Marigolds in the Kingdom's Memorial //SBI//

1.3

The words went through Wilbur's ear, processed through his mind, then flew out of the other ear. He started to laugh, not happy, or with any reasons at all. Tommy looked to him, with a worried expression.

"Wilbur! I'm serious!" Tommy shook Wilbur by his waist, and then suddenly stopped when Wilbur put his hand to his head. Wilbur then stopped laughing, realizing how serious Tommy sounded this time. Of course he didn't mean to laugh but he did anyways, by accident.

Unlike all the other times Tommy would joke about something like this, unmindful of the harsh reality of truly loosing someone, Tommy seemed to be truly scared, and really serious. It was unlike him to joke so seriously, with such fear and 'acting'.

"Come on Tommy. I told you before to not make these kinds of jokes." Wilbur's eyes darted to Techno, who then looked to the floor when they accidentally made eye contact, and Wilbur saw into his dull eyes.

"Now Tommy, tell me the truth.. Please." Wilbur said, denying his former expressions. Tommy crossed his arms, trying to prevent himself from starting to cry again. He then tucked his hands under his arms, and looked to the floor.

"No, Wilbur! This time I'm really serious!" Tommy said, now sounding more worried than scared.

Scared for him, his brothers, and of course his own mother.

Wilbur took it upon himself to check his mother. Seeing if a child was lying was easy the younger the child, and if the same trick were played over and over again the truth can be hard to believe. When one lies too many times and then comes a time of importance, there will be no one to help the one full of lies. One full of constant lies is just as much as one with the fate of the boys' mother.

No one knows the truth, and no one wants to fall for the joke another time.

Wilbur carefully opened his mother's bedroom door, hearing the creak play again as the sound traveled down the familiar walls of the upstairs hallway. He made his way to the bed on his toes. His mother's blanket was unfolded and draped around the frame of her bed, showing that Tommy had completely pulled it off to try to wake her from her slumber. Wilbur looked at her closed eyes, then her chest, then her hands.

He held her hand, feeling how cold, and lifeless it was. The dead weight of her arm resting in his hand made his stomach flip on its side. He felt tears begin to fall, knowing now that the one full of lies this time, was rather full of truth. Truth that this all really was happening to them. To their mother.

The adrenaline that had just been poured into his body blocked all sound, all reality, and all thoughts apart from his mother.

It blocked out the sound of people moving around behind him, concerned and scared, instead filling him with a ringing in his ears.

The ringing was only contributing to the cause for concern within him.

"What are you doing?" he heard a sudden voice behind him. The ringing in his ears stopped, allowing his senses to come back. Wilbur turned around suddenly to see Phil standing in the doorway, with Tommy inches behind him, and Techno still sitting in the dead end of the hallway.

"Techno is in the corner, and Tommy seems like he saw a ghost. What did you do?" Phil said, stern, and still sounding like his same, calm and laid-back self. Wilbur finally felt his emotions starting to leak, first from his eyes, then his mouth.

"I didn't do it! I didn't do it! I swear I didn't hurt her! What did I do?!" Wilbur yelled, running into his fathers arms now bursting into tears.

Phil widened his eyes, unaware of all that had happened since he had left early that morning. Then he saw the bed, looked to Tommy, who was still worried sick. Wilbur clenched Phil's sweater, and cried into his chest like the world was falling apart around them.