In a fairly bustling residential area, several houses stood scattered on their own plots. Each house was spaced well apart from the others—not too close, yet not entirely isolated.
Among those dwellings stood a house with an open roof—not like a convertible car feature, but rather an ongoing roof replacement.
An old man stood in front of his house. He scratched his head, staring down at the ground.
"Come on, hurry up and answer."
"You're acting like you're waiting for welfare checks."
That sharp, blunt voice came spontaneously from Icam, who had just asked how to lay roof tiles.
Iyas turned toward Icam, the edge of his eyebrow raised in sheer bewilderment.
"Is the question really so hard that you have to scratch your head like that?"
"That's not it!!" the old man snapped firmly.
"Oh, so your head just hitches, old man?" Alif asked innocently.
His body trembled, his breathing grew ragged—and then he let out a long sigh. That was all the old man could do upon hearing that.
This time, he managed to control his annoyance faster than before.
"Are you kids for real?" the old man muttered.
After saying that, he turned around and walked toward his house. Specifically, he reached for a single roof tile from a neatly arranged stack.
"What else can I do..." he said under his breath.
Having grabbed one tile, he walked over slowly.
The trio simply watched as the old man prepared to demonstrate something basic.
Their gazes were far from focused—they just looked relaxed.
Too relaxed, in fact, until Icam finally asked,
"What is he doing?" Icam whispered.
"A trick," Iyas replied.
The old man's footsteps came to a halt as he realized the ladder hadn't been set up yet.
He placed the tile directly onto the dirt. He grabbed the ladder and propped it upright.
Once the ladder was securely positioned, he picked up the tile he had set on the ground and began climbing up.
The creaking sound echoed out. Creak, creak, creak. The ladder was made of wood.
The dry clinking of baked clay resonated as he fitted the tile into place.
The old man then climbed down.
His feet landed safely back on the dirt.
He turned back toward the trio.
"It's that simple to do."
Iyas went hysterical.
"Wait, you just showed us something?!" he asked.
The old man merely scowled in frustration.
Icam stroked his chin like a Greek philosopher.
"Are you sure you did it right?"
Alif burst into a spontaneous smile.
"Show us one more time!"
The old man stomped his foot loudly.
"It's just fixing a damn tile!" he snapped.
The old man turned around quickly, his steps hurried. He grabbed another tile, climbed the ladder, put it in place, and then climbed right back down.
He turned around again.
"Like that!"
The old man even spread his arms out to his sides.
The trio just stared at the old man like reptiles encountering something completely new. Blankly daydreaming.
Alif then asked,
"Earlier you were slow, right? Now you were fast."
"So which way should we do it?"
The old man lowered his arms.
His voice sounded stern as he spoke.
"Fast or slow, what matters is that it's finished by this afternoon!"
The trio nodded in unison, their faces still looking utterly clueless and innocent.
"It's literally no different from fixing regular tiles," Icam piped up, looking bored, his eyebrows dropping.
"Yeah, yeah, whatever!" the old man snapped back.
"Why don't you try fixing them yourselves? I want to see." the old man commanded.
Icam then stepped forward with full confidence, picking up a tile from the stack.
He walked slowly toward the ladder.
The wooden ladder creaked softly, emitting a cold aura of absolute professionalism.
Once at the top...
Icam knocked off the tiles that had just been installed by the old man.
The old man merely lifted his chin.
The fall was fast.
Crack! Clatter!
Shards scattered everywhere in various sizes.
Alif and Iyas just watched attentively.
"HEY!! WHY THE HELL DID YOU DROP THEM!?"
The old man shrieked, his face wrinkling in rage.
That loud voice instantly startled the trio, especially Icam who was still up top.
"No need to shout, everything is safe, old man," Alif said softly, approaching the old man.
He then gave him a thumbs-up.
Slap! The old man instantly swatted Alif's thumb away until Alif immediately sulked.
"What if there aren't enough tiles!? Is my roof supposed to have a gaping hole!?" the old man fumed, pointing aggressively at Icam up on the ladder.
Icam merely raised an eyebrow, confused. He looked at the old man as if he had done nothing wrong.
"I'm just doing my part, why are you yelling?" Icam asked. His voice was completely calm.
"Why am I yelling?" One of the old man's eyebrows shot up, his head tilting sideways. Veins popped on his forehead.
He was furious.
"So what now? I take yours down, and then I put mine up?" Icam continued, turning his body completely despite still being up on the ladder.
