Chapter 2: Martin

Like every ordinary day, the sun was smiling, and the fragrant wind coming from the East incased a lovely house with warmth.

A sweet purple bird tweeted from its nest and flew to scavenge for food. It was enticed by the drifting aroma coming out from the kitchen. After a few flaps, it perched on the second window near the pot of red roses.

"Good morning, little bird," said a beaming teenage voice greeting a creature of nature. The bird looked at the smiling human, confused. After a while, it flew away to a distance.

"What a lively day, hope it will be good," the voice wished while looking at the horizon, and the surroundings heard the splash of water coming from the pot of rose.

His name is Martin Alma, and he was brought up in a place called the City of O. He was the eldest son of the family. 

At the age of 17, even though young, compared to what his friends are usually doing, Martin deeply inculcated it into his young mind to have a sense of responsibility.

When his parents are away for work, he has to take care of his siblings: Luther, 13, and Annie, 6, and their Labrador dog Rufus.

"Luther, wake up. You are going to be late." Martin's nagging voice reverberated in the kitchen, traveling to his younger brother's room upstairs. 

It was not with annoyance but with calmness and care.   

"Yes, brother," Luther replied meekly while rubbing his puffy eyes. Martin couldn't hear it clearly if he did not turn off the morning radio. His brother, Luther, was a silent one. He kept worrying about whether his sibling could have a promising future if he kept on being an introvert.

Upon seeing that everything is arranged at the table with food, plates, and utensils, Martin then walks upstairs to ensure that the lazy head is moving.

"Is Annie awake? I asked her to wake me up early yesterday night," he said with a hint of frustration. Luther knows that his brother Martin acts as their guardian and is quite strict with them. When he spoke on time, it should be on time. When he wants them to do something, they must comply. He is not bossy, per se, and Luther knows that all he is doing is to train them to be independent and responsible.

"Ha! Do you think I did not realize that you asking Annie to wake you up is for you to extend your sleep? She is awake in her room, preparing, and get up, or I am bringing your bath here." Martin eyed his brother intimidatingly.

Seeing the usual intimidating look from his elder brother, with no choice but to comply, Luther jumped from his bed with extra vigor, and the sound of running water echoed in his room. 

Upon seeing the vivaciousness of his brother, Luther turned around with a satisfied smile, thinking, 'That trick never dies."

Luther respects and, at the same time, fears his brother. Not the fear in a wrong way but fear that he might be a burden to his brother's already heavy responsibilities. He can see the number of chores his brother does every day. The extra little things he did for them included tucking them every night, waking them up every morning, reminding them of their homework, and cooking every meal. He is only 17, but his mind and temperance are of adults, which Luther admires and strives to emulate.

While going downstairs, Martin bumped into her angel sister, Annie. "Good morning brother, are you going down?" Seeing the smiling nod of his elder brother, Annie continued, "Let's go down together."

They went down to the kitchen with hands interlocked, a sign of their strong bond. Annie was the princess of the family. She is sweet, thoughtful, and caring, unlike any other child of her age. All she wished was given to her by his brothers and parents, but it did not make her a spoiled brat.  

And after Luther is followed to the dining room, anyone can hear quick clashes of utensils as they are running late for school.

----

Martin is an intelligent and hard-working student. He aces his classes, is quite good-looking, and is a highly charming young lad. Many neighbors of all ages also like Martin's nature. Whenever he walked into the neighborhood, he would greet them with a smile or a small greeting.

"Look, it is Martin. He's so handsome and smart and so dreamy," said one of the famous girls in school. Her eyes twinkle with puppy love, and her cheeks are painted pink. Heavey make-up or natural, only she knows.

"Unlike the boys in our class. So mean, dumb, and look like gangsters. If they can have half of his mind, I will date them," affirmed another fangirl of Martin.

"You're right. Our boys are like uncles. Old-looking, grumpy, and can't even answer simple math questions. They should be like Martin. Almost perfect in everything," her good friend replied, dreaming awake of their inevitable wedding.

Anyone can hear the same conversations all around every morning. Where Martin goes, so do these girls. For Martin, they are like a tail, an annoying one. So many years have passed with the same situation happening. He already gave them answers implicitly and explicitly that he doesn't want any relationship. School, family, and hobbies were the most crucial aspect of his life, not romance.

"Hais." Sounds of sigh and sometimes humph echoed by the remaining boys, ostracized by their natural limitations and lack of endowment.  

He is like a star. Shining and splendid but only for the eyes; near yet so far.

His mother, Theresa, is a small-time entrepreneur, busy going out to the field to check on her business. A woman of financial independence and management, a role model for his little sister.

