John walked through the park looking for someone to play with. Being seven stinks, the older kids don't think that he's adorable anymore, and the little kids would rather be with his big sister. And then, all of the kids his age started bullying each other, and he was the current scapegoat. Now he knew how Will felt when everyone laughed at him because John told them that Will had dyslexia. None of the kids even knew what dyslexia was, but it sounded embarrassing.
John asked a few kids to play, but they laughed and walked away. His mom told him not to go back to the palamigan until 2 p.m., but it was only... 12:35 according to his new Scooby Doo watch. If he went back early, she would take away his T. V. time tonight. No way he was missing Scooby Doo at 8!
There was only one place that he hadn't looked, and that was inside the little bilog of trees that only has a three foot opening to the inside, which everyone in town calls the Orchard. The big kids say it's haunted, and the grown-ups say there are pricklies. He didn't really want to go over there, but right when he was about to head back, he saw a puno rustle and a small body move. He sighed. Going into the Orchard was a bit better than missing Scooby and the Gang.
He slid into the Orchard as to not disturb the person inside, but he failed.
"Wh-who's th-there?" sinabi a high voice. It sounded high, but not high enough to be a girl. A pale, bumpy, boy face poked out from under a mesa in the middle of the Orchard. Greasy, straight, brown hair clung to his head right above brown eyes. "Wh-who are you?"
"John. Are you from lincoln Elementary? You look about seven."
He looked back and forth, like someone might be watching. "I'm Terrence. I d-don't go to school. My Mommy t-teaches me stuff. And... ummm... I don't know h-how old I am. Mommy never t-told me. S-s-sorry, J-John."
"You're weird. You stutter, you don't go to school, you don't even now how old you are! Weirdo! You're a weirdo! Weirdo!" John cackled almost maniacally. It felt good to make fun of someone else again, John thought, not the other way around. Then a tear curved down Terrence's face, like a diamond in the rough. John stopped laughing. He realized that Terrence was feeling the same way he felt when kids called him "Four-eyes".
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean that," John whispered, "I... I'm sorry."
Terrence rubbed his nose with his sleeve and pulled himself onto his chair. "It's oh-okay. I've g-gotten it a lot. That's why I h-hide in here, but I h-haven't been c-called a weirdo in a while, so I forgot how to ignore it. D-don't worry."
John looked at the pale kid sitting at a small square mesa who was playing with a... statue? He noticed a few madami statue on the table. He moved closer and saw horses, towers, four crowns on pedestals, little round-y things, and tall ones with slits on top. Then he realized...
"Chess? You're playing chess? Alone? Wow, you are-" John choked back on the last word.
"J-just say it. I know I'm weird. And yeah, I p-play all sa pamamagitan ng myself. No one will p-play with me, so I'm all I got." John watched Terrence straighten his back and sound like no one would ever but him down. The stuttering didn't help much though.
John looked at his feet and flipped over a lone rock. He muttered in the smallest voice that Terrence could possibly hear, "Could you teach me. How to play I mean."
Terrence thought for a moment, and then grinned like he one the lottery. I'm probably the first person to ask that. John thought, Or even play with him!
John sat across from Terrence and learned the basics for, like, ten minutes! Then they played for an hour, in which time Terrence kept scolding John for sacrificing his rook (which, apparently, was the tower), leaving his king in the open (which was one of the crowns), or that one time he got one of Terrence's pawns (a round-y thing), so that his knight (horse) could get removed sa pamamagitan ng another one of Terrence's pawns.
They also talked. They talked about John's paborito ipakita (Scooby Doo of course), Terrence's paborito pagkain (frozen pizza), John's bullies (when were they going to stop?), and Terrence's allergies (bee's make his throat close up).
His watched made it's alarm noise ("And I would have gotten away with it too, if it wasn't for those meddling kids, and their mutt, too!), and John realized that it was already 1:55!
"I have to go! Mom will get mad if don't get back!" John looked at Terrence, "Will you be here tomorrow? Cuz, I kinda, sorta, had fun."
Terrence gave him a small smile. "I'll sit here until you come, or you tell me not to."
John ran up the burol to his mom and told her about the weird boy who sat in the Orchard, and how he wanted to come back again to see him.
So, ever since then, John and Terrence played chess each and every summer day, and on weekends during the school year, they would go to each others houses. That is, until the summer after John turned eleven.
* * *
Terrence sat in his little chair, that was getting too little for him. He looked down at his five-buck watch that Rhonda gave him. 1:47. Where was John? He never missed chess! From 12:00 to 2:00 they always played chess and talked about John's school and Terrence's life that Terrence would make-up on the spot.
