You are standing there and making me look bad in front of my friends with your disgusting sad acting. Go away from here!" Zeref yelled at Faust with an exasperated look.

"B-But I'm just." Faust tried to redeem himself, but ended up walking away, he didn't want to say anything else to get hit with a pebble again.

Even when Faust was eating with the family, Zeref who sat opposite to Faust glared at him with a hint of resentment. Faust would lower his head and he could feel warm tears rus.h.i.+ng out from his eyes.

"Don't eat all of our food." Zeref said in an undertone, like a subdued thunder. Faust felt the anger in Zeref's voice.

Faust always ate food in less portions whenever he was eating with Zeref.

He was ordered to wake up at 5 every morning to draw water from a well and fill a huge vessel by his aunt, but even though the drawing of water with a small mug that could be pulled up easily, it took him a 100 trip to fill out the vessel.

"Aw little Faust! Who a.s.signed you this work? Take it easy, I will draw the water with something big later "His uncle who just came to the farm advised Faust.

Faust was relieved to hear the words, his arms and shoulders were already turned hard as a stone and hurt him even more when he lift his arms up straight.

"What? He is a boy! He will grow up to be a man. You shouldn't spoil him like that, let him do it." His aunt intervened and said in an irritated tone.

"Faust, my kid! You keep doing it, you will become a good dependable man when you grow up, keep doing it." She alluded with a smile, her voice was sweet as honey to the ears.

"Uun! Definitely aunty, I will do it." Faust innocently agreed with his aunt and went back to doing his work, feeling that he should somehow make his aunt proud and appreciate him.

"Why don't you wake up your son too and make him work? He would need to work too if he is going to grow up to be a dependable man." The uncle asked his wife who was so thoughtful about Faust, but not her lazy son.

The face of his wife turned ugly and is filled with rage. "He needs to work for what he is eating!" She fumed as she walked away in anger.

The words fell into the ears of Faust. He realized how he was being used, but he acknowledged it lightheartedly.

.

.

"Is Faust asleep?" His uncle who was late to home that night asked his wife in a low voice.

"He certainly is." His aunt replied while checking on Faust who was sleeping in a fetal position with his legs was curled up, facing the opposite side from them.

His uncle then went  on to wake Zeref up with an ice cream and dessert in his hands, he made Zeref sit in his lap and feed him the desserts while he fondled his kid's cheeks and patted their hair.

"My little kid, my good boy, go to sleep now, daddy's here, he will be here when you wake up." Later he put Zeref back to sleep while showing his love cuddling to him.

Faust who was still awake all this time pretending to be asleep starts crying as he hugged his knees. "Having a mom and dad is a good thing." He thought as tears kept rolling from the corner of his eye. His pillow turned cold and wet after he cried for a while.

They all used to go to a playground to play and his aunt only made Zeref try out every swing, slides and seesaw and many while Faust stood at a distance clapping sadly.

His uncle offered to give a swing to Faust but after a few minutes, he was called by his wife and he never came back to Faust. Faust just had to stand and watch everything the whole time, his sorrow increased more as he saw parents hold the hand of their kids and walked in happiness.

He stopped all the sorrow in his throat and cried his heart out at nights when everybody was asleep.

.

.

All of these things repeated for a few more days until Gus was back from the mainland. Faust who was sitting alone on a stone outside his aunt's house was startled as soon as he heard a familiar voice.

"Fausty! It's you grandpa yo! I'm here!" Gus said with a smile and his arms spread wide open.

"G-grandpa!" Faust quickly went to hide his face in his grandpa's chest. 

"Huh? Huh? Looks like somebody is missed eh?" Gus tried to tease Faust but he still didn't let go of his hold. Soon, Faust started to cry while holding the s.h.i.+rt of Gus.

"Huh? Fausty? Why are you crying? I'm here now hehe, don't cry my little hero. Who will save me if you cry? hehe." Gus said as he gently patted Faust's head.

The aunt who realized that Gus had come back came out in a rush. "Oh! Gus! My my how many days has it been?" She said with a nervous smile.

"I'm good sister! How are you? I just came back and saw Faust is crying for some reason."

"Ahh ahh it is nothing! He missed you so much all these days, poor kid heh, he misses you. Say Gus, why don't you come in and drink something?" The aunt quickly tried to divert Gus' concern from Faust.

"I appreciate your thoughts sister, I need to go back and look at my animals I left in the care of Stella. Bella would be missing Faust too." Gus politely rejected her offer.

"Ah Stella huh? Her kid is Nick who is the same age as Faust and Zeref right? It's a good idea, take Faust there. He will play with the kids and his mood will be okay soon." She said with a frantic smile.

