tensed minutes. Our water grew cold and our bread stale and it soon felt intolerable.

"Franklin, please continue," I said quietly when the silence got too much. He looked up at me, his normalcy quickly returning. He wiped his tears away and poured himself a new cup of tea. "I want to know more."

"Of course, Aaron," Franklin hastily continued and recomposed himself. He shook his head at his moment of emotional stupidity and grinned, ready to continue with his story.

"When I wasn't able to continue seeing James so delighted, I told him that I had something to show him and he agreed instantly, thinking that he was going to see something gorgeous. He reached for my hand first and we quickly went towards a room.

I placed my hands over his pretty eyes but he almost immediately relaxed despite his shock and lightly touched my fingers. He said with one of the sweetest smiles I had ever seen, "Are we there yet?" I felt my heart melt at the little laugh he did at the end of it. I had no choice but to smile as well, "No, my lovely, not yet."

Like this, we walked together along the hallway, past multiple large windows that showcased the bright blue sky that day. Amongst the bright blue sky were streaks of the glorious afternoon sunshine pouring through the clouds, shining on his slim figure. The way the sunshine reflected off of him made him look like he was glowing like the angel that he was. We walked in silence but I felt fulfilled looking at his delicate and pretty back view.

I eventually lifted my hands away from his eyes when we reached a large wooden door - the only wooden door in the whole home. He was so profoundly shocked and turned back to face me every once in a while to express as such. I asserted that he opened it instead of me, much to his embarrassment. To be honest, I wanted him to be the first (out of the two of us) to experience the cinematic view of my private garden and I wanted nothing more than to see his impressed and awed expression. His pale fingers reached for the doorknob and my hands were on his back, supporting his trembling frame, and turned it to the right, thus unlocking it. At the precise moment when the door opened, I heard him audibly gasp in awe and his lovely eyes began animating with life.

The way my gardener planted my sunflowers was haphazard and it showed no signs of proper planning or horticulture. However, it was because of this lack of planning that the sunflowers were arranged organically and from multiple perspectives, it looked like a bright yellow sea that was taller than everyone and everything. His gentle grey eyes widened in curious excitement as he took the first steps forward. I stood behind him leaning against the wall and crossing my arms. I supposed he wanted to be alone in this slice of paradise that the sunflowers created.

Before he fully disappeared into the sunflowers, he jerked back towards me. He giggled shyly, "Aren't you coming, Franklin?" 

I arched my eyebrows and then nodded. I went over to him, each step feeling lighter than the one before. I remembered smiling so brightly when his face showed such a genuine and happy one. James took my hand and pulled me along through the rest of the sunflower forest. My romantic imagination tells me that small lights were floating around us. The afternoon sun first shone through the glass roofs above us and made everything look brighter than it actually did. To put it simply, it looked like every little edge was glowing.

A few hours later of simply talking to him, the pale golden light of the sunset sunshine started to stream in through the glass roof and through the flower petals and gaps of the leaves. James was lying down and gazing upwards towards the sky. He noted all the beautiful colours and expressed his deep admiration for them. The sunshine created a beautiful glow on his features as he sat up to look at me.