Travelling through worlds with developer tools.

Date: 17/05/2024, Location: Karhögstorg, Lund, Sweden.

It's been a little over 6 months since that day, and like all days where he met new friends. He looks at them fondly, with a hint of nostalgia and hope for another great day and its chances.

He wakes up, not as groggy as he used to be. He has some oats with locally sourced syrup for breakfast in a hearty bowl of milk. He then brushes his teeth, flosses and does touchups by shaving his head due to his baldness. He liked to look well-done for his friends, after all.

He does his morning routine with a small cardio set. Meeting up with his neighbour Jeremy, who liked to be called Joe. "Morning, ready for a jog?" Heath asks, "Yeah, as always." Monotone, Joe ain't much of a talker. But he's for sure a good jogger. From Prins Augusts G Street, they breeze through to Norra Spolegatan, where they meet Behsa, a woman they meet up with to jog through to Kävlingevägen Road, a loop through Kung Oskars Väg Road and going back to Prins Augusts G Street again. A nice 35-minute pace for a man like him.

"Nicely done Joe, Behsa." Heath comments sincerely as usual while nodding at them, knowing they could've done anything else but still chose to jog. "No, thank you, Heath. It's lovely around here. Around you, really. Ain't that right, Joe?" Behsa goads Joe jokingly.

A crack of a joyful smirk appears on Joe's face, "Yeah, it was. It's been lovely since you came here, Heath." Joe comments truthfully, they liked Heath for who he was, a guy who kept making new mistakes, but never repeated them. And enjoyed the process of finding new information and was vigorous in studying new knowledge. They liked an honest man like him. However, they noticed he wasn't a guy who was into romance, even after spending so much time with him. They'll probably ask him later during one of their game nights.

During the process of their jog, they found Adrian by the Sushi 2 Go place on Kung Oskars Väg Road, "Hey Heath, how's it going? Hey Joe and Behsa, haven't seen you both in a long while." The teen Adrian comments delightfully. 

"We've all been good, nothing much has happened since, we've just been jogging and chatting about life. Haven't seen you at this sushi place in weeks, enjoying sitting by the bar indoors, eh?" Heath asks. "Yep, didn't have the time because of school, can be a bit overwhelming sometimes, but I do the best with what I have, my sports specialisation can't finish itself after all!" Adrian finishes the sentiment with as best a positive he could find. "It's good you're trying your best, even if you didn't. You know they'd be proud." Heath says.

". . . Yeah, they would. Thank you for letting me get into this course, by the way." Adrian says, with a melancholic but optimistic tone. Behsa comes to pat him on the back while Joe smiles meaningfully towards him, hoping to appear mindful but proud of him.

"Just continue what you're doing, Adrian. You know you got it in you, I will provide for as long as you need. And I know you'll want to pay me back, just do so once you have enough from a stable income, alright?" Heath says, knowing what these youngsters are like. These are quite good teens, and while they are influenced by other people who have more. . . Delinquent tendencies in their environment, they have good heads on their shoulders and know when to leave such crowds. They'll find themselves soon enough.

"Alright, but you're not gonna stop me either like Elias couldn't stop you!" Adrian partially mimicked Heath's faux-arrogant tone while showing his jokey nature. Heath smiled from that, happy to know that they were keeping true to themselves.

"I am thinking of downloading Deep Rock Galactic, would any of you want a match if I send you a gift set on Steam?" Adrian asks out of context. "Sure, what's that brought onto you?" Behra asks. "Rock and Stone, sister. Rock~ and Stone!" Adrian says with a flourish, raising his hand, then bringing it back down like a swing. Joe in the background looks uninterested but there's a gleam in his eye that others notice. "Ooh, guess you got a Brother to mine with, don't you Adrian? Wait for me so we can play and squash some bugs!" Heath says heartyly. 

Yet he never could. After a silly chat with them all, he leaves them off towards The South Indian Lund, a restaurant he booked with Elias for his birthday, on Nygatan Street. He waits on the car park for 12 minutes or so before Elias comes.

