Sebastian opened his eyes to find he’d become bathed in bright afternoon sunlight. He was dressed and standing in a field of lilies, the colors mixing and melting together in the wind. It reminded him briefly of an LSD trip when he was a teenager.
“Daddy!” The voice echoed in the field coming at him from all sides. “Daddy, help me!” Sebastian began to panic as the voice blasted in surround sound.
“Jaxsen! Where are you? Jack?”
“Daddy!”
Not knowing which way to run Sebastian picked a random direction and pumped his legs as quickly as he could. Jaxsen’s screams of terror rang out, closer, amidst the tree line that appeared before him. As he ran through the field of lilies it
Jaxsen watched the display with mixed emotions as he remembered a similar conversation between the two of them. He frowned at the surge of jealousy that fluttered through his veins. He swallowed it, feeling it vanish as quickly as it appeared as he saw the silent tears on Basil’s cheeks. He found lately Basil needed their reassurances the same way he did several months ago. He realized that he did still need that extra assurance from time to time, but that his fears of them suddenly up and leaving him behind had quelled significantly. As he watched a tear fall and hit the floor at their feet, he realized that maybe he wasn’t the only one with those fears. Basil needed a mother who would care for and love him, just like he did. He no longer felt jealous, but instead felt happy at his own personal growth, and incredibly sad that a soul as pure as Basil’s could develop scars that matched some of his own.
Basil knew Jaxsen would be shortly behind him and attempted to regain his composure first. It wasn’t working. He leaned his back against the wall and waited.“Why do I care so damn much that she doesn’t care at all?” He asked when Jaxsen entered the room.“’Cause she’s your mother.” Jaxsen set his arms around Basil’s shoulders.Basil sighed. “This is stupid. Why should I care? Why should I waste the energy it takes to give a fuck?” As quickly as the anger flared it burned out and the tears surfaced once again. “I want her to care about me again. I want her to hug me and tell me she loves me. I don’t want her to hurt me anymore, Jaxsen.” They sat silently beside one another for several minutes before Basil finally spoke again.
Saturday afternoon saw the boys walking through a deserted park. They silently agreed to take a seat at a picnic table not far from the swings. Basil gandered around at the playground and it left him feeling hollow.“I feel like this place.”Jaxsen frowned and looked to his best friend. “What do you mean?”Basil shrugged. “Look at this place.” They both did before Jaxsen looked at Basil again. Basil stared out straight ahead, eyes scanning the forgotten piece of earth. “I imagine this park used to be filled with laughter, play, and innocence. Look at it now, Jax. Rusted, dilapidated, and left to ruin. They don’t even cut the grass anymore. The ones that are supposed to care for and maintain this place just…gave up and walked away.”
Basil put the last article of clothing in his backpack and slowly zipped it closed. The small suitcase Sebastian had packed for him was lying closed on the bed.“I wish I could stay.”Jaxsen nodded. “Me, too.”“I’m scared, Jax,” Basil admitted as he sat down on the bed.“I know,” Jaxsen said sitting next to him.“What if it doesn’t get any better?”“Then tell my dad again. Perhaps if there’s a repeated pattern there will be something he can do. And if nothing else you could just come stay here for an extended sleepover or something.”Basil shook h
“Come in,” Jaxsen called at the knock on his door. Sebastian poked his head into the bedroom. The boys were set in the center of Jaxsen’s area rug, cross-legged and facing one another. Basil dropped his head to hide his face, subtly shouldering away any moisture on his cheeks.“Everything okay?” Sebastian asked in concern.“Yeah, Dad, we’re okay.” Jaxsen glanced quickly at Basil before looking back to his father. “We’re just talking.”Sebastian nodded. “Well, Nizhoni doesn’t feel good, so I’m going to run to the store and get her some crackers. You boys want anything specific for dinner?”“Can we have spaghetti and meatballs?” Jaxsen beamed. It was one of his favorite me
“So, what did you crazy kids get into today?” Sebastian asked with a grin as they sat down to dinner later that night.“We meddled in the private affairs of the wealthy man who owns the haunted mansion at the upper end of town and solved the mystery of the rattling chains,” Jaxsen answered Sebastian with a grin. “We made new friends. Brothers that moved here a couple weeks ago. They’re twins.”Sebastian smiled. “Yeah?”“Mhm.” Jaxsen forked a mouthful of spaghetti into his mouth.“The boy we met first, River, he’s deaf. Some kids roughed him up, but Jaxsen calmed him down and signed with him, and then we took him home. That’s where we were when you called. We were killing zombies on
The boys met at the park a few minutes later. River and Phoenix were swinging lazily on the swings, their feet dragging the ground and kicking small clouds of dirt and dust with each pass.“Hey,” Jaxsen greeted.The twins smiled, River waved. “Hey, guys,” Phoenix said, hopping off the swings.“Are you okay, Basil?” River signed, a concerned look in his eyes.Jaxsen translated and Basil looked back to River. “Yeah, I’m okay. Just a hard day, you know?”River read lips well, therefore did not need either Jaxsen or his brother to sign Basil’s answer. He nodded and patted Basil on the back.&ld
Jaxsen smiled and nodded. “Can you, um, help me with my suitcase?” While Sebastian hauled Jaxsen’s luggage to the truck, Nizhoni gathered Jaxsen in a hug that made him giggle.“I love you, my sweet Yanaha. Take good care of your daddy for me, okay? Make sure he doesn’t do something stupid and lose an eye, or something, alright?”Jaxsen giggled again and hugged Nizhoni tightly, expressed his love for her, kissed her cheek and went out to the truck, Nizhoni following behind.“What time is Cori gonna be here?” Sebastian asked as he set the case in the bed of the truck. “Here, I thought you might want this inside with us.” Sebastian handed Jaxsen his backpack which contained his journal, a book, and a few other items to keep his occupation.