Life was great, and it had always been great. Thanks to his great grandmother, Kei lived in a lush and beautiful forest, filled with purple coils, bright blue ‘bushes’, and even a few red trees. Kei had always been appreciative, and had always been ready to share the splendor with everyone whenever he could, but just didn’t have enough for everyone. Why? Oh it was quite simple, money.
On his home planet, in his hometown, they didn’t bother with money since everyone knew everyone, and was more than willing to help each other out. Out in the galaxy though, where everyone else lived, well, they just couldn’t seem to get enough of it. Kei didn’t care though, because life was great, and today, even greater, for the last king, King Thormus, had finally given up his position as King of the Intergalactic Government.
Oh the things he did, the people he’d exploited, it had all finally stopped. Then his daughter had taken the throne, and she, oh she seemed a much better choice. Her name, Princess Feromi, her goals, to restore the galaxy to what her grandfather had maintained. Yes, she was definitely worthy of her family's legacy, and she would definitely come close, if not succeed her grandfather, the Great King Coreveye.
Things were going to get better, for everyone and everything, unfortunately however, not quite yet for Kei.
~~~~~~~
“Morning Ms. Mentello.”
“Morning Kei.”
“Deliato.”
“Kei.”
“Smells delicious Linrona.”
“Well maybe you’ll have to come back and try them later.”
“Will do.”
Ah, the streets of Senatoria, not as bright and colourful as Kei would have liked, but still home nonetheless. There may have only been a few hundred people living here, but they liked it that way, everyone knew everyone. It was a big happy family, and Kei was happy to be a part of it. Sure he lived just outside of town, but he was close enough so that the trip wasn’t bad.
Running along he grabbed a basket of fruits and waved at Claran, the main food provider in the town. He ran around a corner and quickly crammed one into his mouth while fumbling with the basket. He passed some people working on the side of a building and tossed them a couple fruits. They smiled, waved, and continued working.
Never in a million years would Kei have thought that his life would be anything other than what it had always been. He passed some more people out and about, some waved, and he tossed some fruits to a few of them. It wasn’t late enough in the morning for everyone to have gotten food, which was why Kei had taken it upon himself to see that they got at least something, since he knew who had just gotten up, and who had been working overnight.
Someone else could have done it, and probably have figured out who had eaten and who hadn’t, but Kei had been the first to volunteer. Besides, he liked waking up early and running down the streets while the suns were just beginning to come up over the horizon.
He had finally run out of fruits in the basket, so he took a shortcut through an alleyway and dropped it back off at the stand where he’d gotten it. Claran smiled at him and took the basket to be refilled as Kei sped off down the street.
He headed off down one of the less populated streets, and then finally entered an area with no houses, his grandfather's street, right in the middle of town, but still hidden away from everyone. His grandfather hadn’t been doing too well later, and the doctors said it was just a matter of time before he left for the beyond. Most were anxious about going to the beyond, but his grandfather was almost excited about it. A whole new place to discover and explore, and the best part, they knew absolutely nothing about it. Kei was obviously worried that any day now his grandfather would leave, and he’d never see him again, but couldn’t help but feel a little happy. After all, this was what his grandfather had been waiting for for quite some time now.
He came up to the door and knocked, and just as he had expected, there was no reply. He knocked again, then heard a clatter as his grandfather knocked things over as he made his way to the door. He heard the rattling of a key, and then several more, as his grandfather slowly unlocked all the locks on his door.
Finally, the door opened, and his grandfather, stooped down to almost half of kei’s height, despite being slightly taller than him, smiled as he saw Kei at the door.
“Ah, so nice of you to visit, come on in, not much longer to wait I would think.”
Kei walked into the house, being careful not to knock over the stacks of things that were cluttering the hallway. His grandfather closed the door, then after fiddling with the keys for a while, just locked one and left the rest.
Kei made his way to the living room, followed shortly by his grandfather, who knocked several of the piles in his way over, though he seemed not to notice.
Kei moved a small pile of papers off one of the chairs and sat down, then watched as his grandfather decided to simply sit on the table.
He sighed, though he seemed happy,”Before I go, there’s something I’ve been waiting to tell you.”
He pulled a box out from under the table, and judging from the dust on it, it had probably been there for longer than Kei had been alive. His grandfather grabbed a key from his pocket, one that was a lot rustier than the others, and carefully inserted it into the keyhole. The box made a soft click, and opened just enough for his grandfather to reach in, and pull out a small disc, around the size of Keis palm, with a silver thread tied to the top of it.
“This is something that was given to me by my grandfather, and now, I’m giving it to you.”
He handed it to Kei, who hesitantly put it around his neck.
“What is it?”
His grandfather smiled, “A treasure, though I was never told where it came from, just that it was very valuable.”
“Why give it to me now?”
“Because, I won’t get another chance.”
Kei’s face turned into one of shock.
“When are you going?”
He smiled again, “Now.”
Kei watched as the colour in his eyes faded, and a blue mist started escaping from his body, floating up and through the ceiling, before finally disappearing entirely, leaving Kei alone, holding the last thing his grandfather had given to him.
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