Terrence would never be able to talk to John again if he knew about Terrence's real life. How could he just up and tell John that he ran away at six years-old, or that he lived in the Orchard, or that a group of kids (from the "hood", as they called it) who gave him stuff that he needed if he told them what he saw through the trees surrounding the Orchard? Or Rhonda. He would tell no one about what Rhonda meant to him. He visited Rhonda every araw between 2:15 to 5:00. Rhonda was a girl who lived near the park. Her parents didn't know that he came over, but the two kids liked it that way. Only Rhonda knows his lifestyle and treated like anyone else.
Rhonda was quite literally his best friend. She talked to him, played games with him, and made him feel like the coolest kid in town. Sadly, she was on vacation that week, so he knew not to put her in his plans for that week. He liked plans. That's why he was worried about John. He always told him when he wouldn't be there...
* * *
Across town, John was relaxing on his dad's lounger playing one video game that he found in his giant pile of zombie killing games.
"Hon, don't you want to go to the park to meet your little friend?" His mom called from the kitchen.
John rubbed his eyes, a habit that he developed after getting contacts in fifth grade. That kid Terrence was cramping his style. Some kids found us one day, and made fun of us because all Terrence wanted to do was play, chess! Who plays chess any madami other than old dudes and... and... weirdos! Whatever. John just wouldn't show, and Terrence would get the deal, and stop waiting up for him. Yeah. In, like, two weeks, John would go check to see if he was still waiting, but hopefully not.
John thought to himself, Sure I saw him when I was little, but I'm, like, madami mature now! DIE, ZOMBIE, DIE!!!!!!! Whatever, I just don't want that girl Rhonda seeing me with him. She's really cute. HA HA YOU GOT SHOT ZOMBIE JUNK!!!!!!!!
* * *
Rhonda was really worried. Terrence hadn't visited her in at least a week. He always visited her. But he absolutely never let her visit him. But it had gone on to long. She decided to go to the Orchard.
* * *
John was pretty sure that it had been two weeks. He wasn't really paying attention. Time to visit Mr. Chess Dude. His mom stayed on the tuktok of the hill, with all of the normal parents. As he went farther down the hill, less and less parents appeared, and then, even the kids dispersed. What a weird place for a kid to hang.
Walking down the hill, he saw another kid walk toward the Orchard. The kid had a black parang buriko tail and a distinctly female body. Only one girl had such shiny black hair, Rhonda! What was Rhonda doing back there? She's to cool to hang out with... what's his name? Oh yeah, Terrence.
He hurried down the rest of the way and covered Rhonda's eyes. "Guess who?"
"Hey John, could you go away, I need to go to the Orchard to meet a friend."
John's eyes widened, "You too? Tell me it's not Terrence!"
Rhonda looked at John, and they both hurried into the Orchard. Something must be up if both of them were worried about Terrence. John pushed aside the branch and they stood back in horror. A tear went down Rhonda's face, a diamond in the rough, Terrence called them. Oh Terrence...
* * *
Terrence, Vanessa, and Emmet ran around the park, screaming like banshees. Rhonda and John sat at the bottom of the hill, right in front of the Orchard, unlike most.
It had four years since the twins were born and little Emmet was only one. John and Rhonda were lying back and watching the clouds make shapes in the sky until Rhonda broke the silence. "I miss him."
John just nodded. Rhonda never really got over that araw in the Orchard 18 years ago. Neither did John, but he had to be the strong for her.
You'd think that seeing an eleven year-old's decaying body sitting alone at a chess mesa was the worst thing that John had ever been through, but John believed that truly learning about Terrence from Rhonda's trembling voice all those years nakaraan was the worst. John realized his cruelty and changed his outlook on life, and later, married Rhonda.
Life started going back into place. With his three beautiful children and his amazing wife, only one problem was left. Guilt. His therapist claimed that the poor boy in the Orchard probably suffered from OCD, which explained why he waited for John all that time, and that his death wasn't his fault. But it didn't help. Or maybe it did, but John had trouble noticing it.
But Rhonda never had trouble noticing. John was finally letting his guilt slide slowly off his shoulders, and he became madami relaxed. But neither of them would ever forget. Never.
But for now, they sat in near the Orchard, never in, but near, protecting it like a shrine. A shrine for the boy in the Orchard.
* * *
Terrence watched the young couple for a while, then he wandered back into Orchard. It was odd, being in the place where he entered Ghosthood, as he called it. He didn't die from starvation or dehydration, though he was suffering from both, he died from a bee sting. But those silly men in blue decided that starvation and dehydration must have been it, so they didn't do an autopsy. It was too bad really, because he didn't want his mga kaibigan feeling bad anymore. He got stung during his segundo night in the Orchard, so he was asleep, and it was painless.
