The Disparate One

Ray gazed around as he absorbed the bustling city. Vehicles honked across the streets along with sirens and people chattering about. His sight was dominated by the morning rush hour traffic. Looking up, his eyes were filled with the colossal different architectures, pointing and reaching for the sky.

Oxford showed a little, quick smile as he watched the fascinated teen. He even chuckled when Ray asked if they were really out of the facility. Ray reminded him of his younger self, first time seeing this place, identical reaction. With that said, he called Ray because he wanted to show him something, or taste.

They calmly got to the other side of the sidewalk where a vendor was situated, few strangers stood near it. Oxford approached the owner and slid out his wallet. Ray remained close, observing their interaction. Upon Oxford opening his wallet, Ray caught a glimpse of a picture of two girls.

A few seconds later, Oxford received two cones and handed Ray the other. Ray’s eyes shot wide when he felt how cold it was. He could see the crystals melting through the yellow cream. He glanced at Oxford who was already silently licking his. Ray followed suit.

“Oh?” uttered Ray, licking his cream-covered lips.

“You know what this is called?” asked Oxford.

“Ice cream,” answered Ray without a glance, his eyes focused on the melting masterpiece, “This is amazing!” he added.

“And to think of it…” Oxford raised his right forearm, sliding his sleeve inward, “...you’ve only been here for a few minutes.”

As they were finishing their cones, a black limousine drove past them and braked to a halt. Its design was boxy and edgy. Oxford saw the vehicle when he waved at Ray. They walked over to the humming limo when Oxford threw the last piece of his cone into his mouth. He opened the door for Ray, revealing the lush, leather, black seats and the cool air pouring out from it.

They hopped into the limousine and the chauffeur smoothly drove off without any instructions. At first, Ray slightly panicked, thinking he was being kidnapped.

“Don’t worry, we’ve known each other since my first day,” said Oxford, strapping his seatbelt on and opening one of the nearby cabinets.

He brought a bottle of wine and a glass. He served himself while Ray gazed out the window, watching the cityscape move by. The noise from the outside and the bumps on the asphalt were muted.

Oxford grabbed the daily news from the small shelf, skimming through all pages, then transferred it to Ray who replied with a questioning look. Ray unfolded the newspapers in front of him, reading the events for today and tomorrow. Those didn’t catch his interest, what did was the noticeable difference of these people’s faces compared to the ones in the facility. Only one thing stood out. Smiles.

He silently glanced at Oxford who was on his phone, texting. His body shaped the seat and his knees and feet were moving like a kid needing to go to the restroom. Through those, he could feel Oxford’s beaming aura radiating through the cabin. The aura he didn’t see or feel back at the facility.

He looked back to his window, seeing a family crossing the street. Their kids were skipping around while their parents showed laughter.

After a few minutes, their chauffeur brought them in front of a building with people flocking towards the front entrance. Ray hopped out together with Oxford, they stood at the front facade where cool air blasted through the doors. Their clothes waved through it.

Stepping into the chilly building, Ray glanced around, seeing different kinds of shops. Some were filled with stuffed animals and toys where children dragged their parents. Some were clothes, shoes, jewelry, and other wearable fashion.

“Do you know what we call this place?” Oxford asked out of nowhere when they walked across an open space where it displayed three different floors with shimmering shops.

“Mall?”

Oxford showed no facial expression. For now at least. He decided to drop these questions when they entered the department store and straight to an area where he knew they could get Ray some clothes, aside from that white general suit that had been garnering attention.

A salesman greeted them as soon as they appeared. Oxford brought Ray closer to him to whisper something he had forgotten to do before departing from the train.

“Act as you belong here, forget everything about the facility,” Oxford said and patted Ray’s shoulder before giving him a basket.

Oxford waved off the salesman without any hesitation. He then took a closer look at Ray, walking around him as if he was judging his body. Almost an hour later, they walked out of the department store with Ray’s hands filled with shopping bags.

They moved to another nearby store where Oxford insisted on taking care of the shopping bags in exchange for surrendering Ray to the tailor and its members. They instructed Ray to stand on the small round platform before covering him with stitches of cloth and tape measures within the span of a few minutes. Ray watched steadily in the mirror, seeing Oxford sitting on the leather bench undisturbed.

