The feeling of rehappening; akin to déjà vu; the act of having experienced something that may or may not have happened before, but the very sensation of similarity, assuring oneself that it, whatever it is, has, indeed, happened.

Perhaps an ostensible feeling of is it; then to affirm oneself; oh, it is!

But it isn’t, is it?

That is very much what I’m experiencing currently, but at the same time it feels as though this is all that happens; so perhaps to call it déjà vu is incorrect, as it is something that’s a common occurrence and does, without a doubt, happen. Something better to be called fate; an inescapable end, subject to one and one person alone.

Fate, similar to a wall, really. I say this because walls are one of the saddest existences to have ever been brought into creation; fate and walls go hand in hand. The minute the wall was created, they were given a purpose, but it’s purpose wasn’t a great purpose, as walls served to inevitably lead to the downfall of others. Its purpose is to end. The walls end; the end of a road; the end of a journey; walls are there serving its purpose. The possibilities of man were abruptly halted due to the creation of walls. For man, a being who holds never-ending potential, is now trapped, and confined within walls; keeping man within bounds of reality; whatever reality actually is, because it is the walls purpose to end, thus creating fate; the lines that hold man in-between, going down a single direction, uninformed of what lies ahead, making man now establish what has been known as all that there is to know.

Such a cruel, imprisoning, and derisive fate.

My soliloquy about the linking of fate and walls was nurtured and birthed by what lies in front of me, because in front of my eyes were both my sons, staring at me; eyes filled with malevolence. A common sight nowadays.

This is my unavoidable fate.

Even though I had been standing, their gazes felt like tons of weight had been dropped onto my shoulders, as I simply stayed quiet, waiting for one of them to speak.

“100 gold coins.” Albus demanded flatly and expressionlessly.

“One hundre-” The thought of 100 golden coins made me choke on my own words. “We’re not rich, you know!”

“Dear, did I just hear you yelling at Albus?” Gloria called out from the kitchen. “Did you already forget what I told you?”

“No, dear, of course not. I was just caught by surprise, hehehe!”

‘Tch, damned brat.’

Albus’s brow rose. “Why does it feel like you just insulted me in your mind?”

“Geh…”

“100 gold coins isn’t asking for a lot, you know.” Albus continued. “After all, I am but a child whose heart was hurt by a foolish father and his naïve ideals. I should actually sue for emotional abuse and take everything you have.”

“Are you a divorced wife or something?!”

“Although I would usually agree with you, father, I think it’s best to abide by Albus’s demands for now.” Tadashi chimed in, standing next to Albus. “We leave in a little bit, and it’s in the best benefit for all of us to leave happy.”

“Three silver coins. What is a child even going to do with 100 gold coins? Are you going to buy a new house?”

“AHH! My heart that has been scarred by my devilish father is aching!” Albus exclaimed gripping his heart, overdramatically fainting into Tadashi’s arms. “Oh no, what’s this?! I’m seeing things! Is this PTSD I wonder?”

‘Are you seriously a divorced wife?!’

“Dear!” My wife now yelling, with her malice now seeping through the very walls.

“FINE. One gold coin! Take it or leave it.”

“Make it two if you want to sleep inside the house from now on.”

“Deal.”

As I got haggled by my 6-year-old son – who was now acting as though nothing had happened – not only did I find out that Albus makes a great actor, but it was now time to depart to the Allen Manor.

The trip would only take five days by carriage, but I’m sure those five days will go by extremely fast.

*****

The sun, alone in the sky, no clouds nearby, illuminated over the grassy plains, highlighting all, but ultimately dawned it’s rays of light onto a horse drawn carriage. And steering that horse drawn carriage was I with my wife, Gloria, sat next to me; her head on my shoulder, and both my boys remained in the back of the wagon, shaded from the sun by the large drape that covered the wagons roof.

Gloria’s hazel eyes, captivated with an interesting moistness of wonder, searched her surroundings cordially, as her thin lips opened. “This view is incredible!”

“Mhmm.” I said. “It really is beautiful.”

The knee-high, rich-green grass spanning out of eye view, surrounding the smooth brown dirt road, swayed swiftly along to the placid spring breeze; the dewy smell of grass, borne by last night’s humidity, traveled like rootless flowers, adrift with the wind, into our nostrils, as we inhaled with delight.

