One Man's Gaze

It is night. Too long after the sunset for any to have emotions for the living. The night sky blesses it's admires with a kiss made of pure moonlight. The ivory light washes over some, opening their heart to all that will peer into it and breeding a symphony of tears to those who wont. While some are bathed in its essence, others are merely teased with the subtle spouts of agony the moon can bring to a single soul. A warm breeze tickles the little white hairs of the body as if a loved one drew near. Throughout the night, the stars danced and played while they watched time move ever so slowly. The stars, ever so playful, showed their jealousy of the gleaming light the city brought to the table as they shoot across the sky in a frenzy of showers. Although the people were motivated and moving, the showmanship of the night was in vain. Void and oblivious was the mind of the elusive man that wondered through time and space wondering what the true meaning of purpose was.

Atom, a once driven soul, sat atop the roof of his new apartment building. He had no where else to go. There was a day when all he wanted to do was learn as much as he could about everything he could. Ambitious. Nothing mattered to him more. But one. A girl, bound by mystery yet unobstructed by the laws of the land, held him high in spirits. A young man with everything to live for but nothing to liberate him from the confines of his mind. He often recently wondered to himself, 'How do I go on?' And yet no answer came from near nor far. There was nothing more for him here, what was he to do? His legs dangled from the edge of the roof, taunting the ground below who longed for his immediate arrival from the skies above. Barefoot with dingy clothes showed the appearance of a troubled man with too much on his mind. Eyes held closed by the anguish of a thousand men, his head bows in resentment, and his tears crying for attention. Was there any other option for him other than meeting the needs of the reaper hanging over his head, Scythe sharpened and ready? Well?

Atom, with nothing to do but wait on the deciding factor, continued his thoughts atop his apartment building. All hope lost, save for the hope of a quick end. He knew not what it was that set his life astray so quickly but he knew it didn't matter in the least when it came down too it. Opening his eyes, still drying of despair, he looked up to the moon above and wondered to himself about what awaited him in the future. So far he thought of nothing but bitterness, but that was nothing but his mind thinking of the worst possible outcome. Nothing that time couldn't fix given that Atom let it. Again he asked, "What now?" allowed. He had no idea how to go on to the next day in such a mood.

However, his thoughts came to an abrupt stop when he heard a loud noise in the distance. Oblivious to his surroundings, it took Atom far too long to understand what he heard. A voice, a bird, the wind? All he knew was how loud it was. Before he could tell, he was pushed, like thrown from the roof top without a hope of holding on to something. Instinctively, he moved his arms around the air to find something to help him but nothing was there. The building was just out of arms reach but maybe he could drift over to it. This was the way he was contemplating ending the night, was it not? Why not let it happen as fate decides it? Maybe the fall would help him gain some perspective, assuming he survived.

Quickly and without fail, the seemingly petite girl sprung a net from out of the great blue and saved Atom. She sprung into action as if it was nothing and without taking the time to think it through before engaging in something so risky. Who was she? True, this was an island with amazing people who could do more than just extraordinary things, but that was the quickest and most graceful thing Atom had seen in his life. Though its not like up 'til now Atom had seen anything but the inside of a book.

Opposite his apartment building, Atom dangled close to the ground in a net hung by a dagger. The net was nothing like Atom had every seen before. It even gave off a foreign vibe that nothing 'normal' would ever give. He knew he wanted to look into it but first he would have been liked to be let down. Listening to the girl's voice near him asking how he was, he opened his mouth to answer but was cut off by his confusion. "I'm fi-" he let out before closing his mouth. He was grasping the net trying to use his own ability on it but to no avail. Deconstructing nor reconstructing the material was an option. "What is this?" He sad without looking away from the thread of the net. His mind was completely away from his previous feelings and it didn't seem like his emotions would run wild again unless this distraction was gone.

"Magic" he repeated to himself. Of all the time Atom sent on the island, he had never encountered a magic user. Oddly enough, he had never even had one in any of his classes back at his college. This was unheard of. Clearly he couldn't handle the magic items like he handled normal items. This made him curious, what are these things made of? Surely there has to be some kind of make up to magic. This got his mind racing again, as if he had nothing else on his mind but this specifically. Not to mention such a small girl being able to do things that even atom could only dream of with the most strict of training and ability. Surely it was mind boggling but there is always a time and place for that.

Coming out of his thought, Atom only caught a bit of what she said to him."Hand protection?" He said to himself within the confines of his own mind. He tried not to strain himself with the weird noise she just let out after her sentence. He couldn't differentiate the noise from an unknown language or something you wouldn't only hear from animals in a rain forest. First things first, he had to get hand protection. Putting the pieces together, he figured she wanted him to find some. Not much explanation was needed of him so he did what he did best. His hands slipped through the holes of the net to touch a brick of the building he was stuck to. Each hand on a single brick. It only two moments but without any special or spectacular displays, the brick crumbled and formed around his hands as thick leather gloves with the fingers and knuckles missing. Looking at them himself, he showed them to her. "Will this suffice?" He asked.

Atom was practically in awe as to how astonished the young lady had gotten when he performed the simplistic ability. He had nothing special to show and he figure that someone who could do what she did would need much more to be so moved. Her English wasn't the best so at first Atom had to take a moment to understand what she was talking about. It wasn't until she said things in her native tongue that he got intensely confused. He tried to rap his head around it as she spoke and even took a moment to think to herself, at least that's what it looked like she was doing.

"My what will do what now?" He said with his right eyebrow peeked to its highest. What could she possibly be trying to say? Atom, with all he has learned, couldn't conclude what she was talking about. Maybe he was over thinking it. Still within the initial netting, Atom began to worry when she was struck with some sort of pain. Could it be a side effect to using her magic?

"Hey, what's the matter? Are you alright?" Atom sprung forward while he said this in case he needed to do something. He wouldn't have known what to do anyhow considering that this is his first time handling magic. But that doesn't mean he can't try, right?