Michael (out loud): ‘Where are you? Show yourself…’

738. On a late January evening, four men were relaxing in an Ounvilshen bar after a hard day's work. Among them was Michael's father George. He was socialising with his friends, drinking beer from a large glass mug. The atmosphere was relaxed and comfortable. Everyone was sharing their latest news and problems with the others. The mates listened to each other and supported each other. Finally, it was George's turn when all the problems and news of the others were sorted out.

Fred: ‘So, what's new with you?’

George: ‘Nothing in terms of work. Things are going pretty well, but not well enough to close the mortgage and feel secure in the full sense of the word.’

Buddy #1: ‘Ha ha, who here feels well-off? Look at you, finding the problem. You can never have too much money.’

George: ‘I mean, our expenses are about to multiply…’

Fred: ‘What do you mean?’

George: ‘Folks, I'm gonna be a daddy soon! That's what I want to drink to!’

Fred: ‘When?’

George: ‘The doctors said late February to mid-March.’

Fred: ‘Oh, you're so quiet! Let me give you a hug, Silver!’

Buddy #2: ‘What's it gonna be? A boy or a girl?’

George: ‘A boy.’

Buddy #1: ‘Have you thought about a name yet?’

George: ‘Yeah, we're going to call it Michael. We both like that name. There's no other options.’

Fred: ‘Well, let's drink to the future Michael Silver and his glorious father. May the kid be born healthy and strong and show this world that the Silvers are no hooey!’

The friends roared, and each began to clink their beer-filled mugs with each other. Some had beer overflowing over the edge, dripping onto the table and leaving small puddles.

745, summer. Michael sat on the penultimate step of the stairs at his parents' house. George was standing in front of him, bent over, tying the laces of the boy's trainers. His father shook his head and pronounced: ‘Okay, that's it. It's done. But, you know, it's about time you learnt to tie your own shoelaces. You might start getting teased at school because you don't know how to do it.’

Michael: ‘Dad, why do we have to go to that zoo? I don't want to go there. Can I stay home?’

George helped his son up, looked at him and squatted down to be at the same height as his son.

George: ‘Michael, this is, after all, just a group trip together. You'll visit another city, they'll give you a tour, and you'll see the zoo. You've never been there. How do you know it won't be interesting? Maybe you'll like it!’

Michael: ‘Are you coming with me, too? I know the other kids' parents will be there.’

George: ‘Unfortunately, I won't be able to. I have another flight to catch in a couple of hours. But I'll be mentally with you. Okay? And I'll see you again tomorrow already.’

Michael lowered his head and stared at the floor. George touched his fingers to his son's chin and gently lifted his head up so that he was looking into his eyes.

George: ‘Look, we'll definitely go out somewhere, the three of us: you, me and Mum. Like an amusement park. We'll ride the slides till we're nauseous. Would you like that? It's just that I really can't get off work right now. You know?’

Michael smiled, nodded animatedly, and hugged his father tightly. He hugged him back. Then he stood up to his full height, took his son's hand and opened the front door to the street.

George: ‘Okay, let's go, the bus leaves school in 30 minutes. Don't forget your rucksack…’

747, September. It was a warm sunny day. Michael and Fred were sitting on a bench in one of Ounvilshen's parks. Michael was dangling his legs back and forth as the bench was still a little high for him. He was leaning on the bench with one hand, and in the other he was holding a cream ice cream cone in a waffle cone, drips from which slowly dripped down his fingers and fell onto his clothes and onto the bench. Fred was reading the newspaper, cross-legged.

Michael: ‘We've been waiting for him for half an hour…I don't think he's coming any more. We'll go without him as usual…’

Fred broke away from reading the newspaper and looked at the boy, putting it aside.

Fred: ‘Please don't be angry with your father. I know you wish he would spend more time with you besides dinners. But, believe me, some people don't even see their fathers that way. He's trying really hard, Michael. For you and for Mum.’

Michael sighed: ‘Yeah I understand. It's just that we've been planning this trip to the moon park for so long, postponed it many times, and now I'm here and he's not here again…’

Fred: ‘It's not “didn't make it”, it's “couldn't make it”. These are different phrases. In the first, the person didn't come of his own free will because he just didn't want to. And in the second, the person didn't come due to circumstances beyond their control.’

Michael jumped off the bench and headed towards the entrance to the Luna Park, ‘No matter how you look at it, the result is the same in the end.’

Fred quickly jumped down from his seat, grabbed the items on the bench and ran after Michael, leaving the unread newspaper there. It remained where it had been. The wind blew and flipped through a few pages, as if reading today's city news in passing.

After Michael turned 10 years old, something changed in his mind in terms of thinking and relating to his father. And also his work. He realised that there were more important issues than whether or not to go to the moon park. That there are certain responsibilities in a family that need to be fulfilled.

From the moment Michael entered the transport school, George thought from the beginning that in the future he would employ his son in his company. That the one at the initial stage to gain practical experience and help him in the implementation of orders, receiving for this his share of the profits. And then, after working a decent amount of time and understanding how the whole kitchen is organised, and completely become its co-owner, receiving a share in the form of 50% of the total profit. George himself planned to retire in time in the full knowledge that his life's work was in good hands. But for the time being, there was no such talk. His father believed that it was too early to have them and that he should let the boy enjoy his childhood as much as possible.

It was a family tradition to gather around the dinner table and share with each other the news, achievements and failures of the day. This tradition was started by George. It strengthened family relationships from within, giving family members insight into the challenges each of them faced, helping them to work together to address their circumstances and providing sufficient and appropriate support. Generally, relationships within the family were trusting. No one tried to hide anything from each other – whether it was problems at work or at school, with colleagues or classmates. Everyone understood that family is a place where you can talk and share with others.

His parents made sure that Michael had a silver life support card throughout his childhood, up to the age of 18. He was even jokingly called ‘silver boy’ at school, although there were quite a few other kids like him. After all, the security card covered most of the medical expenses, including medicines. And there weren't many children who were completely healthy. Everyone was sick from time to time. Knowledgeable doctors were most often located in cities no lower than silver status, which still had to be reached. For this purpose, it was necessary to pay a daily intercity LWC at a high rate, but even this did not cover all the costs associated with, for example, complex operations in a foreign city. Therefore, if something really serious happened with health problems, the investment in the GLC, even with gold status, did not pay off, because they had to go to another major city, where the card of the conditional Ounvilshen was no longer valid.