Gravel and dirt kicked up and down the beaten path he walked, dragging a blue, pink and
yellow pinata behind him. The pinata was beaten and ragged, candy of all sorts rolling out of the sides
at small bumps on the way. His older brother accompanied him on the journey and would
sometimes call out what dropped on the ground.
“Tootsie roll!”
“Daniel, stop! Today has been hard enough and now you’re taking me to some place
I don’t even know.” Danny stopped him before he could say anything further.
“Listen kiddo, I know today wasn’t what you expected it to be but I’m gonna do all I can to
make it better. I’m sorry that you had a bad 9th birthday but at least it wasn’t your 10th.” He was about
to go on a long winded breakdown about there are certain birthdays that mean more than others, but
he knew that it would only cause more chaos in an already tough day for Joey.
“Lets take a break,” suggested Daniel. “Here,” he said, reaching into a navy Jansport bag he had
draped over his left shoulder. Effortlessly stylish is how he would describe himself, each outfit had a bit
of thought to support it. Like today, for example. Today was a sky blue top with khaki shorts, the shirt
complimenting the bag like salt and pepper. The top was the antithesis to the actual sky, which
loomed with bad intentions.
“Hey, Joey. You know what they say about thunderstorms on your birthday right?” Joey looked
up at him puzzled, catching a water bottle tossed his way. Unscrewing the cap off, he titled his head
back, and thought about his reply over a sip of water. The sun broke through a bit, hitting his poofy
hair,
making it seem more blonde than it actually was. His small frame was
draped in an over-sized
Varsity jacket, a gift from his older brother earlier in the day. It was probably the only decent part of
the day, now that he thought about it.
“No. What does it mean?”
“Yeah I could see you spinning your wheels over there,” he said with a chuckle and a pat
on the head, messing up his hair, which he cared about very much. “It means that the next one is
gonna blow this one away. It’s a message that they know this one wasn’t what you wanted. It’s an
IOU”
“Who are they?”
“Who?”
“They. You said they knew they made a mistake or whatever,” he remarked, tossing the
water bottle back to Dan.
He looked down at Joey, sitting on a rock, surrounded by plants and ivy wrapping around thick
trees. Directly behind him was a river where he used to fish with his grandfather. Life and generations
were a lot to wrap your head around at times. Dan knew something that Joey didn’t and was giving
serious thought about whether to tell him or not. Just as Joey was about to stand up off the rock,
Dan stopped him, putting a hand on his chest.
“Appreciate the moment. I know you’re too young to know what I mean by that, but you’ll
never forget that I said it to you. Now lets go. I’ll take you to them.” Dan released the hold from his
chest and lead the way forward.
“You trust me right?” He asked that question already knowing the answer. Joey nodded
without saying a word. He tried his best to catch to his older brother and eventually did. Catching his
breath, hands on knees, he realized that his older brother was walking with a purpose and didn’t
slow down a beat. Watching him stomp his way forward, Joey screamed out for his brother to return
to him.
Almost in unison with the final echo of his name ringing out, Daniel stopped at once, turned
his head and ran full speed towards his little brother. Joey crouched down, hiding his head between
his knees, a defensive mechanism he learned throughout the years being raised by a junkie
and an alcoholic masquerading as parents. It didn’t protect him from a thing, but it felt like it did.
Never before had he had to put it to the test against the guy he looked up to, the only one who made
everything better, but here they were.
Stillness.
Stillness was all Joey felt before opening his eyes; it was the only reason he did so. He
sheepishly picked his head up, checking left, right and behind in search of his big brother. He spotted
him from the corner of his eye, leaning against a tree with a cell phone to his ear. He couldn’t make
out what he was saying but he could tell from his aggressive body language that it wasn’t anything
good. Dan put the phone back in his pocket and approached Joey, kneeling down to meet him at eye
level.
“Look at me,” he said gently, guiding his chin to make sure he locked eyes with him. “No more
questions, understood?” Dan released the soft pull he had on his chin, breaking eye contact between
their very similar hazel eyes. Joey was going to ask why but just shook his head yes. After all, he’s
never steered him wrong yet. The little one rose to his feet with the same purpose that the older
one had earlier. They exchanged a look and a nod, put their heads down and marched forward.
“We’re not far now,” said Daniel. Joey acknowledged him with a stone faced look. “We’re
looking for a cabin. You’ll see a some tumbleweed outside.”
“Tumbleweed? But that doesn-” Dan cut him off before he could finish.
“I said no questions. Not even that one… but since you’re my little dude I’ll answer it anyways.
As best as I can, I’m not a scientist as you know,” he said with a chuckle. “From my makeshift science
experiments. Remember that?”
“No questions.”
Dan looked at the ground and then back at his younger brother, taking in the fact that it
was the first time he had “gotten him” with one back.
“Right. No questions. Right,” with a laugh, “Well, that time I did the cast volcano but mixed the
baking soda with the -” just then he stopped mid-sentence and looked up to the gray sky as rain began
to fall toward them and the earth beneath them.
“Life is kinda hard without asking questions. Come on, let’s go. It’s about half a mile up this
way. Where we’re going has… strange properties. You’ll see for yourself.”
They waded through what seemed to be ever-growing grass and stalks, sprawling to be almost
as tall as little Joey. Before Joey could ask what the fuck was going on and where the fuck these came
from, Dan chimed in to let him know that they had arrived. Joey couldn’t see what was ahead of him
until he battled his way through the vegetation almost as tall. He did a bit of tumble roll after throwing
a punch or two at mushroom stalk in his way that missed the mark. The wind of the swing and a miss
propelled him forward and at the doorsteps of the cabin. His pinata dropped to the ground, rattling
more sweets from inside of it to spill on the ground.
“Nice,” complimented Dan.
To his feet and side by side with his older counterpart, Dan took the lead before he felt
pressure on his leg to stop him. Looking down at his leg, he realized that Joey returned the favor from
earlier.
“I want to go first.”
“But you don’t know what you’re walking into. I do. They’re expecting me.”
Joey released the hold and let his older brother walk toward the cabin door. The cabin itself
was in what could only described as a perfectly kept lawn surrounding it, as if it were mowed that
very morning. Encircling the entire property was white ash. Massive, probably two miles in radius,
everything it touched was in pristine condition.
Daniel did a special knock, one of those ones you hear on cop shows and the door swung open.
As he stepped inside, Joey followed with a bit of hesitation, but followed all the same. A voice rang
out, welcoming their presence. An older gentleman, gray beard and at least 70 years old stood before
them, peeling a durian fruit on a cutting board laid on a marble table. Behind him, an older woman
in an oak rocking chair, stroking a cat next to a massive stone fireplace.
Flares flickered as the old man spoke.
“It’s
about time you brought him into the fold with us.”
Dan looked at the floor, his stomach turning at what was to come.
No comments:
Post a Comment