Whispers [complete and non-edited]

Chapter 17

The most complicated crest that Laehal had ever seen took form on Deeliah's paper. There were swirls, zigzags, and curves. Three wolves sat in a triangular formation, their noses touching in the centre of the crest.

"Do you have any pencil crayons?" Deeliah asked Teriaj.

"In my locker," he replied, "but I don't want Ms. Fowler to wake up if I'm out of the classroom."

"Darn."

"I can keep watch," suggested Laehal. "You can be in and out and not get caught. Plus Mr. Dominic would think that Ms. Fowler allowed it."

"It's not flawless, but it'll work. Deeliah, what do you think?"

"It's risky, but I like a little bit of riskiness in my life." She grinned. "Let's do this."

So the three of them got out of their desks, Teriaj heading towards the door, Deeliah and Laehal heading towards Ms. Fowler's desk. Teriaj awaited for a signal at the doorway.

Laehal approached the sleeping teacher cautiously. He didn't want to wake her. If she woke up, they wouldn't be able to talk. The other kids in detention knew that, and they didn't want to ruin the plan. Laehal had an in-plan plan.

Ms. Fowler wore a pair of fairly thick glasses, so if Laehal were to remove them, he believed that she wouldn't be able to tell if Teriaj was gone or not. Again, it wasn't flawless, but it would have to do. The only tricky part was taking them of without waking her.

He crept up to the edge of the desk and tried to figure out the best thing to do to lift her head. Was there a pillow in the room somewhere?

Deeliah brought over a textbook. It was perfect. He gently lifted Ms. Fowler's head, turned it on its side, and laid it on the textbook. She didn't stir. Deeliah grabbed her glasses and slowly pulled them off. They were even thicker than Laehal had thought. He wondered how someone could have such bad eyesight without being considered blind.

Deeliah winked at Teriaj, and he swiftly left the room. It would take a few minutes for him to get back.

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Meanwhile, at The Icing Shak, Shayel was laughing with Matt as she locked up the store. Hannah had already left, due to a phone call from her daughter. She left immediately, nearly running through the door into a customer.

Matt held his cupcakes in one hand, and was gesturing with the other.

"My sister hated me after that," he said with a laugh. "She would always try to avoid me. My parents finally figured out what was wrong, and they told her that I was going through some hard times and that I was just plain sad. She was a lot nicer to me after that, and my parents had made you and your family VIP customers."

"Wow. I'm sorry I stopped going there. My parents divorced and I moved away to live with my dad in Canada. I never got to visit my mom, because she was thrown in jail for stealing children."

"Wow."

"Yeah. I'm pretty sure she's still there, otherwise she's in a mental hospital. I guess she couldn't take the pain of losing her baby."

Matt was silent.

He stopped walking at a beige van. "This is my ride," he said. "Hey, you should come to Eronii and Spice sometime, since you're back now. You're still a VIP." He then got into the van and drove away.

Shayel sighed. She would go someday. But not tonight. Tonight she needed to see her baby. Laehal was all she had left now. And she loved him like he was her son. To be honest, she was glad that his birth parents had died. She remembered the day she told him that they died.

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"Shayel, where's my mom and daddy?"

"Oh honey, they went to visit Jesus for a little while. I'm your mommy now, ok?"

"But I want my mommy!"

"What's wrong sweetie?"

"Don't call me that! You're not my mommy! My mommy has yellow hair! My mommy has blue eyes just like mine! You're not my mommy!"

Laehal, only 6 years old, then began to cry, and he hugged his stuffed bear and ran off to his room. Shayel felt rejected. Was it that hard to accept that his parents had died? And that he had a new mom now?

Laehal had locked his door and stayed in his room for three days. Shayel had sat in front of the door, leaning against the wall across from the door, waiting for they day he would emerge so she could embrace him.

Every day, she could hear his terrible sobs, the sound of his cries for his parents, asking whatever God that was up there why he had taken them. "Why?" he asked. "Why did you take them from me? Why can't I have them back? Why?"

Shayel had instantly regretted her blunt way of telling him. She had thought that, at such a young age, he would have accepted it like it happened to everyone. But she didn't know what his mind had already taken in.

He had lost a brother when he was a little baby, his twin; he had lost a best friend due to cancer when he was 2; he had lost a pet dog due to a crazy driver; he had lost a pet rabbit to hypothermia; he had lost a grandparent to a heart attack; and now, at 5 years old, he lost his parents to a storm and a telephone pole. What was she thinking? He wouldn't just change what he knew was the truth. He wouldn't just accept that his baby sitter wanted to take over his mother's position.

Was she crazy?

Maybe a little bit. But she didn't have any children of her own, not one to love, and she was longing for someone to love like Laehal's mom had loved him. Was she turning into her mother?

The day he came out, he was empty. He didn't say anything, he didn't eat anything. Shayel had a hard time telling him to do things. He would sit on the floor of the kitchen and just stare blankly at the wall. That was the day they moved. He didn't seem to notice.

Then, his second first word came out of his mouth: Mom.

Shayel deceived him, saying "I'm here honey."

And after that, Laehal forgot about his parents. He forgot the honey blond hair of his mother, the light, rusty brown hair of his father, the sweet, calm smile of his mother, the soft sound of their words, the feeling of her hugs, the feeling of their love.

It was as if the first five years of his life never existed.

It took three years of therapy for him to become less empty. After he was back to normal, Shayel put him into school. Everyone believed the fake birth certificates were real, and then Laehal was basically hers to keep forever.

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And Shayel smiled a sick smile, and got into her car, driving home.