With different eyes

An almost normal day

I wake up and stretch. That probably means Ace is not awake yet. I go sweetly like an elf down the stairs. Means in plain language that it sounds like an entire army is making its way down the stairs. When I go into the kitchen I see my mother already in there preparing breakfast. She is the typical morning person. Bright and cheerful even before the sun rises. So the natural enemy of my brothers.

"Good morning, Ace," she says quietly. "The player doesn't pass go or collect money" I say dryly, I should take Monopoly to the other world. That would start a mass brawl. "Lucia?" asks Mother. "That you don't recognize your own child! You should be ashamed of yourself. You should notify Child Protective Services." I tease my mother. She raises her eyebrows and counters, "They did that when you were seven! They gave you back after five minutes. Reason: The kid is evil." I grin and say, "I love you too, Mom." My mom laughs out loud and finishes the scrambled eggs. "Ace is asleep?" she asks. I nod and go to grab a piece from the fruit salad, but my mom slaps my hand with a spatula. "Tell me, are you crazy?" I hiss. My mother shakes her head and hits me again with the spatula, but I pull my hand back in time. I grab a piece of peel and throw it at her head. She turns around and says, "You're going to put things in the trash for that." I clean up without protest. All of a sudden my mother starts talking again, "You're going to go with him again aren't you?" I gulp and reply, "Mom, I can't..." But she interrupts me and says, "I know you can't stay here. I can see it in your eyes" She smiles. "You've always been like that. Could never stay anywhere for long. You wanted to see the whole world. And now you're being offered that: A whole new world. And love, too." She looks at the ceiling and then continues talking, "You're like your father, head in the books, but no sooner is the opportunity offered you are up and out." She laughs. "You're not mad?" I ask meekly. She smiles fondly and strokes my cheek, "No, I'm not. I'm looking at you right now and you're happy. As long as you're happy, I'm happy. Just promise me this. Be careful. And no later than when I have grandkids, you'll come visit me." "Mom!" I whine. Always this topic. "Annoy my brothers, they're older," I say, hoping she'll drop the subject. She just grins cheekily. She does that on purpose.

I feel my body going numb. "Bye, Mom," I say. She looks at me questioningly. But by then Ace is already awake. "Oops?" asks Ace. "Lucia?" my mother asks. Ace blinks, then grins widely. "Morning!" he says. "Ace?" my mother now guesses. By now I am laughing. If my mother didn't live in this madhouse, she'd probably doubt her sanity. But as it is, she just shakes her head and says hello to Ace. The latter sits on the counter and swings his legs. "Morning Ace, did you sleep well?" I ask him. He nods and my mother looks skeptical. Ace just grins wider. "Ace, will you please tell me something about yourself?" my mother asks. Ace starts to tell only his origin he leaves out once again. I shake my head inwardly.

"Ace I have something to show you later!" I say and Ace agrees. "Uhhhggggsssss" comes from the door. Ace turns around.Standing in the doorway are my brothers. "We should take pictures of the three of them and post the prints as motivational pictures in the Moby. After a party, preferably with the phrase, *It could be worse: You could look like this.*" Ace laughs and gets a nasty look from my brothers for that. Before their first coffee, they are more vicious and dangerous than Akainu. That's why, for the greater good, they wander toward the coffee machine. And what happens when three half-asleep giants with blood in their caffeine circuit try to squeeze through a small door? Right one stumbles lands on the floor and the other two concede a free flight. Ace laughs it off. My mother sighs and gets the coffee ready. My brothers, meanwhile, try to pull themselves together. Ace, nice as he is, helps them by nudging them in turn with his foot. They whine heartily. They try to pick themselves up, but without coffee it looks like a whale is trying to walk. My mother is kind enough to put a coffee on the floor for them.

They sigh and pull themselves together to sit. So the three of them sit on the floor sipping coffee while Ace keeps kicking them. "Ace you really fit in here!" I laugh. "Your brothers don't react at all," he says, amused. "Before coffee, they are not my brothers, they are zombies," I explain to him. He jumps off the table and wants to steal something from the plate, but Mom was just waiting for him and a rag lands in Ace's face. He looks pretty stupid. My father also comes in and looks at his sons sitting on the floor. Then he shakes his head and walks past them. He turns on the kettle and prepares his tea. "Are any of you actually responsive in the morning?" Ace asks me. "Nope, nobody except Mom. And she's not really a human being, as you know," I laugh.