Dear Enemy
Chapter 1 - James & Weird Milk

Rosario, Argentina.

2019

Footsteps were heard along the way. The boy ran with all his might among the crowd of people who passed by that afternoon. His appearance looked very messy like a bum, his clothes were tattered, and his body was shabby instead of playing. He continued to run with all his might, even though his breath was hunting and fatigue had lingered in his body.

“Stop there!” Some people yelled at him in Spanish. Ask him to stop running. The boy turned his head toward the sound, and he found two adults chasing him from behind. Realizing their arrival certainly made him feel even more restless, especially from what he saw, they were getting closer to him.

With a trembling body, the child grasped tightly the object that had been carried away with him. He had no intention of following their orders to stop. Even instead of stopping, he had instead sped up his pace. Running deeper and deeper among the crowd of passers-by. The pedestrians passing there could not distract them from his sudden arrival making a fuss by coming running through the crowd along with a few adults chasing him from behind.

Bruk!

In the middle of his escape, he accidentally hit a fat man who had just come out of one of the restaurants near the road. The man was surprised when he found the boy hit his fat body. “Jeez, you surprised me. You okay, son?”

The man he had just hit looked at the boy with an anxious look on his face as soon as he saw him slumped on the ground from a pretty violent collision. The boy looked up, he saw the man reaching out his hand, trying to help him stand up. But the man had not been able to help him, the attention of the child was again seized by the sound of the cries of people who tried to pursue him.

“That's it!” yell at one of them. He looked around, and they were getting right behind him. Panicking, the boy immediately got up and ran over, ignoring the man who had just reached out to help him.

“Hey, son! Where are you going?” The fat man shouted to him. But he didn't catch up to her because the boy's movements were so fast. Before long, some of the adults who were chasing him also passed the fat guy in a hurry. It seemed obvious that they should chase after the child as quickly as possible.

...*...

Carlota and his men stop their steps once they lose track of Elios. With breathless breaths, they fell silent as they spread their gaze around, looking for the figure of the five-year-old boy they had been chasing after.

“We lost track, how now?” ask Woody. A tall man who was none other than his co-worker.

“Sials. There's no other choice. We should split up. You take the others there, and I'm with the rest there.”

“Good!” Carlota and Woody split up. Woody and some of his men went to the street on their left, while Carlota went to the other side. They rushed to run with all their might, trying to find Elios as quickly as possible.

On the other hand, the five-year-old boy they had been chasing was trying hard to catch his breath. He sat behind the bushes in the park not far from them, losing track of him. Elios' body was still trembling, and he was still grasping the thing he had originally brought from them.

Carlota and his men walked through the entire park. It made him panic and spontaneously come out of hiding to find another place safer for him to hide. He had to hide in a safe place, or they would catch and torture him again.

Elios was silent for a moment, he could smell the whereabouts of Carlota and his men. Even he could feel their existence getting closer. Knowing this, he tried to think quickly. But before long, his attention turned to a group of people walking toward a building. Seeing this, he had the idea to come with them. Elios bit the thing he was carrying, immediately the boy leaned over and ran with his legs and hands like a dog. He ran towards the building he had seen.

...*...

The boy was silent watching the adult woman who was now lying on her bed in a lethargic state and a pale face. He looked at the woman's face, which was now closed, and tried to rest. Before long, the woman opened her eyes, she fell silent, clashing with the handsome boy who was now staring at her from such a close distance. “Hai, James. Is there something you want?”

“Oh! Is correct. It's time for you to have your milk and your lunch, right? Then I'll make it.” Ella tried to get up. The woman who became his nanny looked so lethargic and not powerful, even just to get up from her bed.

“Ella, are you okay? You look so limp..” James looked at her worriedly.

“I'm fine, James. I'm just a little unwell, and my head is a little dizzy.”

“You sick?” James is getting anxious. Ella could only smile wryly while shaking her head slowly. “If you're sick, let me make my own milk.”

“No. You're a kid, and you can't make it yourself, can you?”

“I can! I'm a big boy anyway. I'm five years old!” James pointed his five fingers at the woman who was his nanny. Ella chuckled softly at his funny words. The boy confidently said that he was already a big boy, but he himself knew that he was only five years old. “And again.. Mum once taught me to make milk.”.

“You can really do it yourself?” ask Ella to make sure. With excitement, the boy nodded his head. “You want to try making it yourself too?”

Once again, James nodded his head strongly. Trying to convince the woman that she can do it. “Alright, then, you make your own. But remember to be careful, okay? The water is hot, and remember! Do not fill the water too much into the cup. Fear it will be released.”

“Good, I understand. Now you better rest and don't move much. Don't let you get sick.”

“Iya.” Ella nodded her head and laid her body back on the bed. Meanwhile, James stepped into the kitchen to make milk. Arriving in the kitchen, he immediately pushed the footing bench he used to use to reach the table. He immediately took his drinking cup, and prepared everything needed to make milk. As much as possible the child remembers everything the mother had taught him when making milk.

“Enter a few spoons of milk, then.fill water. It's just that easy!” James muttered softly with a smile. After filling the cup with milk, the child immediately takes his cup to fill with water. There, there are two buttons with different color indicators. James was silent for a moment while watching those two color buttons, he had completely forgotten which button he had to press to fill the cup filled with milk. “Right or left, yes? I forgot..”

James termangu. He glared at the two buttons while trying to recall the right steps. After a moment of silence, James finally made up his mind. The boy pressed one of the buttons that were there and immediately filled his cup until it reached the limit that Ella had always given. After filling it, she immediately covered the cup with the lid and then shuffled the cup to stir the entire milk.

“Very easy.” James smiled proudly. “If Mum and Dad knew I made milk by myself, they would definitely be so proud of me. Now it's time to drink milk!”

Excitedly, James devoured the muzzle on the lid of his cup. As soon as he sucked in the contents, his facial expression instantly changed by a hundred and eighty degrees. “Ewh... it feels a little strange..”.

...*...

Elios stepped into the lobby. The boy was silent while staring around. Upon arriving inside, he saw that there were more people passing by. Still gasping for breath, he continued to step while trying to catch his breath. But not long after, a security walked up to him. “Hey, son! What are you doing here! We hereD don't accept bums like you!”

The security looked at Elios with a fierce face, trying to drive him away from there. Realizing the threat of danger, Elios frowned, staring at the security was no less fierce. The boy dropped the thing he had bitten and started barking at the security like a dog. It was spontaneous to get everyone's attention on him. The security panicked, especially as soon as he saw the reactions of the people who seemed to accuse him of asking the child to howl like just now.

“What are you doing! Stopit! Stop barking!” the man shouted frantically, while Elios continued to bark at him. The man panicked more, he then tried to do something with the intention to attack the child.

...***...