Doctor Furial could have very easily asked Arthur how did he get the funds to buy a Dream Pod, or to even attend the ceremony there, but for some reason, he didn't. Arthur was ready for inquiries to be made, but they never came.
"Yes… Luck is interesting and strange." Arthur replied, not wanting to leave the man hanging.
The man looked at him in silence for a few seconds before taking a sip of the infused water.
"Have you not been eating well?" The Doctor spoke, changing the topic. "Your eyes are sunken, your complexion is sallow and your hands have bruises." He stated the irregularities.
"I…" Arthur didn't know how to reply to that.
All of what the doctor had said was true and Arthur had indeed not been eating well. Most of his meals were cheap and whatever he could get on a meager budget. He didn't even know when was the last time he had a proper meal before today.
"You should eat a balanced diet. Nothing good will come if you collapse from malnutrition." Doctor Furial said. "Don't game too much and try to balance it with exercise and meals." He added.
"I will. Thank you for the advice, doctor." Arthur said before taking a pause. "And you… Where were you? In the past 6 years." He finally asked.
"Me? I've been busy with work." Doctor Furial replied with a hint of hesitation in his voice.
"We missed you… I missed you." Arthur spoke, much to the doctor's surprise. "Ever since you stopped coming to the Orphanage things got harsh." He added, a mix of worry and frustration in his voice.
"Sigh… I had some important work to do. Obligations to fulfill." Doctor Furial answered. "My tenure at the Orphanage was limited since the start."
A few memories resurface in Arthur's mind, reminding him of all that had happened. These were memories he had barely thought about, and now they were gushing forth like a waterfall.
Arthur recalled meeting the Doctor for the very first time. He had been but seven years old. The Doctor looked rather handsome back then too. His hair was fully black, but now half of it was already graying.
Fine wrinkles could also be seen in the corner of his eyes, where some age spots had appeared on his neck. Looking at the man's hands though, one would notice several callouses. It was as if the man had been doing manual labor for years.
Doctor Furial was the visiting doctor that would come to the Orphanage every month to check up on the children there. While the Orphanage did have a resident nurse, she was still limited in what she could do.
The man would visit every month and it would be a day of fun for most kids. The man was a bit eccentric, but they were enough to entertain the children. Arthur was one of the many that liked the man.
But then, when he was around 12 years old, the doctor simply stopped coming. The children weren't really informed and most simply thought that he had moved somewhere else. Since they hadn't gotten to say goodbye, most of the children had been hurt.
Thus, now that Arthur was seeing the man, the sorrow and longing from the past had returned.
"I see…" Arthur said after taking a deep breath.
"And what about you? What have you been doing?" Doctor Furial asked.
"After finishing the mandatory school years in the orphanage I left and simply did some part time jobs I could find." Arthur said, his voice now calm.
"Mmhmm… at least you are self-sufficient." The man didn't comment on the standard of life that Arthur was living. "But now you intend to play Morpheus Online?" he questioned.
"I do yes," Arthur replied firmly.
"Very well… it is a choice you have made so there isn't much I can say there." Doctor Furial said before the first course of the meal arrived.
"Please enjoy," The Waiter said before taking his leave.
Arthur and the Doctor ate the appetizer in silence for a few minutes before it was time for the next dish.
"Why were you at the Gallery though, Doctor?" Arthur asked.
ραΠdαsΝοvel.cοm "I was asked by the company to check for any issues." Doctor Furial answered. "With the kind of people, there were in attendance, anyone getting sick would be problematic." He added.
"Ah yes… there are indeed some that might make a mountain out of a molehill." Arthur could easily think of a handful of such 'drama prone' people that were present at the venue.
"Yes… it is better that any issues are resolved." Doctor Furial agreed. "Plus with new technology, there are always some unexpected outcomes." He added.
By the time they finished talking, the next dish arrived, prompting them to start eating again.
This pattern repeated thrice, with Arthur and Doctor Furial talking whenever they finished a course. The questions were mostly mundane, with the Doctor answering perfunctorily.
It made Arthur a bit confused as to what was the aim behind the man bringing him here. Even if it was just to catch up, the place seemed a little too much for that.
Half an hour later, they had finished the meal and it was time to part.
"Hope you live well, Arthur." The Doctor said when they left the restaurant, a car already waiting for him.
"You too doctor… I hope to meet you again sometime later." Arthur replied.
"Likewise… if luck permits." The Doctor said before getting into the car.
The car turned into a blur and left the street within seconds, leaving Arthur to gaze at its shrinking back.
"Even after all these years, he hasn't changed… Though it feels distant now." Arthur muttered to himself as he looked up at the sky.
No stars could be seen with how much light there was around. But what could be seen were massive screens floating in the sky, playing various advertisements on them.
"Sigh… Let's get back home." Arthur muttered before walking to the exit of the district.
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