Gus took his leave and walks as he carry Faust in his arms who was still resting his head on Gus shoulders while looking sad.

"Grandpa!" Faust who was sad and silent all this while spoke up with a sad tone. "Hmm?" Gus answered while wondering what happened to his grandson, who mean the world to him.

"It feels very alone… it- it feels like I'm completely different from the society. I feel left out, as though people don't consider me a human anymore."

The only sound that is heard is the sound that Gus's shoes is making with every step he has taken. The silent hovers above them with neither speaking a word to each other.

Faust looked down and tears started filling his eyes but it did not leak out. He cleared his runny nose as the cold breeze ruffled through his hair gently.

Gus became stricken instantly by the words of Faust, he stared at Faust speechlessly with a surprised face.

"I feel as though I do not have anyone to depend upon grandpa. Everyone have a family that they depend on, b-but i don't have one and no one considered me as their family. They don't like me… they are selfish, mean, evil and greedy." Faust's spills his hurtful words out as he tried to hold back his tears from bursting once again. But once his first droplet of tear broke out, the rest followed in an unbroken stream.

"Faust!" Gus feels the heartache of Faust and held him tightly in his arms. His soft s.h.i.+rt and his familiar scent comforted Faust with relief. He poured in all of his feelings he has been holding and cried out like how every little child would.

"Did something happened with you?" Gus  asked with concerns. "N-no" Faust replied, he did not want to create any conflict or spoil the relation between Gus and his sister.

"Faust Listen to what I'm about to say okay?" Gus softly said to Faust.

"Life is unfair to everybody, and it is like the waves of the ocean, there are good days and bad days both. No matter how hard things get, never give up. Life will give you something better than you expected."

"Build patience and preserve, always learn to give first, what you give comes back to you."

"No matter what happens, try to be good. Goodness lasts with you. Be good and kind to everyone, even if you have money, power or excellence, never even think about harming someone." Gus added and settled Faust on a small stone and kneeled before him.

He cupped the face of Faust in his palms and wiped the tears with his thumbs. "As for a family." Gus whispered in a low voice and hugged Faust close to his chest.

"I am your family Faust, I cook for you, like a mom. I hold your hand and hold you in my chest and protect you like a father. I will be beside you every night and I will read you stories and put you to sleep."

Faust hugged Gus back and he sniffed his runny nose. "You will always be with me right?" Faust asked in an innocent yet happy voice, he hugged Gus closer and rubbed his cheeks on Gus's s.h.i.+rt. Gus chuckled seeing how cute his grandson is acting like a cute little puppy.

A few distance beside them, a sound of running noise can be heard. Gus and Faust turn to face the sound and a boy running in the snow can be seen approaching them. Faust curiously wonders why the boy was in a hurry. 

"G-grandpa! The boy who came running chipped in.

Another man came running from behind the boy, "F-faust! Your grandpa drowned and died, we couldn't save him." The man came running bellowed.

"Huh? Grandpa?" Faust and the boy both responded. The boy who came running is 10 years old and present one. He recognized that the little boy Gus is holding is the 6 years old him in the past.

The present Faust panicked with the confusing scenario and was helplessly starring at the faces. Gus, who was holding the little Faust suddenly turned blue as he got up on his feet.

Present Faust just watch in distress, the child Faust stand up and held the hand of Gus. His hand by now has turned cold, blue and bloated."He is my grandpa." The child Faust with tears welling up in his eyes.

"Faust, your grandpa! He is.. dead!" The man yelled repeatedly.

The eyes of Gus who is standing had filled back and water was leaking from his mouth and he seemed to be suffocating. 

Faust instantly reacted and moved forward to hold Gus and to protect him. To his surprise, the kid Faust and the man who came from behind to pa.s.s the news of Gus held Faust tightly without letting him go.

Faust is surprised that he is not able to push a kid and a man away with all of his strength and training. He helplessly witness Gus fell on the ground breathing his last breath and water swallow the whole body of Gus and disappeared in a flash.

-

"He cried and pa.s.sed out again!" The villagers shout out loudly. Apparently Faust  has pa.s.sed out after 4 hours of constantly crying.

They carry him to his house on the hill with Bella following behind them, they place Faust near the locked door and carelessly went their way.

-

After a couple of hours, Faust wakes up at night, to see the dark sky. He saw Bella who is sleeping on him, *"Is she trying keep me warm in this snowfall?"* Faust mumbles in his head and tiredlessly goes inside the house.

He lits up a lantern in a corner and gloomily walks towards a cupboard. He takes a huge cardboard out of the cupboard, comes to Bella and dumps a month worth of dog food on Bella's plate. He then walks over to a wall and settles down with his back resting against the wall.