"Hey, how's it going?" Heath asks, part gesture while also genuine. "Been tough, but I'll manage, Joe beat me at Call of Duty quite badly during a match. He's a pro at hit-and-run tactics, with a sniper rifle of all things!" Elias comments, frustrated but happy he got to play with a new friend as well. "Yeah, I saw from the Discord feed that you had it rough." Heath gives him a gentle nudge on the back. "Come on, let's go inside, the reservation wouldn't want us to be late, would it?" They soon both go inside. And had a blast of their cuisine.

They joked, they laughed, and they reminisced on the change of their lives. Knowing much of what they've done has helped their growing friend group immensely. And that all of them have grown as people. Not to be sappy, but I'm pretty damn proud of them too.

"Damn, the Mango Lassi dessert was lovely, that was a flavour I would sell myself for." Heath comments partly to himself, and it is true. It was a lovely dessert, too lovely. "Yeah, you had to try a portion of my Dosa though. You missed that during the serving." Elias comments meaningfully, "Heh. True, but it was your meal, weren't going to take it from you." They then sit in comfortable silence. Soon, the waitress came by. "The total is 172.83 SwK, please. (£12.42 or $15.84.)" This time, Elias chose to pay, weirdly enough.

"You've barely got money, you sure?" Heath asks. "Yeah, for all the times you helped me and others, there'll be more than that came from after all." Elias winks, Heath chokes on himself, then laughs. "Ah, you're getting better at winking, it used to be so awkward!" Heath says.

"True, I used to look like a lopsided fish when I used to wink." Elias says, smirking. "Your words, not mine!" Heath pretends to take a tear off his cheek while dying down his fit of giggles, he finishes up the dregs of his Mango Lassi before leaving it on a napkin.

They chat some more, about topics like what game they should play tonight, whether they should do online matching, or if they should try new games like Fall Guys or Rocket League. It was a good time spent, and one Heath would hold dear like many of his memories.

*He he he he. . .* A small batch of giggles ran through the restaurant, with a side of wheezing as it just joined with the raucous noise throughout the rest of the restaurant that night. Their conversation derailed many times, yet they found common topics to discuss.

Heath and Elias clicked like two peas in a pod, and the rest were in close contact branches. "So Uncle, what are you planning next?" Elias asks, genuinely wondering what would be on his mind. "Anything, really. This place counts as my retirement after all. While I may only be 41, I feel like I lived a lifetime, and with that, I also made a few new paintings, you fine to see through my phone?" Heath asks. "Mhm, you let me show to you all the time, it's only fair." Elias comments humorously, Heath takes out his phone and scrolls through his gallery.

"This one is meant to be the Bantorget, I tried to alter it slightly to fit with modern aesthetics by changing some of the Victorian-era stylings with more minimalist, brutalist and Bauhaus design." Heath's showing a well-made portrait that'd be seen from a worker's view plan.

"Many of your other paintings are made to be renditions of old architecture. Have you ever thought of making a new building entirely?" Elias comments fruitfully, though with the knowing look from Heath, he now knows what will come next. "Well good thing I did so, here's a 55-story tall building that's a mixture between 5 of random buildings in a choice list." A painting of a building that mixed the Petronas Towers, La Sagrada Famila, Flatiron Building, Chrysler Building and Lotus Temple came into view. A historic blending stylisation.

"Not entirely new, but looks great! You're quite the talented artist and sketcher of the floor plans. You ever thought of going into graphic design or Architecture?" Elias asks. "A long time ago." Heath comments from the side, feeling it is too expensive to do in this market.

"You're not that old, you've still got enough time to get a degree. We can help fund it!" Elias says with a full stance. Heath helped them with most situations, and all knew what he's thinking from spending enough time with him. Elias would've called them up to ask them and more than likely they would've said yes if Heath was still in this world. Heath was very touched as he hasn't had such gifts in a long time. He declined nonetheless. "I have more than enough time, give me another present that's not so expensive." Heath comments.

"Just ask, you're a genuinely good guy, uncle. And we don't know what kept you alone for all these years to isolate yourself during your travels. But now you have us. All of us." Elias comments with full belief on the matter. He at least did know Heath had low self esteem.