"Just... try... try another one! Let someone else do it!" the old man growled, turning away with an irritated face.
The old man pointed at Alif to step up next.
Alif instantly brightened, showing off a full row of teeth. "Zeit, aura zu zeigen!"
Seeing Alif step into his role, Icam tossed his tile straight toward Alif.
Alif caught it with precision.
"WHY ARE YOU PASSING IT TO HIM!? YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO INSTALL IT FIRST, YOU IDIOT!" the old man yelled, clutching his head in frustration.
Now things were different; both Iyas and Icam appeared much calmer.
Even that loud shout couldn't interrupt Alif's aura-farming scheme.
"Cam, out of the way, out of the way!" Alif ordered. Shifting the tile to his left hand, Alif waved his right hand at Icam, telling him to scram.
The old man went silent.
His glare remained sharp.
His breathing was fast.
Icam climbed down slowly.
Without a single trace of hesitation in his heart.
Alif then climbed up.
Steady yet fast.
He set the tile down correctly.
He turned around.
He waved his hand as if he were a newly elected president standing before a crowd of citizens.
Iyas began to feel envious watching him, especially looking up from below.
"Oh, I can't let this slide," he thought to himself.
"I want to aura farm too!" Iyas shouted, crouching slightly, his hands balled into fists.
The old man narrowed his eyes—torn between feeling relieved and thoroughly annoyed.
Opening his eyes back to normal, he began to feel a slight sense of ease.
Icam was busy inspecting the stack of tiles, as if conducting a strict selection process.
Iyas looked upward, his face full of energy.
"Can I leave you guys to it then?" the old man asked, his voice calmer now.
The trio instantly agreed while working at their respective positions.
The old man walked away from them, ready to attend to his own mysterious business.
Every few steps, he turned back, still anxious.
Then he kept walking again until he reached the town pathway. He saw the trio working as he walked away to the left—all clear.
Much like the anomaly that occurred when they washed dishes...
Everything looked neat and tidy.
Icam stood near the stack of tiles, tossing them up to Iyas.
Iyas then tossed them over to Alif.
Alif installed them neatly.
Occasionally, Alif would climb down to shift the ladder to another spot.
Then they reached a point where they no longer needed the ladder.
Alif chose to stay up top without the help of the ladder.
Standing right on top of the wooden roof rafters.
Time passed.
They began to feel hungry even though their work wasn't finished yet.
Iyas slipped into the old man's kitchen, rummaging around for food.
He found something that looked like potatoes.
Iyas didn't take much, just 6 pieces.
He then shared them with his friends.
A few nearby residents stopped to watch the trio work.
Before long, however, they went on their way.
The sound of hardening clay and creaking wood filled the air.
Every touch was pure perfectionism.
As hours slipped by...
Even under the scorching sun, they worked as though everything were completely normal.
Icam stared at a broken tile.
Fitting the shattered pieces back together like a puzzle, his hands moved rapidly.
Icam muttered under his breath, wishing the tile would bind together...
Wishing it were repaired...
There are Tiny sound of clay.
Without realizing it...
The tile began to mend itself right beneath Icam's touch.
Slowly, yet seamlessly fusing back together.
Whether his vision was blocked or he was simply zoned out, Icam didn't even notice what he had just witnessed.
He then tossed the two tiles up to Iyas.
Iyas caught them and launched them higher into the air.
Alif fitted them into place.
They were all equally clueless.
DONE!!
The job...
Their job was finally finished right around late afternoon.
The trio rested.
Iyas lay flat on the dirt.
Alif sat on the roof, even though it was still quite warm.
Icam sat leaning against the wall.
Their work was truly finished.
But suddenly
The sound of frantic footsteps rushed toward them.
"Hey! Help! Help!"
The desperate cries of a poor soul caught the attention of all three of them.
It even caused Alif to slip and tumble off the roof...
Only to get right back up.
Icam stood up, walking over to the townsperson.
"What's with all the shouting, man?"
The resident caught his breath, then straightened his back.
"The children..." he panted, his breath still heavy.
"Ohh, happy birthday!" Alif cheered.
"No..." the villager interjected.
"The children who went to gather wood..."
"They're missing!" he shout.
The trio instantly stumbled back in shock.
Even Iyas took a dramatic leap backward.
"That's definitely not a birthday though!" Alif blurted out.
What on earth is actually happening!?
Who is that kid anyway?
To Be Continued!