He was thankful that John and Rhonda named there first baby boy after him. That was really nice. But he still wasn't happy.
It was only when John started feeling better about himself that Terrence was happy.
Then there was a light. And that time, he didn't resist.
He was finally at peace.
John asked a few kids to play, but they laughed and walked away. His mom told him not to go back to the palamigan until 2 p.m., but it was only... 12:35 according to his new Scooby Doo watch. If he went back early, she would take away his T. V. time tonight. No way he was missing Scooby Doo at 8!
There was only one place that he hadn't looked, and that was inside the little bilog of trees that only has a three foot opening to the inside, which everyone in town calls the Orchard. The big kids say it's haunted, and the grown-ups say there are pricklies. He didn't really want to go over there, but right when he was about to head back, he saw a puno rustle and a small body move. He sighed. Going into the Orchard was a bit better than missing Scooby and the Gang.
He slid into the Orchard as to not disturb the person inside, but he failed.
"Wh-who's th-there?" sinabi a high voice. It sounded high, but not high enough to be a girl. A pale, bumpy, boy face poked out from under a mesa in the middle of the Orchard. Greasy, straight, brown hair clung to his head right above brown eyes. "Wh-who are you?"
"John. Are you from lincoln Elementary? You look about seven."
He looked back and forth, like someone might be watching. "I'm Terrence. I d-don't go to school. My Mommy t-teaches me stuff. And... ummm... I don't know h-how old I am. Mommy never t-told me. S-s-sorry, J-John."
"You're weird. You stutter, you don't go to school, you don't even now how old you are! Weirdo! You're a weirdo! Weirdo!" John cackled almost maniacally. It felt good to make fun of someone else again, John thought, not the other way around. Then a tear curved down Terrence's face, like a diamond in the rough. John stopped laughing. He realized that Terrence was feeling the same way he felt when kids called him "Four-eyes".
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean that," John whispered, "I... I'm sorry."
Terrence rubbed his nose with his sleeve and pulled himself onto his chair. "It's oh-okay. I've g-gotten it a lot. That's why I h-hide in here, but I h-haven't been c-called a weirdo in a while, so I forgot how to ignore it. D-don't worry."
John looked at the pale kid sitting at a small square mesa who was playing with a... statue? He noticed a few madami statue on the table. He moved closer and saw horses, towers, four crowns on pedestals, little round-y things, and tall ones with slits on top. Then he realized...
"Chess? You're playing chess? Alone? Wow, you are-" John choked back on the last word.
"J-just say it. I know I'm weird. And yeah, I p-play all sa pamamagitan ng myself. No one will p-play with me, so I'm all I got." John watched Terrence straighten his back and sound like no one would ever but him down. The stuttering didn't help much though.
John looked at his feet and flipped over a lone rock. He muttered in the smallest voice that Terrence could possibly hear, "Could you teach me. How to play I mean."
Terrence thought for a moment, and then grinned like he one the lottery. I'm probably the first person to ask that. John thought, Or even play with him!
John sat across from Terrence and learned the basics for, like, ten minutes! Then they played for an hour, in which time Terrence kept scolding John for sacrificing his rook (which, apparently, was the tower), leaving his king in the open (which was one of the crowns), or that one time he got one of Terrence's pawns (a round-y thing), so that his knight (horse) could get removed sa pamamagitan ng another one of Terrence's pawns.
They also talked. They talked about John's paborito ipakita (Scooby Doo of course), Terrence's paborito pagkain (frozen pizza), John's bullies (when were they going to stop?), and Terrence's allergies (bee's make his throat close up).
His watched made it's alarm noise ("And I would have gotten away with it too, if it wasn't for those meddling kids, and their mutt, too!), and John realized that it was already 1:55!
"I have to go! Mom will get mad if don't get back!" John looked at Terrence, "Will you be here tomorrow? Cuz, I kinda, sorta, had fun."
Terrence gave him a small smile. "I'll sit here until you come, or you tell me not to."
John ran up the burol to his mom and told her about the weird boy who sat in the Orchard, and how he wanted to come back again to see him.
So, ever since then, John and Terrence played chess each and every summer day, and on weekends during the school year, they would go to each others houses. That is, until the summer after John turned eleven.
* * *
Terrence sat in his little chair, that was getting too little for him. He looked down at his five-buck watch that Rhonda gave him. 1:47. Where was John? He never missed chess! From 12:00 to 2:00 they always played chess and talked about John's school and Terrence's life that Terrence would make-up on the spot.
