Have you ever imagined what it would be like to live in a rich and respected family? Where you have to uphold the crown, that was attached to you from birth. Living by the standards that others have set and trying hard to meet the standards people have set against you. Demanded to be perfect and you will be left when you can't live up to other people's expectations.
***
The sun shines brightly, the wind blows and makes the leaves sway, even the chirping of birds becomes music to accompany the wind blowing. You can see a young boy sitting on a school park bench staring at a piece of paper which is a report on the results of a semester exam.
The boy looked not that happy even though he got an A even he sighed as if and his eyes were sad as if he was going to face big trouble. He looked so disappointed that his hands clenched into fists and crumpled the test results a little.
"Alex!" called a teenage boy as he walked over to Alex who was sitting on a park bench
Alex didn't say anything and only glanced at his friend Drake who came over to him. Drake looked so happy when he approached his best friend, but Alex didn't look so excited instead he looked like a student who got bad grades.
"What are you doing sitting here alone?" Drake asked, placing his hand on Alex's shoulder and sitting down beside him.
"Nothing …" Alex replied briefly then he looked back at the exam results with a sad look.
Drake also took a look at his friend's test paper and in contrast to Alex who looked sad, Drake showed the opposite reaction. Drake looked completely amazed with his eyes wide open as if his eyeballs were ready to pop out.
"Wow, you are great! How did you get this good score? The fruit does fall not far from the tree huh! " Said Drake with a big smile.
Alex just smiled with a corner of his lips in response to the words of his friend. Drake may not have noticed it because he was too excited, but Alex looked uncomfortable when Drake mentioned the proverb. Alex doesn't like that proverb because to him it's like a curse that's been tied to him since he was born.
Alex feels very tired of people who praise him by associating himself with his family. How could he not, Alex was always associated with his surname Maxwell as if he meant nothing without his last name. His father was a Supreme Court judge who was very famous for his assertiveness in giving decisions at court as well as with his intelligence so that everyone in his city had great respect for his father. And his mother is a professor of health who managed to find a breakthrough drug that is very effective and managed to establish the third-largest pharmaceutical company in the country.
As the first son of the great Maxwell family, he had to carry a very heavy burden. He had to pay attention to his surroundings before acting, thinking before speaking that even he had to put the honour of his family before himself. Often Alex also has to do something very contrary to him. He always has to wear a mask so that sometimes he forgets his face.
And today Alex starts to rethink what he wants. Even when everyone was praising him he didn't feel happy at all. He couldn't feel anything, he could only feel the emptiness in his heart because Alex knew his value was not something impressive but an obligation that he should have done.
Alex knows that everyone looks at him with amazement and even jealous because he was born in a very extraordinary family. But Alex doesn't feel proud or happy at all because he knows better what it is like to live in such a wonderful family.
With the name Maxwell attached to his name, he must continue to be careful in everything. He must not show his weaknesses and can only show his perfect side. He has to be someone everyone wants not to be who he wants to be.
At first, Alex felt that it was the thing he had to do. He tried hard to get recognition from his parents but no matter how hard he tried he would never get the recognition he wanted not even a single compliment he never got from his parents. And today Alex is getting tired, he goes back to thinking about what he wants. He wants to be himself but doesn't know what his real face looks like because he starts to forget his real face.
"Alex, what have you been thinking about since earlier?" Drake asked, bringing Alex back to his senses from his reverie.
"Ah, nothing. Just thinking about something that is not so important … "Alex replied, giving his trademark thin smile.
"Larie invited us to his house party. You will also come right? " said Drake, staring at Alex with sparkling eyes as if begging Alex to attend Larie's house party.
"Hm, alright. I'll come but just a moment. " Alex replied, feeling a little forced.
"Alright, then I'll pick you up," Drake said with a big smile
***
Time flies and now Alex is walking into his house with a heavy heart. With every step, he tried to catch his breath. He kept on walking even though his feet felt very heavy to move. As he stood in front of the door, he paused to take a breath as his hands grabbed the doorknob.
The worry that continues to haunt him makes Alex a little hesitant to open the door in front of him. But Alex knew he couldn't keep running away from what he had to endure. He also opened the door to his house. The whole room is empty and no one welcomes him.
At first, Alex thought his mom and dad would be home because that's what they always do every time Alex gets his test results. Alex also sighed and walked to his room, and then he threw his bag into the corner of his room. He also dropped his body onto the soft mattress while staring at the ceiling of his room which was painted plain white.
Many things crossed his mind, about himself, his life and even about his dreams. He started to think back to how he had lived his life all this time. Since childhood, he tried hard to fulfil the expectations of his parents. Bearing the burdens and responsibilities of being the eldest.
Son in the Maxwell family, he strives to be a son figure who perfectly meets family standards and sets an example for his two younger sisters.
But is that really what he wants? Although he has tried hard to become the perfect son, he has never received praise from his parents once. Not even once did he feel happy with all the results he got.
"I live my life or the life of my parents …" murmured Alex while staring closely at the ceiling of his room.