Three hours later, the two walked out of the mall where the chauffeur greeted them with the trunk already popped open. Ray’s arms went limp as soon as he dropped the rest of the shopping bags into the space. He sighed heavily before hopping back in, leaving Oxford to have a quick chat with his chauffeur.

“Take us to the park,” said Oxford calmly, nodding at his friend before joining Ray in the cabin.

Kilometers later, the limousine drove along Central Park S. before turning and stopping nearby at one of the entrances of Central Park. The sky was blue in all directions with flocks of birds flying around, chirping and hopping. Oxford silently walked under the shades of rustling leaves with Ray noiselessly following behind. He had his hands tucked into his side pockets while Ray snatched a falling leaf from the air, rubbing his fingers with it.

An old lady was throwing crumbs of bread onto the group of pecking, cooing pigeons on the pathway. Ray kept his eyes on her for as long as possible until their path curved away.

Finally! Oxford thought when he found an empty bench under the old tree. It was covered with leaves.

Oxford plucked and slid them away before placing himself on the end, he sighed, feeling the cool air. Ray seated on the other end, gazing at the passersby, some were on roller shoes and holding hands. Another person walked by, holding a group of different sizes and shapes of balloons as if he would fly away any moment.

His eyes followed those vivid balloons until he found a young girl holding a birthday cake in front of an old man. The candles sparkled. Ray squinted, reading the lips of the girl, assuming she was singing ‘‘Happy Birthday’’ to her grandpa. Once the singing had ended and the candles were blown, both smiled and hugged each other.

Their smiles were contagious, infecting Ray. He could feel a smile start to grow. He glanced at Oxford who appeared to be watching them as well. His grey-ish hair flowed with the wind. This made Ray ask a question.

“Oxford, how old are you?” Ray secretly gripped the armrest.

“42.”

“H-how long have you been working?”

“25 years… I think... “ Oxford glanced up, he honestly lost count. “I started when I was 17…” Oxford paused, “I think.”

Ray made a silent ‘‘wow’’. He pushed himself back to his seat when he thought of another question.

“Are you married?”

Oxford shook his head No without making eye contact.

“No kids or whatsoever, a lover?”

Same answer.

“Do you have parents?”

Oxford didn’t answer. Instead, he turned his head further away from Ray. He looked down at his hands, touching each others’ skin and flesh. He pressed his fingers on a part of his wrist, feeling the pulse of his heart. Every beat brought nothing but flashbacks. Haunting him.

He was on an operation table, surrounded by machines as his life support. Tubes were connected from his hands and a large one from his throat. He glanced around, passed the ventilator on his right, he found a group wearing surgical gowns and masks whispering to one another. He tried to speak or move, but his body was as stiff as concrete. Then something beeped nearby.

The beep caught the group’s attention. They approached Oxford in silence, staring at him. Some of them were displaying success, the rest were unsure. They readjusted his head, facing up at the harsh lights. Without saying a word, one of them unstrapped and cautiously extracted the tube from his throat. Oxford immediately could hear himself wheezing with an open mouth.

Oxford kept his gaze at the light where he saw a figure standing above them, overlooking the session. He was wearing a white suit. The man stood there for hours, waiting for him. Waiting for his successor.

“Y-you don’t have to answer that…” murmured Ray, squeezing himself to the other end of the bench. He could sense the sudden change of the atmosphere as soon as that question flew out from his mouth, “I-I’m sorry…” he added.

Oxford let out a soft sigh when he stood up. He cleared his throat, swallowing the memory.

“Come on, I still have to show where you’ll be staying,” Oxford waved for him to follow.

Prison, Ray thought.

He honestly didn’t know it would trigger something. Now both of them didn’t dare to look at each other’s eyes. Their trip back to the limousine was utterly quiet.

Minutes later, their limousine drove up at the front entrance of a tall building where groomed doormen with their luggage carts were already awaiting their arrival. Ray was the second to get out, next to Oxford. He was about to grab the shopping bags when the staff members had already placed them on their carts. Oxford was already inside the building, walking straight to one of the elevators. Ray rushed towards his Guardian before stepping into the lift.

