The Man Who Breathes Fire (Wiki Contest: March 2013)

The Man Who Breathes Fire - for reasons yet known, a certain demigod decides to leave the comfort of his second home and family, and returns to the harsh society life as an adult. An experimental story about self-exile and isolation, family, normalcy and acceptance. A story or Leo Valdez after the war.

Part One: Unfamiliar Familiar Territory
- October 2023 -

It was a sunny afternoon in Palewell Street, a new neighborhood that had been renovated from an old abandoned commercial district. A few of the houses were still empty, with House for SALE signs picked on the front lawns. Two kids were running in the middle of the small road, a brother and a sister, their laughs filling the whole silent street. They carried with them a small white box each. Cakes. There was a new family in the neighborhood, and the children’s family wanted to welcome them. They had just bought the cakes from the neighborhood’s surviving bakeshop, owned by a stout man with plump red face, funny nose, but always with a smile in his face.

The boy was smiling to his sister when he noticed me on the porch of a one-storey house. He looked at me curiously. Then he tapped on his sister’s shoulder and pointed at me with his lips. I just looked at them. I was a new neighbor as well, just moved in today. I smiled and waved to them. They smiled back and, because of the cakes in their hands, they nodded to me instead of waving, and continued walking toward their destination. I thought about them telling their parents about me, and then having to throw a party as well in this place.

I looked inside my new house. It was still completely empty, no furniture or appliances. There was a worn mattress fit for two people in the middle of what could be the living room that I found in the basement (how a worn mattress happened in a newly built house, I’d yet to find out). My bag was on the top of the bed. I didn’t think that this place was fit for visitors right now.

Moving inside, I took out my few clothes, placed them besides the bed, on the floor, and my tool belt sat on the edge of the dirty mattress. There was nothing for me to do, so I went out for dinner. The nearby restaurants were almost full. I was lucky to be able to sneak into a seat. It took me a while to notice. There were a lot of kids around me all wearing costumes, holding up their bags full of candy to their parents. I saw that the restaurant was having some sort of Halloween dishes in their menus for the occasion. On my table was a Halloween party hat. Well, there was nothing bad on wearing it, so why not? I took it and placed it on my head, be like one of the crowd for a change.

I looked back, thought about my new neighborhood. Palewell Street didn’t have plenty of kids running around Trick-or-Treating. Was it a private neighborhood? It was too quiet for me, to be honest. But maybe quiet was what I needed right now. I watched the kids grinning to their parents. The adults made jokes and patted their kids’ heads. It was noisy around me. I ate in silence.

Coming back to my new home, I saw that the neighborhood was dark. So dark, I could barely see anything at all when I turned to the corner. The lights were out in the streetlamps, in every house, and it was eerily quiet.

I walked cautiously in the middle of the road. Maybe there was a blackout. I was tempted on summoning a small fire for some light, but I fought it for now. A cold wind blew passed me. I suddenly felt a presence. Someone with negative air.

The hairs on the back of my neck stood. “Who’s there?” I said. This time I did summon my fire. It was small in my palm, but it was enough for me to see a few yards around me, despite the size of it. No one answered. I kept moving slowly. I wished I brought my tool belt with me. Or a small weapon, like a knife.

No one answered. But I heard a coin being tossed in the air, and it landed on the ground. Cling!

I walked to the direction of the sound and search the ground. I had to glance up a lot in case this was a distraction. I found the coin. It was big than most of the coins that was commonly seen around here. I knelt down.

A drachma.

I reached out for it, but I held my hand back. I quickly looked around. Someone was following me.

“Hey! Show yourself!” I almost shouted. I waited there for god knows how long. The presence was gone. And the lights of the neighborhood were suddenly up. It almost blinded me, my eyes trying to adjust. There was some activity inside of the houses. I quickly extinguished my fire by shaking my hand rapidly. I wanted to leave the drachma on the ground, but I picked it up and put in my pocket. I quickly went to my house and locked the door behind me. I didn’t open the lights, but I opened the windows, let the lights from outside come in. I took out the coin again and examined it. There was nothing dangerous. But it couldn’t have just appeared out of nowhere.

I considered using the drachma. Call someone. Call my friends. Call home.

I closed my fingers on the coin instead, and made my way to bed. I stared at the ceiling for a long time, clutching the drachma to my chest. A lot of times I wanted to get up and go to the bathroom to Iris-message home. A few times I was unnerved that someone stalked me all the way here just to bring this coin. I cheered myself up by making jokes about it. But nobody here would probably get the punchline if I told the joke to them. Not my mortal neighbors.

<span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";mso-ansi-language:EN-US;mso-fareast-language:EN-US; mso-bidi-language:AR-SA">I was alone here. I closed my eyes