He not only helped them, but to no exaggeration, they feel he's helped an uncountable number of others due to his travels. (Probably exaggeration, but works nonetheless.) He deserved some return for what he's been doing. "I know you are all with me, and thank you for all the support. But I'm not in the spirit of getting returning gifts. Having a great life is what I seek most- I seek lasting peace. Eh?" Heath's response sounded almost diplomatic in nature, but you could see the uncertainty, the hidden distress in his eyes.

Elias noticed. "What's wrong, you're not used to getting return gifts?" Elias asked. "No, I'm not." Heath said truthfully. "How come, you're a great person!" Elias said, almost like a bratty child. "Because I like to give, I do not like to take from others." A 'simple answer' from Heath.

Elias, knowing some of the lessons Heath tried to give and applying it to him, ". . . There's more to it than what you're saying, isn't there? Are you worried we will leave you, feeling that the 'score is even'? The fact you won't have some 'value' to us means we will discard you like a piece of rubbish down a bin? YOU ARE F*****NG NOT!" Elias reaches over from the counter, scaring Heath. "You do not need to have such an unhealthy coping mechanism to see yourself as nothing more than a simple wad of cash to us, you dingus!" Elias yells.

The antics spooked some of the other people around them. One called a waiter, pointing them out. The waiter walked over and spoke to them. "I'm sorry gentlemen, you are being too loud for this establishment and we'd like you to leave." The waiter says with a stare.

""Sorry."" Both say sorry and leave, they walk in silence for a bit before Elias comes back to finish his point. "I may be younger than you, and I may have been too harsh on you there, I'm sorry. But I know the signs of somebody who is trained to be selfless to gain a 'positive' attention-seeking setup, a toxic loop that makes you stuck in a self-sacrificing system, you are not just a person we see who will give us help with tasks for free or a walking dispensary. That's a slave, and you are you. We care for YOU." Elias points at Heath's chest while glaring.

"You've got to learn to let go, and not to get stuck on attachment issues that'll lead to you burning like a moth to a flame. Relax enough to be comfortable in the warmth." The fire in Elias' eyes frightened Heath. He put his head down and thought for what felt like an eternity. 

"How long have you known?" Heath asks, wondering how he guessed so aptly. "Since you said that it's not your fault during our talk. I am quite a paranoid person and I like to guess the hidden meanings of other people's words. That's my flaw, but it helps me be aware of other's mental states. Had to learn like that while living in a house full of powder kegs. You're a good man, and doubting us is going to hurt all of your friendships in the long run. You're lucky nobody else noticed. . . You should learn some self-worth." Elias murmurs the last bit.

And that says something from a shy, young man the first time he was in front of him. That shocked Heath to be told off by the person he least expected. Though it was a good wake-up call. They silently chuckle. "Thanks for that, I needed it." Heath says knowingly.

"Know you can lean on us, because my guess is your travelling spree also worked in favour of hiding yourself from the pain of being abandoned from-" "Okay, stop it 'Mr. Psychologist.'" Heath cuts off Elias, they stare at each other before having a full round of laughter. Suddenly, out of the corner of Heath's eye. Beside the road he's on, he noticed a man, alone on the road. He is just standing there, appearing listless. From a distance, one could tell they were very handsome, but that expression felt. . . Off, Heath told Elias and went to warn them.

Walking across the street in traffic yet was somehow never hit. "Hey Stranger, would you need some help? It's dangerous standing out in traffic like this, though I don't know how you're avoiding cars like that!" Heath yells from across the road.

The man, that 'thing', turned to him. His lips were visibly upturned from many meters away. Almost like a Cheshire Smirk rather than a Cheshire Smile. Now walking towards Heath robotically, yet avoiding the vehicles like a phantom, they soon came upon him. Once close enough, its features were noticed: a beautiful yet uncanny androgynous face, eyes that appeared too clear and glassy, and skin that was too perfect with no features of wrinkles or pores. With no hair throughout except for a short military haircut and thin eyebrows.

A voice that sounded harmonic with the world spoke, yet their mouth never moved. "Perfect." A melodic sound, one expected for a tenor, it captivated Heath but simultaneously scared those around him, Elias tried to move between them but was frozen, then. . .

Suddenly, Heath blacked out. Hearing the cry of Elias for him. He left this world as suddenly as he arrived in Sweden, into and out of the lives of so many people.