The Price of Divinity

Noctis and Grandma were ready to go out and buy clothes that fit Noctis. They both start walking towards the train to get them to the central business district. While walking towards the train, Noctis starts to see the world with clearness, the sun starting to rise, showing the town's actual colors, which are still dull but not as much compared to the nightlife. The pollution is horrible everywhere Noctis looks. He saw people wearing cloth masks or violently coughing. 

While at the train station, Noctis still observed the people looking dull. The train was pure black, looking old with some parts rusting. The sun became dimmer due to the pollution, yet life had still to continue for the people. When they got on the train, people started swarming in, making the train extremely crowded. 

Noctis could only stand up next to Grandma while being squished in all directions. He suddenly felt someone touching his pockets, but due to the crowd, he couldn't do anything; fortunately, he had nothing in his pockets. Noctis could only see through the crowded people a beautiful girl in a similar situation as him. 

Noctis' heart skipped a beat, but he didn't pay attention to it, quickly diverting his attention to the small part of the floor he could actually see. His mind only thought of the image of the girl; her red lips and blue eyes were a beam of light in the dull atmosphere. The train ride only took twenty minutes. The train stopped, and most of the people left, giving the space for Noctis and Grandma to leave; the girl didn't have the same spot. Notcis could only look, but after seeing nothing, he decided to follow Grandma to see the central business district.

Noctis saw that the city had a little more color than where he lived, but still everything looked dull. When they both entered, Noctis was blown away by the amount of people wandering the streets; the people had a small smile, surprising him. He saw people of many sizes, shapes, colors, and clothing. Noctis was fascinated by the fact that there are people like this. 

Noctis closely observed the stores, searching for something that caught his attention. Every store captured his attention; there were stores with many colorful items inside. Stores were inside and outside; everything felt new to him. The thought of so many new things to look at almost caused his brain to go into overdrive. 

They first went into the market section to buy new ingredients to adjust with the addition of one new mouth to feed. Noctis noticed the incredible smells of the market. Everything to him smelled delicious; all Noctis wanted was to eat everything that he saw. Noctis was about to take a plum and walk off, but luckily Grandma was there to pay for it and to give Noctis a lecture. 

"Noctis doesn't do that. That is bad. You always have to pay for your food. So every time you want something, ask me if we can get it, and if I have enough money, I will buy it." Grandma starts smacking Noctis with her stack of money.

"I am sorry. It just looked delicious. I promise I won't do it again." Noctis looked at the floor from the embarrassment.

"Don't worry, now let's get going; the more we wait, the more the best ingredients are being bought." Grandma grabbed Noctis's hand and started walking as fast as her old body allowed her to. 

While speed walking, Noctis could only stare at the food he desires to eat, drooling as his hungry child body is being dragged against his will. Noctis could only shed a tear as he left each food stand. 

When they arrived at the stand, Noctis was immediately drawn to the sweet smell of a drink at the end of the cart. Noctis could only drink his saliva before pulling his grandma's dress to ask her to buy it. Grandma was too focused on being sure to pick the best ingredients, almost fighting against another old lady for a squash.

Noctis could only stare at Grandma, doing his best puppy eyes, yet nothing managed to get her attention. After waiting for three minutes, Grandma finally asked what he wanted. Without a second thought, Noctis immediately pointed at the gallon of red-colored drink beside Noctis. Grandma looked at her money, giving him a smile and buying it for him.

Noctis was very happy to get the drink. Noctis could only look at the drink he wanted, giving it the first sip. Noctis never felt this amazing combination of flavors hit his developing paladar. Noctis immediately drank the entire drink, not leaving behind even a single drop of the sweet juice.

Noctis was now revitalized, ready to buy himself new clothing. They both left the food market. Noctis, now satiated with the drink, felt that he had enough, deciding to look straight ahead, ignoring the food. They went into the clothing section, and Noctis was amazed to see so much clothing. The things that caught his attention were the beautiful dresses on display.

Looking at the dresses, Noctis finally saw a reflection of himself seeing a small child. His long and unkempt black hair caught his attention; his dark eyes made him look gloomy but childish. The clothes are way too big for him, almost giving him a gangster look. Noctis looked at his reflection for a while but ran towards Grandma inside the store. 

Inside the store it was beautiful. There were so many different clothing items of different colors. Noctis walked towards the male section and, with the help of his grandma, started picking new clothes that he liked. After picking ten sets of clothing, Noctis went to the fitting area to test out the clothes.

Only four sets fit Noctis perfectly. The first set is a graphic t-shirt of a dinosaur with some shorts for his casual outfit. The next set was a long sleeve with red stripes as its design with black pants. The third set is a short-sleeve shirt with a black sweater on top of it. Another black pants was used in the outfit. The last set was his personal favorite. It consists of a long sleeve with many splashes of color throughout the shirt; its simplicity but colorfulness was love at first instance. The gray pants made the outfit perfect for him. 

They bought the four sets, and Noctis left wearing his fourth set. After leaving the store, they decided to give Noctis a complete makeover, which includes a haircut. His wavy hair type was very unique for the time when straight hair was the norm. Noctis wanted to continue having his curls; all he wanted was his hair to be cut a little shorter to show his face. The stylist made his curls stand out, finally being able to see his baby face and was happy to see himself for the first time.

"Do you like it?" the stylist asked Noctis.

"Yes, I love it. It fits perfectly." Noctis now finally gives a large smile.

After saying goodbye to the stylist, they decided to mark the ending of their trip to the markets. They walked back again to the train; the same moment Noctis left the town, the colors of everything went back to dull; however, Noctis is radiating a beam of joy the whole way back.