The Rainy Day We Spent Together

"Grandpa! Grandpa!", sugar-driven kids screamed and jumped enthusiastically as the old man just sighed.

The old man had thought if he'd given the children the candy they oh-so-wanted, he would be free from this childish torment.

He had disliked the idea of his nursing home merging with an orphanage, although it was just for a while.

"What do you guys want now?", the old man asked. The children thought for a while, the old man sat on the couch and sighed for the nth time that day.

"Grandpa, tell us an interesting story!", one girl shouted and the children followed, as if they shared the same brain cells.

The old man sat thinking, he hadn't read a single children's book for all he knew. He was a child who worked to survive.

The old man sighed again, "Fine, just settle down." The children immediately sat down in front of him, intrigued by what he would tell them.

"It was in 1950,"

~

A young man ran around the town carrying newspapers, he was new at this job and was determined to earn huge amounts of money.

"Just in! Earl Grey was found with a mistress!", he shouted as he waved his newspapers. People were intrigued by the headlines and so he had earned much money that day.

Night time was approaching and he knew the dangers of staying out too late. But he was a little greedy for money, he ended up retreating from his job late.

He had a huge coin pouch with him and he was protecting it with all his might. His fears would come true when a humongous man approached him with a sinister smile.

"Young kid, what is that you are holding?", he asked and the boy just slowly retreated. He clasped the coin pouch which has been hidden inside his ragged jacket.

As the boy didn't reply, the man got agitated and tried to snatch the boy's coin pouch. Luckily, the boy dodged just in time.

The man was furious beyond understanding, he was desperate to get the boy's earnings of the day.

"What's happening here?", a young noble intervened and the boy sighed in relief. "Sire, please help this poor boy for this man has been bothering me to give him my coin pouch", the boy pleaded.

The young noble looked at the boy and nodded, "I see your concern." The man was shocked and immediately ran away.

"Thank you so much sire!", the boy shouted. The young noble just nodded and averted his gaze at the newspaper the boy has been holding.

"Could I buy one of your newspapers?", the young noble asked. The boy immediately nodded and gave him one of the newspapers.

The young noble offered him money but the boy refused, "You can take it sire, if it wasn't for you I wouldn't fathom what would have happened."

"What is your name?", the young noble asked. "My name is Wallace sire," he replied and the noble nodded, "My name is George Grey."

"You-", the boy blurt out in realization and immediately covered his mouth. "That was disrespe-", the boy wanted to apologize but the noble stopped him.

"It's fine, I am indeed the son of Earl Grey," he confirmed and the boy just hung his head low. "It's really fine Wallace, you can also call me by my name," George reassured.

"Sire, I can't possibly do that. I am a mere orphan," he shook his head. The young noble laughed, "You know, I fathom it'd be better if I were an orphan."

The boy looked at him, dumbfounded, "But sire, you have everything you want." George shook his head, "My father treats me as if I'd never existed and my mother has died before I even got to feel her warmth."

Suddenly, the boy felt pity. "George, let's be friends!", the boy mustered up the courage to speak of a noble's name.

The young noble smiled and offered his hand, "Let's be friends," the boy shook his hand and they retreated for it was late at night.

Wallace and George had gotten close, they played, walked around, and even fought with each other. Wallace had gotten comfortable, despite George being a nobleman.

George would even accompany Wallace as he worked, sometimes helping. They treated each other as friends, but deep inside them it was something more than that.

Wallace had felt attracted to George but he would dismiss the thought with George being the first friend he's ever had. He knew what would happen if he was found to be gay.

George, however, hid it deep inside him. He denied the feelings over and over again. He consulted doctors and even faith-healers, none could fathom what was happening to him. Yet, he was always stuck by Wallace side.

One rainy day, George suddenly appeared on Wallace's doorstep. With only a trench coat as a garment for heating, he was drenched.

Wallace hurried to bring him inside his small, abandoned house. He'd never used the fireplace, but that day was an exception. He clothed George with the warmest clothes he had, although ragged.

He used the firewood he'd bought a long time ago which he intended for winter. He then noticed how George was burning up profusely.

Wallace then gave him even more blankets and placed a wet towel on his forehead. Wallace was crying, panicking, as he noticed George was having trouble breathing.

"George, please," he pleaded as he prayed to God for the first time ever. "God if you exist, please," he cried as he rocked back and forth.

"George, you can't leave me, please," he cried as he took George's hand onto his face. He saw George gain a little consciousness and smiled, "George!"

"Wallace," a little voice came out of George, "Did you ever love me?" Wallace was taken aback, he knew the consequences of being known to be attracted to men.

"George, we're friends," he continued as he cried. "Yes, we-", George stopped his sentence as he coughed. "Me too, I never loved you Wallace," George spoke out and Wallace continued to cry.

"I'm rejecting this infatuation I had for you, I fathom this is a rebellion act for me," George spoke out more with his barely-heard voice.

"George, you were never infatuated with me. It was simply love for a friend," Wallace stubbornly removed all the possibilities of romance between them.

"Yes, I see. Wallace," he called out to Wallace, "Please sleep with me for the last time." Wallace cried and nodded, he knew what was happening.

George had turned eighteen and that was a time of marriage for him as a noble. He would become a great earl and Wallace would only be in the way.

That day, they lay beside each other as they listened to the harsh drops of the rain and the wild crackling of the fire. They had stubbornly hidden their feelings for each other.

Deep inside them, they knew just how much they loved one another. They can never tell anybody what they were feeling for it was the world that was against them.

~

"Nooooo," the children cried as they disliked the ending. "Kids, it's not always happy ever after. There are always instances where you need to evaluate the situation," the old man explained.

"What happened to them afterwards Grandpa?", one child asked. "Well, George wedded a wife and had one child with her. He eventually became an earl, replacing his father," he stated.

"What about Wallace?", they inquired further. "He lived a normal life and grew old with only George in his heart," the old man smiled as he placed his hand on his heart.

"That's why kids, never be an embodiment of a Taurus. Fight for what you think is right, your love, rights and many more," the old man encouraged the children.

"Kids, it's time to go back!", the caretaker of the orphanage called out the children. "Looks like it's time to go," the old man smiled as the children whined.

The old man held the hand of a little boy as they exited, "Grandpa, my name's George too!" The old man smiled, "You have the same name then."

"What's your name Grandpa?", the boy asked. "My name is Wallace," he smiled at the boy and the boy jumped in excitement, "We can be George and Wallace in the story Grandpa!"

Wallace, the old man, sat right back onto the couch as he stared outside. And it suddenly started to rain.