“The young man has many paths. Many hallways to go down.

  He stands in the main hallway, gazing at all the second hallways he can turn into.

  Won might be full of trickery, where snakes hid in the eyes of all involved. A root filled with lies and deception.

  Another might smell of death. A root where all who are left are in black, and it's hard to make eye contact.

  Many involve a girl. In which you will love her, and she will love you back.

  To some extent, the hallway a young man goes down will call his name. He will be sucked into the hallway. Forced to go down the path whether he likes it or not.

  And to some extent, he will choose the hallway. The hallway will be an outcome given to him based on all the choices he makes.

  Still, it is our duty to follow the right path. One of Honor and peace. Don’t you think?”

  — A Friend

  Axel had never received a letter addressed to him before. He’d only checked the mailbox a handful of times in his life — always during moments like this one, wishing he could fast-forward while waiting for Spliff to show up in his front yard. He didn’t know what to make of the note. I choose my hallway? Axel sat in silence, wondering who could have written the unusual letter.

  Although Axel was fascinated by the note, it wasn’t long before he got bored again and shifted his attention to a tiny insect crawling near his feet. He rested there, watching as the insect defended itself against a slow and delicate yet intrusive stick he’d picked up for the sort of game he'd made up on the spot. The wind and heat of the sunlight helped the young boy lose himself in his own little world.

  Spliff stopped about eight feet away from Axel and just watched — partly because he felt the peace Axel was in, and partly because he thought it’d be funny to see how long Axel would stay oblivious to his presence. Only a few minutes passed before Spliff got bored with waiting and decided to see how close he could get to Axel instead. He managed just a few steps before Axel snapped back to reality — and with a shared laugh, their day together began once again.

  At the time, Spliff had just turned ten, and Axel was just shy of it himself. Axel was of average height, with dark, wavy hair and freckles across his nose and cheeks, while Spliff stood a bit taller, sporting a cropped blond haircut. The boys would meet daily at Axel’s house. On this particular day, there was no school. Still, regardless of what they spent most of their day doing, they always followed the same routine immediately after saying their hellos, a familiar ritual that had lasted since they were about six years old. Axel and Spliff would line up facing down the sidewalk toward the center of town, put their hands down in front of them, kick off the ground, and stand straight up on their hands. Five hundred-plus times, they tried walking to their school without letting anything but their hands touch the ground, and neither of them ever succeeded.

  Although both boys were exceptionally skilled for their age in areas such as coordination and agility, the path was approximately a mile long, and some sections were much more challenging than the standard, leveled areas. One part, in particular, was so steep that the boys agreed it would probably be best to turn so their stomachs faced up the hill, rather than their backs. The reason was to prevent their wrists from having to overextend into an unnatural position. They called this hill the Behemoth, and like most days, this is where their attempt ended. They never once attempted to complete their goal in two tries or more, or even restart it on the same day altogether; once the second one fell, so too would their enthusiasm for the goal until a new day arrived.

  “Well, that's a shame.” Axel usually said something like that when they failed.

  “Whatever.” Spliff, like Axel, hated to fail. Even though they failed at his game hundreds of times in a row, they were still slightly annoyed each time they knew it wouldn’t be the day they completed it. “Anyways, I know what we’re gonna do today.” Typically, one of the boys would ask the other what they wanted to do, and they’d list off ideas together, but today, Spliff had something in mind. A worthy quest had found his ears by chance, and he was excited to let his friend in on his plan.

  “Cool, what’s it gonna be?'' In truth, Axel didn’t care what they did. These days, if Spliff was excited about something, he would hate to miss it.

  “I overheard a kid a little older than us the other day at school — he said the old man farmer has a super rare fruit tree on his farm.”

  “We’ve been there a hundred times — I’ve never seen a fruit I haven’t eaten before.”

  “Yep!” Spliff was happy he got to share the insider information with his partner in crime. “See, we always make sure to steer clear of the old man’s house so he doesn’t catch us stealing his fruit, but this fruit tree is so rare that the farmer keeps it as close to his house as can be. He’s got two of these kinds, and the kid said they’re right off his porch.”

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  “How do you know the kid wasn’t bluffing you? Maybe he just wants to see us get in trouble.”

  “Nah, he didn't know I was listening. He said he was the old man’s brother’s grandson, or whatever, and that he got to try it once. He said it was the best fruit the old man had and that the trees were likely to go extinct soon because of how hard it is for the seeds to grow into a tree anywhere on this planet.”

  “That sounds made up. How’d he get one, then? And how’d they make it this long if you can’t grow them?”

