Homeless

(The song appearing in this chapter: callyourname)

"Sir, I don't have any chocolate for a big friend like you." Hank had noticed Gu Yan's actions since he wasn't hiding them.

"But you can buy more chocolate." Gu Yan gave a sly smile. As expected, the children became even more excited at his words, and Hank could only shake his head helplessly.

"Alright children, this won't settle anything. How about we have a competition?"

"Okay, I want to play badminton!"

"No, playing soccer is more fun."

"..."

The children chattered as they walked to an open space and began their competition.

"The children are so cute." Gu Yan squatted down, watching them play.

These children didn't care if disaster would strike again; they were simply living happily in every moment.

"Yeah..." Hank sighed. Unlike before, his tone was filled with melancholy.

"Why don't you find a job?" Everyone else was trying hard to survive; even the helpless elderly were doing their best to find refuge.

"A job?" Hank gave a bitter smile.

"You're not one of the sufferers, so why are you here?" he asked instead of answering.

"Because I care about the lives of my compatriots. As a, uh... public servant."

"So that's why your compatriots help each other and lick each other's wounds." Hank closed his eyes as he said this.

"But I... I have no compatriots anymore..."

Gu Yan was taken aback.

"I've lived in this country, on this land, for a long time. I've learned the language here and understand the customs."

Hank's voice trembled slightly.

"But I've never forgotten that this isn't my country."

As he spoke, he took out a photo. It was a family portrait. Hank was in the center, with his wife on his left. A small child was riding on his head, grabbing Hank's hair.

All three were smiling happily.

"This was taken before I came to Huaguo. Look, this is my son; he was only a year and a half old then."

"My wife's name is Gina. I met her in high school. Isn't she beautiful?" he said to Gu Yan, almost boastfully. Gu Yan remained silent.

"She's wonderful. She likes listening to me play the guitar. That's how I chased her back then."

"But what she didn't know was that the guitar I used back then was borrowed from a friend. I couldn't afford to buy one then. To keep up the lie, I saved for months, worked odd jobs, and earned money to buy it."

As he spoke, Hank's hand caressed the guitar on his lap, his gaze filled with reminiscence.

"Although, I have to complain a bit. Gina, the bread you bake is really terrible. Bain hates it too." He chuckled softly, then turned to Gu Yan:

"Friend, you don't mind if I ramble a bit, do you?"

Gu Yan shook his head, listening quietly.

"I miss home. I always want to find someone to talk to." Hank looked at the children: "These little ones aren't suitable. They should be happy."

"I've been here for many years. I suppose my son must be about the same age as these children now."

"I've thought about going back, but it's too far. It's too far from home."

"Every time I have this idea, I think, the cost of traveling back and forth is tens of thousands. That money is enough for my son to have hundreds of nutritious breakfasts. He can grow taller and stronger."

Hank smiled playfully: "Or perhaps enough for him to buy a guitar? To chase the person he likes in the future."

"I was poor for so long; I wanted to give them the best."

"For so many years, Bain has been with me, so I haven't been entirely alone." He patted Bain's head, and Bain wagged his tail.

"The house I lived in here collapsed. All the appliances and tools inside were destroyed, but it's okay."

"This isn't my home. I'm very fortunate, otherwise Gina and my son would be sleeping on the streets with me."

"Even though life here is starting to get bad, I firmly believe it will get better. I tell myself that my loved one is waiting for me to come home across the distant North Atlantic. These difficulties are nothing."

"But..."

"They're all dead. Gina, my son, they're all dead."

Hank could no longer hold back his tears. The middle-aged man, the kind uncle in front of the children, was now sobbing uncontrollably.

"My country, my home, are both gone."

Seeing his owner's emotional breakdown, Bain kept licking his hand, trying to comfort him.

Gu Yan also pursed his lips, feeling a pang in his heart.

"Now I finally understand. Home was never far away. An entire continent isn't too far. As long as I'm willing, I can go back."

"I can see my wife, hold my son, hear him call me 'Dad,' and I can play the guitar for them one last time."

"But now, I can't see them anymore. Never again. What's far away is never the distance..."

but separated by life and death.

He cried for a long time, and Gu Yan didn't know how to comfort him, so he secretly activated his healing ability, worried that he had injured himself.

The children started returning too, their laughter filling the air.

Hank wiped away his tears and transformed back into the amiable Uncle Hank, the guitarist.

"Children, before I give out chocolates, how about you listen to Uncle play one more song?"

"Okay!"

"I want to hear 'Lone Brave'!"

"No, I want to hear 'Butterfly Transformation'!"

But Hank turned his head towards Gu Yan. "Friend, is there anything you'd like to hear?"

"Anything is fine," Gu Yan shook his head slightly.

"Alright, then I'll sing a song of my choice!"

Clearing his throat, Hank closed his eyes—

"She lost her brother a month ago."

But what he lost were his wife and son, his most important family.

Hank began to play and sing. The children, though they didn't understand the lyrics, listened quietly.

"His picture on the wall. And it reminds me."

His voice was deep and magnetic, drawing listeners into his sorrow.

Gu Yan had heard this song before. Sung by Hank, it was filled with memories, unwillingness, struggle, roars, and despair.

"When she brings me coffee, her smiles"

When she brings me coffee and smiles at me, "I wish I could be with her until my last day."

I truly wish I could be with her until the very last moment of my life.

The song reached its climax.

"But things changed, Suddenly."

Everything changed too quickly, too fast. Disaster took everything from him. The Honkai ravaged him, pushing him to the brink of collapse and despair.

"I lost my dreams in this disaster."

He lost his dreams in the disaster, lost the will to live.

"I'm crying."

"Missing my lover."

"I don't have the power."

His years of effort and endurance became a joke. He was powerless, only able to weep in front of a photograph from many years ago.

Hank had lost. He had lost everything.

The children had all received their chocolates and were preparing to go home for dinner. Only Gu Yan, Hank, and Bain remained.

"Thank you, friend," Hank took out a piece of chocolate and placed it in Gu Yan's palm.

"I didn't do anything," Gu Yan unwrapped the chocolate and put it in his mouth.

It was bitter; he couldn't taste the sweetness the children had experienced.

"No, you stayed with me, you listened to my performance. This is what you deserve."

"..."

The comforting words got stuck in his throat. Gu Yan suddenly realized that Hank didn't need comfort.

"See you again, friend."

Hank stood up and stretched his legs.

Bain also ran around him twice, his tail wagging incessantly, signaling something to his master—

Go home.

"You idiot."

Hank knew what Bain meant, and he cursed with a laugh, bending down to bury his face in Bain's fur.

"We don't have a home anymore, old friend."