The Golden Eye

The streets looked hot and dusty, and several women complained while fanning their faces with fans. The horse’s mighty hooves made a distinctive clattering sound, its gallop kicking up dust. Some people looked annoyed at the man leading the horse.

“Can’t he see how hot it is here?” people grumbled. But the rider didn’t care; he and his horse disappeared into the ever-thickening dust. Stone Town is famous for its cowboys, but don’t expect summer; it’s not much fun. All you see are dusty roads, scorching heat, parched soil, and fields harvested before summer. It’s nothing exciting; tourists prefer to visit Stone Town in spring and fall.

Stone Town is famous for its cattle herds and often hosts horse races for cowboys. Children were seen feeding lambs, women shearing overly thick sheep, and men being taught horse riding and herding. Even more exciting was the annual shooting competition in Stone Town. Young men entering adulthood would compete to shoot at targets for a healthy horse.

The summer heat kept the women busy, one holding a shearing machine while the other stroking a sheep’s head. No one wanted thick wool on a warm day, right? The wool would later be sold and made into blankets and warm clothing for the winter.

Men in cowboy hats were seen chatting casually in their usual beer bar. Some smoked cigars, some laughed, some mourned, and some strummed guitars to fill the atmosphere. Perhaps someone who loves to write beautiful sentences would say that a drinking place or gathering place is where everyone shares their innermost thoughts. This may or may not be true. Outside, a loud clatter of horse hooves could be heard, then silence. A man with a thick mustache dismounted and took off his hat, calling out cheerfully, “Hola, amigo!” he laughed, waving.

“Luis, why did you come here?” a guitarist shouted, approaching the man named Luis. He was a renowned horseman and a champion pistol fighter.

Luis laughed, shaking the man’s hand, stroking his large mustache with one hand. “Just wanted to visit. You’re getting better, how’s Juju?” Luis asked, laughing. The man laughed sadly, then shook his head slowly.

“Still sick, Luis. The doctor tried to treat him, but what can you do with an old man’s illness?” he explained sadly, his guitar lying silently on the chair. The atmosphere fell a little silent, and Luis felt guilty for asking about his friend’s mother.

“But forget that, I tried, and if I failed once, let’s try again. At least we tried, right?” the guitarist smiled, amusing Luis. Luis laughed, his pot belly swaying. Luis just smiled wryly; heart failure was a different story.

“You always manage to make people laugh, Fernando.” Luis patted his friend on the shoulder. “Want an espresso?” he asked.

“Sure!” Fernando was delighted. People like him couldn’t pass up things like this.

“Hey, don’t forget our share too!” a voice called from the back corner. Luis looked at his friends busy playing cards. “I’d like an iced espresso, it’s getting hotter in Stone Town,” came another comment.

“Gosh, you’re bankrupting me!” Luis laughed.

“Is it right for a rich man to say that?” Fernando sneered, picking up the guitar lying on the chair. His eyes then met Luis’s. “I’d like an iced espresso too. I guess Buck was right, Stone Town is getting hotter due to global warming. Gosh, my grandfather used to say that during the summer, Stone Town is like spring, neither cold nor hot.” Fernando played his guitar.

“Okay, I’ll have an espresso. Fernando sings “Velola.” Luis stepped away from Fernando. Ordering espressos according to his friends’ preferences, “I want a cappuccino, this one is different, take it to table twelve and table five,” Luis ordered. The person in front of him nodded, his hand quickly writing the order on a piece of paper.

Luis approached Fernando, who was humming the lyrics of a song by a famous singer, Velola. The singer was from Stone Town. The singer died 20 years ago, but the people of Stone Town recognized Velola as their pride.

Fernando sang the last verse, his eyes slowly opening and his hands making the final strums. He turned to Luis, who stroked his slightly brown head.

“What about your son?” Fernando asked sympathetically. He deliberately lowered his voice so that only the two of them could hear the conversation. Fernando knew how Luis would react if their conversation were overheard.

Luis turned his head lazily, staring at Fernando with dull eyes, his sparkling expression quickly changing. “George is getting weirder, Fernando. I’m afraid something has happened to my son. He’s talking in something I can’t see at all. It makes me worry, is George crazy?” Luis propped his head in his hands, a troubled expression on his face.

Fernando looked at Luis, who was now pensive. He was also concerned about George, Luis’s son who was often bullied by the children of Stone Town. Every time Fernando passed by, he saw children teasing George. Luckily, he came, or George would have been buried under the pile of straw thrown by the children.

George was a strange child, like it or not, you have to say it because his personality made people shudder. His face was pale, with dark circles under his eyelids. Often, the child talked to himself.

“Go away!” Fernando shooed George away from the children who were bothering him, ruffling George’s dull, straw-streaked hair. “What did they do to you?” Fernando asked soothingly.

George remained silent, looking down and hugging his knees. “Grandma Velola came to me. I wanted to ask them for help, but why are they bothering me?” George began babbling strangely, making Fernando’s hair stand on end. Velola, the famous singer from Stone Town, had been dead for a long time. Fernando started to try to encourage George to go home to Luis’s house, but on the way, George screamed in panic, his hands covering his ears and his eyes tightly shut.

“What happened?!” Fernando panicked.

