Cain found himself inside a theater that was neither large nor small and it felt familiar to him. His gaze shifted to the stage, where he saw a young boy who looked just like him.
The young Cain, nervously holding a flute, walked toward the center of the stage, his hands shaking. The judges sitting in front of the stage looked at him with smiles.
"Hi, little Cain. Would you mind demonstrating your talent for us?" one of the judges asked, maintaining his smile. The "real" Cain silently stared at the boy without blinking.
The little Cain nodded nervously and began to play the flute. The notes were shaky, slightly off tempo, and, worst of all, boring. The "real" Cain felt overwhelming embarrassment, closing his eyes as if he were experiencing secondhand embarrassment. He never realized how unskilled he had been as a child. The flute wasn't for him; perhaps he should have tried something else...maybe dancing would have suited him better.
When the young Cain finished his performance, applause filled the theater. After a quick bow, the little Cain dashed to his mother. Although he saw them leaving the theater, he didn't follow them immediately. He scanned the crowd for a familiar face he wanted to see.
In the upper right corner of the theater, he spotted a chubby kid with blond hair clinging to his mother's leg, glancing in the direction where the young Cain had just exited. Cain approached him and squatted down in front of the child, smiling.
With a playful tone, he spoke to the kid, "You're dumb, Liam."
Liam, seemingly confused by the term, frowned at Cain. He looked up at his mother, nudging the hem of her clothes, but she ignored him.
"Do you like being friends with everyone?" Cain continued.
Liam heard the question but remained silent, staring at the ground. Cain rested his head on his knee and added, "You know Cain, right?"
Still, Liam didn't respond. Cain pressed on, "He doesn't know how to make friends. Can you help him make one?"
This time, Liam raised his head, scrutinizing Cain's face, but Cain just chuckled lightly.
"He may be a dumbass, but he's kind to those who love him," Cain said and stood up, leaving to join his younger self and his mother.
After exiting the theater, Cain searched for his mother and younger self but couldn't find them among the bustling crowd filled with food stalls and snack vendors.
Noticing stairs leading up to a second floor, he climbed them, eager to continue his search. At the top, he scanned the area and soon spotted two familiar figures in front of an ice cream stall. He hurried down the stairs, anxious not to lose them.
As he reached the bottom, he saw that they were still in line. A few minutes later, they walked over to an empty bench. Cain approached quietly, observing that his younger self had red, swollen eyes, likely from crying.
He didn't speak, but as if sensing his presence, his mother turned to him. A strange silence enveloped their surroundings despite the noise of the crowd.
"Excuse me, is something wrong?" she asked, trying to break the silence.
Cain, staring at his mother's face, found himself at a loss for words. What should he say? His mind felt blank.
Summoning his courage, he finally responded, "I apologize for being rude, it's just… my mom passed away last week, and you… you resemble her."
Cain's mother looked startled. She stood and approached him, grabbing his hands with concern. "I'm so sorry for your loss. Do you need someone to talk to? Why don't you sit down?"
She guided him to the bench next to his younger self, who was busy munching on his ice cream without looking at Cain. His mother took a seat beside the younger Cain and smiled, noticing him looking at the young version of himself.
"This is Cain, my son. He was crying because he felt he had no talent for the flute during his school event, so I bought him an ice cream to cheer him up. Cain, say hi to… Mister."
Cain nodded at his mother's explanation. He looked away, his eyes filled with an emotion he couldn't quite identify.
"I'm… Caine."
"Your name is Cain too!?"
"Yes, C.A.I.N.E."
"Oh, it's similar to my son's name. By the way, you mentioned earlier that you lost your mother, right? If you don't mind, why don't you tell me about her?"
His mother looked at him with a sympathetic expression, as if she were gazing at her own child. Cain didn't dare meet her gaze and spoke while facing away from her.
"Would it be alright if I told you what happened that day?"
His mother immediately agreed, saying that she would listen to his story if it would help him.
So, Cain began to recount the events of that day.
When Cain arrived home, he opened the door without knocking. Inside, he saw his mother and grandmother engaged in a spirited discussion in the kitchen. It wasn't an argument in a serious sense, it was more of a playful banter between two cooks.
He went upstairs, dropped his bag in his room, and then quickly came back down to join them.
"Look, Cain! Because your mom refused to follow my instructions, she messed up a dish as simple as lasagna!"
"I told you it was because you were being noisy that I got distracted, Mama!"
Cain realized it might've been his mother's fault, but he chose to ignore the noise and head upstairs instead.
After an hour of gaming, Cain grew hungry and remembered that his mom had made lasagna. When he went to the kitchen, however, he found that both his mother and grandmother were gone. Instead, there was a note from his mother saying they had gone out to buy ingredients and that he should eat the lasagna before it got cold.
At that moment, he didn't think much of it. It was normal for his grandmother and mother to go grocery shopping at that time while he was busy with school and his dad was busy at work.
After taking a bite of the lasagna, Cain noticed it was a bit dry, but still delicious enough that he didn't dwell on it and finished his plate.