Both stood silently when Oxford pressed the button at the top and inserted a different card into the slot. The thought of apologizing again more truthfully stuck in Ray’s throat. It remained there, making him unable to speak. The elevator door slid open, revealing a short hall with one double door at the end. This area reminded them about the facility.

Oxford walked towards it as he brought out his keys, clinking in the space. As Oxford unlocked the door, another elevator came, the doormen with their belongings arrived.

The door hummed open, introducing Ray to a massive penthouse. Oxford pointed at the corridor to his left where the doormen brought Ray’s belongings to the room at the end. Ray strolled around, the kitchen was spacious, complete with everything, too much for an average American. Next to it was the dining area, nothing extraordinary. The living room was three times bigger than what Ray had in his quarter. The armchairs and sofa were even comfortable to sit on and a fireplace!

But Ray paid little to no attention to those spaces, he was dumbstruck by the wide window panels that also acted as sliding doors. Beyond it was a terrace with some chairs under umbrellas surrounding the large glistening swimming pool.

Oxford stood nearby, observing his test subject. He whistled at Ray, gesturing him to a quick tour and ground rules.

First, Oxford introduced Ray to the first room on the right side of the penthouse. One of its walls was made out of glass, providing beautiful scenery of the cityscape below them. There was a giant blue mat in the middle of the floor, near it was shelves and cabinets filled with weapons ranging from melee to range.

Why do I need this? Ray thought.

Adjacent to the gymnasium was a laboratory, complete with all necessary equipment for quick and basic experiments to complex ones, but not as complex as Chap’s. Oxford even added that it was Chap who provided these equipment.

Why do I need this too? Ray thought.

They proceeded to the last room on the right-wing of the penthouse. The door was carved out of a real tree and its knob was somehow old-fashioned looking. Oxford swung the door open, introducing Ray to the tall wooden shelves of books surrounding the space where a few leather armchairs and a fireplace stood. It had the same giant window on one side like all rooms.

Finally, something might be useful to me, Ray thought.

Closing the door of the library, Oxford brought Ray to the left-wing of the penthouse where it was mostly made up of bedrooms. Oxford pointed to the first door to their right, it was his bedroom. It was closed, so Ray was left curious as to what Oxford’s bedroom looked like.

I thought this entire penthouse is all for me, Ray thought with a hint of sadness.

Next to it was another bedroom where the doormen were putting clothes into the walk-in closet.

Ray stared at the large king-sized bed, rubbing his hand along the soft duvet and chubby pillows. He glanced at the large window, displaying the same sight, just in a different perspective. Near the bed was a study desk, accompanied by a lamp. The white walls and ceiling bounced the sunlight all over the room. Ray’s shoes tapped on the wooden floor.

“This is your bedroom,” stated Oxford, standing in the doorway as the doormen left because they finished their duties.

“W-wow… is this one of the benefits for working for S.P.O.T.?” Ray asked who instantly regretted it, again.

The sadness in Oxford’s eyes he saw earlier at the park grew pronounced.

“Yes. It is,” he said nonchalantly.

Oxford glanced at his wristwatch, seeing it was already time for lunch. He cleared his throat and told Ray that lunch would be served in an hour or so. After receiving Ray’s nod, he left without saying a word.

Ray rubbed his face and rolled his eyes. He dropped and sunk himself in the middle of the bed, staring at the ceiling. He blamed his actions for not thinking first before opening his mouth. As Oxford said, this was one of the benefits. But by the looks of his face, Ray knew Oxford had to compromise something great. What was it?

He was snapped out of his thoughts when he heard a thud. He slowly raised himself. He kept himself seated on the edge of the bed while extending his body towards his bedroom door where, opposite of his bedroom, was another door. Something Oxford forgot to tell about.

Another series of thud came from it.

Ray stood up with curiosity. He crossed the corridor and stood in front of the unknown door. He was about to turn the knob when it turned itself and the door swung open. Revealing something he didn’t expect to see, especially this far away from the facility. In this city.