Terrence would never be able to talk to John again if he knew about Terrence's real life. How could he just up and tell John that he ran away at six years-old, or that he lived in the Orchard, or that a group of kids (from the "hood", as they called it) who gave him stuff that he needed if he told them what he saw through the trees surrounding the Orchard? Or Rhonda. He would tell no one about what Rhonda meant to him. He visited Rhonda every araw between 2:15 to 5:00. Rhonda was a girl who lived near the park. Her parents didn't know that he came over, but the two kids liked it that way. Only Rhonda knows his lifestyle and treated like anyone else.
Rhonda was quite literally his best friend. She talked to him, played games with him, and made him feel like the coolest kid in town. Sadly, she was on vacation that week, so he knew not to put her in his plans for that week. He liked plans. That's why he was worried about John. He always told him when he wouldn't be there...
* * *
Across town, John was relaxing on his dad's lounger playing one video game that he found in his giant pile of zombie killing games.
"Hon, don't you want to go to the park to meet your little friend?" His mom called from the kitchen.
John rubbed his eyes, a habit that he developed after getting contacts in fifth grade. That kid Terrence was cramping his style. Some kids found us one day, and made fun of us because all Terrence wanted to do was play, chess! Who plays chess any madami other than old dudes and... and... weirdos! Whatever. John just wouldn't show, and Terrence would get the deal, and stop waiting up for him. Yeah. In, like, two weeks, John would go check to see if he was still waiting, but hopefully not.
John thought to himself, Sure I saw him when I was little, but I'm, like, madami mature now! DIE, ZOMBIE, DIE!!!!!!! Whatever, I just don't want that girl Rhonda seeing me with him. She's really cute. HA HA YOU GOT SHOT ZOMBIE JUNK!!!!!!!!
* * *
Rhonda was really worried. Terrence hadn't visited her in at least a week. He always visited her. But he absolutely never let her visit him. But it had gone on to long. She decided to go to the Orchard.
* * *
John was pretty sure that it had been two weeks. He wasn't really paying attention. Time to visit Mr. Chess Dude. His mom stayed on the tuktok of the hill, with all of the normal parents. As he went farther down the hill, less and less parents appeared, and then, even the kids dispersed. What a weird place for a kid to hang.
Walking down the hill, he saw another kid walk toward the Orchard. The kid had a black parang buriko tail and a distinctly female body. Only one girl had such shiny black hair, Rhonda! What was Rhonda doing back there? She's to cool to hang out with... what's his name? Oh yeah, Terrence.
He hurried down the rest of the way and covered Rhonda's eyes. "Guess who?"
"Hey John, could you go away, I need to go to the Orchard to meet a friend."
John's eyes widened, "You too? Tell me it's not Terrence!"
Rhonda looked at John, and they both hurried into the Orchard. Something must be up if both of them were worried about Terrence. John pushed aside the branch and they stood back in horror. A tear went down Rhonda's face, a diamond in the rough, Terrence called them. Oh Terrence...
* * *
Terrence, Vanessa, and Emmet ran around the park, screaming like banshees. Rhonda and John sat at the bottom of the hill, right in front of the Orchard, unlike most.
It had four years since the twins were born and little Emmet was only one. John and Rhonda were lying back and watching the clouds make shapes in the sky until Rhonda broke the silence. "I miss him."
John just nodded. Rhonda never really got over that araw in the Orchard 18 years ago. Neither did John, but he had to be the strong for her.
You'd think that seeing an eleven year-old's decaying body sitting alone at a chess mesa was the worst thing that John had ever been through, but John believed that truly learning about Terrence from Rhonda's trembling voice all those years nakaraan was the worst. John realized his cruelty and changed his outlook on life, and later, married Rhonda.
Life started going back into place. With his three beautiful children and his amazing wife, only one problem was left. Guilt. His therapist claimed that the poor boy in the Orchard probably suffered from OCD, which explained why he waited for John all that time, and that his death wasn't his fault. But it didn't help. Or maybe it did, but John had trouble noticing it.
But Rhonda never had trouble noticing. John was finally letting his guilt slide slowly off his shoulders, and he became madami relaxed. But neither of them would ever forget. Never.
But for now, they sat in near the Orchard, never in, but near, protecting it like a shrine. A shrine for the boy in the Orchard.
* * *
Terrence watched the young couple for a while, then he wandered back into Orchard. It was odd, being in the place where he entered Ghosthood, as he called it. He didn't die from starvation or dehydration, though he was suffering from both, he died from a bee sting. But those silly men in blue decided that starvation and dehydration must have been it, so they didn't do an autopsy. It was too bad really, because he didn't want his mga kaibigan feeling bad anymore. He got stung during his segundo night in the Orchard, so he was asleep, and it was painless.
He was thankful that John and Rhonda named there first baby boy after him. That was really nice. But he still wasn't happy.
It was only when John started feeling better about himself that Terrence was happy.
Then there was a light. And that time, he didn't resist.
He was finally at peace.