  “Look, shit changes. The conditions used to be good — now they’re not. Who cares anyway? It doesn’t matter; I’m checking it out with or without you.” When Spliff said this, he tried to hold back a smile. He knew if Axel thought he would get left behind, then Axel would agree to come. Unless Axel sensed Spliff was bluffing, Axel might have a second thought. On the other hand, if Axel didn’t go, Spliff might get cold feet. The old farmer was a tough man known to discipline kids severely if he caught them stealing his fruit, and that was for the common fruit. He even bruised Axel and Spliff a few times when they were younger, causing them some pretty severe pain. Though he never beat a kid badly enough that they couldn’t run away once he let them go, you didn’t want to catch a beatdown from him. Spliff’s bluff was good enough, or maybe it was that Axel thought it was worth the risk; regardless, once he told Spliff he was in, their plot began.

  The plan was simple: Spliff would cut two holes, one on the eastern side of the fence and one on the western side. With two holes, the boys would waste no time changing direction while sprinting; instead, they could run right past the tree and grab some fruit while continuing to sprint. While Spliff cut the fence, making sure to be as quiet as possible, Axel would look out for the farmer or anyone else who might bring trouble for them. The distance between the two holes was just shy of onehundread sixty feet, and once the boys grabbed the fruits and exited the property, they would run across town, past the town center, and to Axel's house.

  The boys’ hearts raced as Spliff did his best to cut the individual wires that made up the area where the boys would slide through. Axel, Spliff, and the farmer were about the same speed, so it wasn't as simple as ensuring the farmer didn't sneak up on them.

  “You see anybody?” Spliff asked as he put his scissors back into his pocket.

  “Nope,” replied Axel. The two boys walked together to the far side of the farmer’s property, doing their best not to be seen.

  Once the second hole was completed, the boys' hearts started racing even faster. It was about time to go for it.

  “You ready, Axel?” Spliff said in a quiet voice.

  “I’m ready. On three, ok?”

  Spliff nodded in agreement, and Axel counted them off.

  “One… two… three”

  The boys sprinted to their farmer’s porch. Unaware of where precisely the trees were or what they would look like. The boys figured they would know it when they saw it, and they did. When the boys got to the porch, it was apparent which trees were special to the farmer. Directly in front of his house were two trees neither of the boys had seen before — a medium-sized tree with dark, large, red and purple colored fruit hanging from the branches. The boys rushed to the fruit, and right as they reached out to grab them,

  “Hey!” Shouted the farmer.

  The boys were so spooked that they only dared to grab one piece each before passing through the trees toward the first spot where they had cut the fence. The old man chanced upon the boy with rage in his soul. The boys slipped through the hole without losing too much speed before making it to the other side, whereas the farmer, who barely fit, was held up for a second while trying to make it through. Despite this, the farmer was soon back on the kids' tails, fueled by the hatred he felt for the disrespect they had shown by stealing his livelihood.

  “Follow me, Axel,” Spliff shouted.

  He planned on losing the farmer in the town's densest area. Running into the town center, the boys flew by one person after another.

  “Stop those boys,” Yelled the farmer as he struggled to keep up. Just as the boys thought they would be in the clear, they turned one final corner, and,

  “Bang!” Both boys ran headfirst into something.

  “What was that?” A disoriented Axel asked.

  “It’s Brace!” Spliff said with excitement and joy.

  “Geez, don’t you guys watch where you're going?” Standing over the two boys was a handsome man with black hair and a scruffy beard—a naturally skinny man with years of physical training that showed in his muscular definition. At six feet two inches tall and 33 years old, Brace peered down at the boys, who were picking up their fruit and dusting themselves off.

  Just then, an angry old man turned the same corner.

  “I’ve finally caught up to you,” said the farmer as he grabbed the boys by the collar.

  “What’s going on here?” Asked Brace.

  “I caught these two stealing my fruit again, and this time, I’m gonna get them good for it.”

  “Aww, you don’t have to hit them, Trever. Look, I'll pay for the fruit, and they’ll apologize. Right, boys?”

  Brace quickly grabbed the boys, smiled at them, and wrapped his arms around their shoulders.

  “Uh-huh,” the boys said.

  “Ya, we're sorry, Mr.Willow,” Axel said.

  “Not good enough,” the farmer exclaimed. “You two have stolen more fruit than I can imagine. It’s time you paid up.”

  “Listen, Mr. Willow, I know you're upset, but they’re only children. Surely we can teach them without violence,” Said Brace.

  “If they don’t truly learn their lesson, they’ll just keep stealing from me.”

  “How about I pay you for what they owe you, and if it happens again, I’ll pay 10 times what they take, and in return, you leave them be?”

  The old man paused for a second. “Next time, I’ll beat them.” He said, and then the farmer walked away.

  Brace smiled at the boys. “Let's go eat this rare fruit.”