***The sound of knocking on the door filled the room, Alex who had fallen asleep unconsciously opened his eyes again. Alex slowly wakes up from his sleep, the voice of his sister Gina who calls out to him makes Alex wake up completely and removes the lingering drowsiness. He opened the door and Gina immediately jumped at him then hugged Alex tightly with a face that was very happy and excited."Big brother! Brother managed to get another A! " said Gina very excitedly.Alex smiled and hugged his sister because he was very happy with the praise given by his sister. Alex is always close to his younger sister Gina because Gina is a cheerful girl who likes to follow Alex and also invites Alex to play with her. Gina is also the only person who always asks Alex to talk even for trivial things,
"No, I'm not that good at dancing anyway," Alex replied refusing the girl's invitation politely."Oh yeah? my name is Helena." Said the girl while stretching out her hand.Even though he was a little annoyed because he was approached by a girl he didn't know at all, Alex still smiled and shook Helena's hand while giving a faint smile. However, Alex has to maintain the good name of his family because of that he must always be friendly and polite. Even though he doesn't like it, he still has to hold back all his emotions and only shows the good side of Alex Maxwell."My name is Alex…" said Alex introducing himself when he shook Helena's hand."I already know your name,
When everyone just saw her quietly, Gina immediately jogged and with her tiny hands she hugged Drake. The warmth of Gina's hug made Drake couldn't hold himself anymore. Drake immediately burst into tears and gave off all the flavours he had endured.***Several days have passed, the orange rays of the morning sun have become Alex's favourite beautiful sight since he was hospitalized. Since opening his eyes again, Alex has liked to sit alone on a park bench just to see this beautiful sight. Even today he is willing to wake up very early just to see the sunrise. The sound of birds singing became the music that accompanied his morning.Alex loved the morning sunshine he saw so much that he couldn't stop smiling. He was so focused on the beautiful scenery that he didn't realize that a girl his age was watching him and walked over
Do you believe in fate? Believing that God has Written everything about your life, Then what if there is no coincidence in this world. Maybe everything that happens and everyone we see is predetermined and always has some meaning in our lives even if it's a brief encounter or just passing through on the street?***The dawn sun was shining again, the birds were singing sweetly, welcoming the dawn. The wind was swirling gently, whistling and shaking the leaves of the tree. Alex sat on his hospice bed staring out the window. It focused his eyes on the dawn sun as if he had been reborn upon seeing the soft orange rays of the dawn sun.After several days of being treated in the hospice, today Alex will return to his home. His parents took him home, but they allowed Alex to enjoy his own whil
Alex doesn't know why, but he can't forget Ruby's face, even though he tries to brush Ruby's image and forget it but it still comes back to fill his mind until he is lost in his thoughts.***Time passed and several days passed. After he had completely recovered, Alex returned to school. Coming back to school after not being in school for a long time made everything feel great. Wearing a school uniform felt so amazing even though it was just the uniform he usually wore. Even just standing in front of the school gate made him pleased.Perhaps it was because he missed school so much after several days of not being able to attend a school that the air he breathed at school also felt completely different as if there was a sweet scent when he inhaled it.For th
They arrived at the sacred tree and Ruby was very excited to make a wish. While Ruby was thinking about what she should ask for, Alex, who didn't believe in anything, just wrote on the coin he was holding and just threw it away.From a distance, a pair of envious eyes looked at Alex and Ruby who were together. That person is Helena, the beauty queen whose position as the prettiest girl is being rivalled because Ruby looks close to Alex, the man almost all girls in school want.Jealousy was clear in Helena's eyes, and she hated it when someone touched her target. The flames seemed to radiate from her views so that her friend Natty could tell just by looking at his views. Natty, who was curious about what her best friend saw, until she looked very annoyed, approached Helena and look at the window to catch what made Helena so upset.
"We want to go to a place that kids our age frequent, but Alex doesn't seem to know much about that. You can show up and take us to nice places, right? I am happy!" said Ruby with a big smile as she stared at Helena."Huh? Will you not be disturbed if I join? " Helena asked as she saw Ruby's eyes with a suspicious look because she thought Ruby might cover up her genuine feelings."Eh! I am delighted that I can have lots of friends. What is your name?" replied Ruby with a wide and sincere smile."Helena ..." said Helena and with a confused look because Ruby looked pleased even though she was interrupting her and Alex's date and it felt strange for Helena."Helena, what a beautiful
No one knows when his heart was attracted and felt something he had never felt before. In the past, nothing could make him feel successful even when he was ranked first in his school. But now, accompanying Ruby home and walking the sidewalk after getting off the bus made his so delighted that he couldn't quit smiling.Every step he took with Ruby had so good that he could see his excited heartbeat. The cool night air was so sweet and warm that he felt at home going for a long while. Maybe because he was with Ruby, Alex became eager to break time or slow down passaging day because he wanted to be with Ruby longer.Then they stopped in the front line of the hospital where they first met. Alex was a little surprised when they reached the front line of the hospital because he didn't pay attention to anything else when they walked together and it was because he could only see Ruby all the way.