“That group’s bothering you again!” George sobbed and hugged Fernando. Fernando reassured George while his eyes scanned the area; no one was there except the two of them.

“Nothing,” Fernando said, gently caressing George’s cheek.

“There they are!” George exclaimed, pointing at something behind Fernando. Fernando turned his head, but there was nothing there either, making him shiver even more. He held George, now sobbing. As an adult, he didn’t want to appear afraid in front of a child.

“What should I do, Fernando?” Luis’s sad voice interrupted Fernando’s reverie. His friend’s memory of Luis’s son made him pause for a moment. Fernando lowered his head and said softly, “I don’t know...”

“I don’t know...”

The atmosphere was silent, and a waiter brought the order to Fernando and Luis. Fernando felt sorry for his friend’s son. Luis quickly finished his coffee and paid in cash. He remembered he had business to attend to today.

“I’ll go now. George shouldn’t be left alone for too long. He can leave the house later,” Luis said, waving. Fernando returned the gesture with a bitter smile. The sound of a door closing was heard, followed by the sound of horse hooves, which gradually faded away and faded away.

If only Fernando knew that was Luis’s excuse, Luis would have to hurry today, not about George, but about himself and his second wife. Luis had business in court this time.

“Don’t you see that boy over there?” a large, shadowy man pointed to one of the rooftops in the distance.

“I don’t see anything.” A choked voice sounded, for some reason, when he was next to this large man, the cold always pierced his bones. He stared at the large man, trying to see his face, but all he saw was darkness, perhaps due to the darkness of the night, even though the moon was clearly shining.

“Where are your binoculars?” the large man’s voice was stern.

The man beside him hurriedly reached for the binoculars that had been around his neck. “Yes, I see them!” the man exclaimed happily. His eyes caught sight of the boy who had been talking on the rooftop.

“You already know your task, do it tomorrow until it’s finished. I’ve been waiting for this opportunity for a long time...” The large man turned around and slowly walked towards the forest. “And I’ll wait until I succeed, but don’t forget our agreement yesterday!” The voice disappeared, as did he, hidden behind the forest.

The man holding the binoculars seemed to be wiping away his sweat; in the summer, the nights in Stone Town were also hot. “Good luck.” This time a cold voice was heard, the man stared at the shadow of the woman beside him, the woman simply walked quietly into the forest and disappeared, just like the big man from earlier.

On a rooftop, a small child hugged his knees and looked up at the bright moon, illuminating the town of Stone. “You see, Betty. Looks like Dad was right, I’m weird, even the kids call me crazy.” The child hid his face behind his knees.

“You’re not crazy, they just don’t understand you. At first, I didn’t think you had such unique powers, and you’re a little strange, too...” a girl interrupted, hugging the boy. “They just can’t see what you see, George,” she smiled, brushing a strand of hair out of George’s eyes. Perhaps people saw the wind sweeping it back and smoothing it down.

George looked at Betty, who was now smiling at him. Only his sister understood him. He didn’t understand why he was often considered strange, and even his father was afraid to see him.

His sister’s face shone in the moonlight, and George seemed to be staring at her pale face. “Father said you’ve been dead since I was born. But how could I believe it? You always visit me. It feels like you’re still alive.” George looked at his sister, chuckling.

“Your father just doesn’t see what you see. Believe me, you’re always here. Just in another world...” Betty’s voice choked. “Has our stepmother been torturing you all this time?” Betty asked. George rubbed his face with both hands. He remained silent, the sound of a dog howling in the distance.

“Silence means yes.” Betty lowered her head again, her eyes fixed on the stray dog ​​that was wandering in and out of the woods behind George’s house. “Mom will never stop, you should leave this town.” Betty tried to wave at the stray dog. It seemed to see her, let out a long howl, growled, and then went into the woods.

“Then faced danger and finally left, like my brother...” George’s voice was soft as he said this. Betty held his hand.

“And I came to pick you up.” Betty smiled a pale smile. For a normal person, her smile and words were a little terrifying.

“Leaving, leaving Stone Town. Leaving, leaving Dad...” George grew weaker, and he gripped his increasingly tangled hair.

Betty reassured him. “If you don’t want to, maybe another time. I just feel sorry for you being tortured every day by Mom.” Betty ran her fingers through George’s hair, but her fingers only went through it, and it remained tangled. Perhaps it was difficult to straighten.

“You didn’t sleep?” Betty changed the subject this time. George shook his head, staring at his hands, which were so white he felt like a living corpse.

“Go away…” George hid his face behind his knees. “I don’t want to be disturbed this time.”

“Hey, are you serious!” Betty grabbed her brother’s shoulder. George slapped her hand away, but it felt like it had touched smoke, passing straight through. Betty was speechless, as was George, whose face was flushed red.

“Go away…” George pushed Betty, but his hands passed straight through her body, causing him to fall backward. Betty stared at her brother’s body sprawled on the roof, her gaze so sentimental.

“Don’t be sad.” Betty tried to hug George, but her arms passed through him as if through smoke. She held her brother’s face, her eyes also watering. George looked up at Betty, their eyes the same color, blue with a hint of green.

“I’m going, but promise me you’ll stay calm when trials come your way. And I’ll always visit you next night.” Betty kissed her brother’s forehead, and George felt only a cold, stiff kiss.