On the other hand, his father, Luke, is a government official in their city, and he is also busy with his office work and social affairs. His service to the people is acknowledged even by the national president.

Albeit very busy, Luke and Theresa can still find valuable precious time to share with their children and enjoy their company despite their hectic schedules. It was their goal to have sufficient time with their children and watch them grow. They believe that a family should have adequate time to relax and bond together to make the link stronger.

Providing and giving material needs are as important as quality time. 

Knowing that both of his parents are pretty busy, Martin took the responsibility of taking care of his siblings and acted as their temporary guardian. He loves his family so much that he matured fast enough to handle the world of adults. Learning skills such as cooking became a part of his routine.

Aside from that, he strived hard in his studies and worked double-time as a tutor to his younger siblings. Though with a lot of things on his plate, his grades never went down.

Most of the nights of some weeks, both Theresa and Luke are out for either business trips or out-of-town conferences. It is up to the brave and responsible Martin to look out for his younger siblings, the house, and Rufus, the Labrador dog.

Martin's hobby is reading light novels about martial arts and sorcery spells to enjoy his pastime.

"I like this novel a lot. It is light and has no heavy twists and plots. Just enough for my taste. And those wizard spells, magic circles, and talismans are so cool." He has few hobbies, so reading became his consistent number one hobby.

While rubbing his seemingly ordinary necklace with a pendant of a typical blackbird, a family heirloom, he has a great time imagining himself as a martial artist riding a sword and flying across the vast horizon or casting an almighty spell capable of blocking out the sky, overturning the mountains, and drying up oceans down to their beds.

Without him knowing, the ordinary necklace shone with a strange reddish-black light—the light undulating with a unique pattern invisible to human eyes.

----

He liked the most amongst the light novels he read was entitled Martial World, where Lin Ming was a powerful martial arts practitioner.

He started as a weak practitioner, with a little bit of luck and a whole lot of practice and perseverance. He went to the top of the 33 heavens with his spear, capable of sharing the significant burden of humanity and the destiny of all living creatures of the 33 heavens against the demons of the past.

Martin also likes the Jade Dynasty series, where the cultivation practitioners have sword controlling techniques and are capable of riding their swords in a thousand kilometers within a second and killing people from countless miles with just nothing but a thought and spells capable of unleashing the heavenly power to their whims. 

He shook his head. Dreams and wishes like these are meant only for entertainment. And entertainment is not the reality to which he belong. He must not dwell on it for too long. "I wish..."

That was his secret. He never told a single soul. Looks of disgust made him afraid of being judged and teased as a chuuni. Yeah, a petty excuse, but do not underestimate bullying in the age of technology. Na ah!

----

When he is bathing, he will swish his hands in the air—imagining that his hands are twirling and casting ice spells.

Also, the index and middle finger are straightened just like a blade, and he would gesture it like a sword practitioner practicing the control of their sword technique. 

He has a happy family, studies in a private school, and has an exciting hobby. So, his life is like a dream life for anyone of his age.

This week, fortunately, Theresa is relatively free. So, she is on time to bond with her kids.

Just like any other Sundays where they were supposed to be complete, one dark and gloomy night, while dark clouds blanketed the white moon, thunder and lightning can be heard and seen lurking through the hazy horizon, Martin, Luther, Annie, Rufus, and Theresa are watching a Western Korea TV drama, "The Kingdom."

They are having their usual family time with their mother but not Luke.

This particular K drama was about a historical kingdom in West Korea. That kingdom was embroiled in an epidemic due to resuscitating their king using a wondrous plant termed resurrection flower.

Infected people will bite others. From this, slowly, the bitten people died and turned into zombies. The disease twisted a whole area into a barren horror place full of walking dead in a fortnight. This was quite a spooky K drama for Martin's family.

This is not their usual genre to watch, but it was thrilling, and so the family picked it.

During one of the climaxes of the drama, when the crowned prince was actively running for his life along with his trusted guard away from the zombies, the family of four and their dog were silently thrilled. While watching, their hearts were up to their throats and eyes wide open, expecting gory scenes, when suddenly they saw a crowd of zombies almost catching up to the crowned prince, and abruptly, the front door was banged open.

Through the dim light of the TV, the only source of illumination in the living room, and with sparse flecks of light from the lightning, they saw a man full of sticky brownish substance and a foul stench that is capable of overturning the stomach inside out along the bestial growl akin to a monster.

"Ah! Ah! Woof! Woof! Ah! Ah! The zombies came out." The house of the Alma family was greatly disturbed by the cacophony of its family members. With the thick veil of rain and the roaring sound of thunder, no neighbors discovered their despair.