The horses continued down the long dirt road; the sun, once at its highest peak, began to slowly set. It was almost unnoticeable; the amount the sun had descended, but, regardless, we continued down the dirt road, leading up a decently high hill.

At the top of the hill, there, large and tall, was a mountain.

The mountain was so tall, and fairly far from where we were. Probably because of the distance between the mountain and us, the mountain only continued to get taller the closer we got; it got so tall, it seemed to pierce the descending sun.

Gloria, too, seemed to notice the mountain, but she remained with a faint smile.

“How about we take a quick detour to the top of the mountain?” I suggested.

“I don’t mind, but are you sure? Albus will probably take the chance to run off again.”

Albus, since the beginning of the trip, had already tried escaping four times, ending with him being carried by Tadashi back to the carriage. Though he continuously pleaded not guilty, saying that he simply wanted to play hide and seek with Tadashi…

That’s why Albus is in the wagon.

A punishment of sorts.

“Don’t worry about it. I told Tadashi to always be with him, besides where were going is a place Albus will want to see.” I said, nodding assuredly.

*****

The rocky road up the mountain proved to be without trouble, however the sun was beginning to noticeably change its color; from its invigorating yellow to a languorous red. It was only a matter of time before we’d have to stop for the day.

Sounds of rustling came from within the wagon, then, through the glassless window, separating the front of the carriage from the wagon, the drape began to be pushed aside. A face popped through, chin on the wooden windowsill, white hair flowing with the wind; it was Albus.

“Where are we now, father?” Albus asked, yawning as he looked at our surroundings.

“Were taking a little detour. There’s something I want to show everyone.”

“Mhh, ok. I’m kind of hungry though.”

“When we get to the top of the mountain we’ll have a picnic, so just wait a little while.” I consoled, patting my sons head.

“Huh? Mountain? Were on a mountain?” Albus asked, confusedly swatting my hand away. He yawned again, slowly retreating back into the wagon. “Well, I don’t really care as long as I get to eat.”

On the road there were smaller monsters that could barely be classified as monsters; they were more of a pest than a monster, like a mouse rather than a bear. These pests fulfilled their purpose of annoying the hell out people; this is why, to me, they aren’t monsters, for they serve to hinder contrary to destroying. But, small and annoying as they were, a flick of the wrist would suffice to get rid of them.

Three monsters popped out from a nearby berry bush. They resembled rabbits. They had the white fluffy fur that calls everyone’s name out to embrace their softness, their eyes red as scarlet; they even had the large floppy ears.

But.

They didn’t have the rabbits small body.

Indeed, the monsters size were much larger, also far bulkier than an ordinary rabbit. Their incisors were much more sharpened, sharpened enough to actually pierce through flesh and bone.

My wife noticed the monsters, looked at me, then looked back at the monsters. I smiled at her, looking back at the wagon. Gloria’s eyes lit up in realization, as she spoke lines that sounded as though they were rehearsed. “Oh no, monsters are blocking the road! Whoever will clear it?!”

This brought the attention of both my sons, now looking through the window.

I jumped off the driving seat of the carriage with extra height to add dramatic effect. Unsheathing my sword while midair, I did a summersault and began to infuse mana at the tip of my blade. A ball formed as a bright white beam shot out, and I spoke the attacks name with utmost elegance! “Prophets Seeker!”

By the time my feet landed on the floor, eyes closed as the rabbits short-lived screeching came to a stop, I posed! The execution was flawless, the landing was flawless, and the pose, to top it all off, was beautiful!

I looked back at the carriage to see their reactions.

As expected, Gloria was clapping for me with a smile. She even threw in a whistle.

‘Now what about Albus and Tadashi…’ I shifted my gaze to the window behind Gloria. ‘How was that my dear childre-… what’s with those reactions?’

Their faces were expressionless, no, it would have been better if they were expressionless. Even a face of indifference would’ve given me a sort of delight! They both looked at me with eyes of loathing. Their eyes filled with abhorrence, putrid gazes further dampening my heart’s beating; oh how they stared at me with disgust! To make matters worse, they hadn’t spoken at all. Not even a single sound came from their mouths. It was like no words could possibly describe their displeasure.

‘Please stop. Stop looking at me with those displeased eyes.’ I pleaded. ‘Please stop looking at me disdainfully!’

I fell to my knees, stabbing the sword into the dirt ground to prevent me from falling by both my son’s weighty gazes.

‘Nghhh, As expected of my children. A tough crowd to please.’