"Mine... Craft?" I asked.

"Minecraft!" The sickly child gushed excitedly, "It's this really awesome game where you can build anything such as castles and wizard towers and get to kill the ultimate Ender Dragon in order to beat the game! Oh, wait, you probably don't know what Ender Dragon are if you don't even know what Minecraft is. So basically, Ender Dragon is this humongous dragon that you have to find by using a Dragon Stronghold.., Well, you seem like someone who has seen millions of dragons before, and dragons are pretty old. Mister, are you a boomer?"

I raised an eyebrow, "Boo-oo-mer." relishing the feeling of the weird word in my mouth,

"Cmon!" The child groaned. "You don't even know what a 'boomer' is? No offence mister, but everybody knows what a boomer is! You have to be at least like a thouusaand years old to not know what a boomer is, but mum said that it was impolite to call people boomers so I'm sorry if I hurt your feelings."

A child's innocence can only last so long.

I stared at the child, and he stared back at me with those curious, probing eyes. It is a nice change to come across an innocent soul from all the corrupted souls in the afterlife. But a soul can only have so much innocence after witnessing one of the many 'gifts' of life.

"A child has asked to play the game Mine Craft, and so he shall. But a man is curious as to know the reason why a child would want to play the game Mine Craft."

"Firstly, quit calling me a child! I just reached my double digits and learnt my multiplication table, I'm practically considered an adult! Secondly, to answer your question, my mum bought me Minecraft after we learnt that I had this stomach illness that made me have to lose my hair. It was sad to see my hair go, but at least I didn't have to wash it every single day. I promised mum that she would see me beat Minecraft after my illness went away, but I guess I broke my promise..."

The boy pursed his lips as if he was struggling to make a decision.

"Can I trust you with a secret, mister?

"A boy may tell me any secret that he wishes to reveal."

"Do you promise not to tell a single soul?"

"A man promises not to utter a secret to a single soul."

The boy then held out his hand, and in the most peculiar manner, stuck out his pinky and thumb, making a telephone sign.

"What is it that a boy wishes for me to do?"

"We have to intertwine pinkies and press our thumbs together to make sure that you won't break your promise, or else bad stuff will happen to you."

I awkwardly intertwined our pinkies together and pressed my thumb against his. From the corner of my eye, I could see the boy shaking his head disapprovingly as if he had never seen such incompetence before.

"Mum blamed my illness on dad because according to her, he was a good-for-nothing nobody who turned me really sick in order for me to die. Mum hated dad's guts, and I guess she wanted me to hate him too, but how could I hate my dad when he takes me out on 'Only-Bro-Fridays'? Besides, isn't it like a sin in the bible to hate your parents?"

The boy paused. His face was damp and was strewed with big, fat tears. 'But I couldn't really tell that to mum or else she'll get mad again like how she did last time. And the last time she got mad at me I was so scared, it was as if she wasn't mum anymore"

I listened as he poured out his life story to me, detail by detail, and made sure to commit every single word to memory. It would be a waste to forget a story that someone trusted you with. I felt a burning sensation at the back of my throat as I looked at his childish face. His eyes sparkled as he told me about his life's achievements, and dimmed as he recounted arguments between his parents. And I wondered how such a cheerful, little boy withstood years of pain that an adult could barely go through without even a chink in his armour of innocence.

"Maybe it was my fault all along, my parents' divorce, I mean. But as long-"

His face suddenly lit up, and he instantly turned into a ball of joy. "Oh wait! Did you hear about the new Minecraft update? I heard that we got some new materials to build with.., Mister, are you gonna play or not?"

I looked at the boy, a flaming ball of happiness. I couldn't help but smile as he locked eyes with me as to intimidate me.

"A man is grateful to be able to play with a boy."