Aemon blinked a few times to clear up his foggy vision. It was obvious to him that he was knocked unconscious. He y limp on the ground for a minute to soak in what had happened to him. As he arose from the tiled floor, he noticed a sharp pain shooting up his arm. He groaned heavily and darted his eyes towards his hand. At this point, his whole hand was covered in blood. He noticed that the nausea and intense ringing in his ears had subsided. Unfortunately, the beating of his heart was still faster and louder than ever.

  Aemon mustered up all his energy and pushed himself onto his feet. He stabilized himself with his right hand firmly on the counter of his bathroom. He gazed into the mirror, which seemed like the one-thousandth time that day. And, for some reason, it seemed his appearance was different every time he looked. His skin was back to that murky brown, and his hair was the dull pink that he dreaded seeing. Although, he couldn’t help but smile at himself. He was so gd to be alive.

  The grin on his face quickly faded once he realized how much he had to do to clean the bathroom. Without hesitation, he dropped down and rummaged through the cabinet beneath his sink. This time, however, he was extremely careful where he put his hand. He quickly found what he was looking for: a small box full of medical supplies. He unclipped the tches of the case to find the bandages that were neatly kept at the bottom of the box.

  Aemon pushed up the lever of the sink, this time successfully. He washed away the blood that dried on his hand and that ran up his arm. Once he was satisfied with the cleanliness of his arm, he applied the bandages he secured from the med-kit. With what little medical knowledge he had, he roughly wrapped his hand. He was pleasantly surprised to see that he did not do that terrible of a job. He then grabbed a handful of rags and a garbage bag that were stored in the closet neighboring the bathroom.He ran the cloths under the water of the running sink and proceeded to mop up the puke that did not make it into the toilet. The used rags were so vile that he believed they did not deserve a second use. All the used rags were thrown into the garbage bag. He proceeded to clean all the puke and blood that was scattered on the floor. Occasionally, he would catch a glimpse of himself in the mirror and get startled because he wasn’t used to his new appearance. Once he was done cleaning the horrifying mess, he ran the shower.

  In the shower, Aemon realized it was only a matter of a few hours before his father woke up to go to work. This would run the risk of his father seeing him in this monster-like state.

  What would happen if he saw me like this? Would I be arrested like the others? Would he do that to me… his son? What do I do? He has been devastated since my mom passed away; I am the only one he has left.

  Aemon was stuck on what to do. If he stayed, then his dad would have no other choice but to persecute his own son. If Aemon left his father, then he would be betraying his family and leaving him with nothing.

  Aemon stood in the shower with his head down, letting the warm water run down his neck.

  He barely spoke to his father, they exchanged maybe ten words a day with each other. Aemon did not know how his father would react.

  Aemon clenched his fist, frustrated that everything had to be a decision that would affect the rest of his life. He thought hard about how he would go about dealing with this dilemma.

  I must leave; it is the only viable option. I promised Mom and myself that I would live. I used all the strength I had to face death and deny it. I did not go through all of that to rot in prison.

  Aemon’s already heavy beating heart started to beat louder.

  I know it will be hard for him to lose everyone, but I swear one day, when the world is more knowledgable on this cursed Resonance, I will see my father again. It will be known to him that this decision was not made in vain.

  The shower went cold. Aemon turned off the water and stepped out. He dried himself off quickly, knowing time was running short. As he was drying himself, he bent down and dug through the pockets of the pants he had been wearing before he went in the shower in hopes of retrieving his phone. When he grabbed his phone, he frantically checked the time.

  [August 20th, 2021 5:02 AM]

  His father usually woke up at 5:30 to be at his office at 6:15. It was down to the wire.

  Aemon dashed to his bedroom with the towel he had half-wrapped around himself. Aemon violently threw open his closet, knocking everything over while grabbing any clothes he could find. In the end, he wore some blue denim jeans, a loose bck and white checkered fnnel, and a pin white shirt underneath.

  [5:09]

  Aemon ran his hand under his bed in search of his money jar. He kept this jar under his bed for dire emergencies. He had about six hundred fifty dolrs stored in the container. He stuffed the money, followed by a few sets of clothes into a backpack that he would be bringing along. [5:17]

  He walked as slow as he could through the narrow hallway of his house, just admiring it for the st time. He opened the door of his father’s bedroom to see him for the st time. As expected, Aemon saw him bundled up in his bed, sleeping. Aemon couldn’t help but smile while also letting light tears drip down his face.

  [5:20]

  Aemon made it to the kitchen and grabbed an apple out of the fruit bowl that sat beautifully in the middle of the dining table. He was a little upset since he did not have the time to make a hot meal as his st in the house.

  [5:23]

  Aemon could not help but sit on the porch of his house and admire the beautiful sun that rose above the horizon. He usually slept in te, so it was unusual for him to catch the sunrise in the morning.

  [5:30]

  From the deck, Aemon heard his father’s arm bring from his bedroom. This was his sign to leave officially. Aemon stood up carefully, avoiding hurting his hand by applying pressure on it. He silently shut the front door of the house he had lived in for so long and let the sound of the arm fade into the distance. Each step Aemon made made the crying more intense. His heart beat faster than when he was suffering through that manic episode.

  With no pns on where to go, this was it. Aemon had left for good.