2|| Whispers in the Wind

15|| letters

Wilder

Wilder paced the floor of his room agitatedly. He'd just asked Kalyani out! On a friendly date, but A DATE ALL THE SAME. And it was a terrible thing to have done. At least for her. What if she ended up liking him back? What if she knew the truth?

She could never live through it. And Wilder hadn't meant to ask her. It just slipped out. He would never put her through all that.

He wished he could stuff the words back into his mouth and hightail it to Antarctica or something. He would have a much better life that way.

There was a knock on the door. It was about 1 AM. His mom usually came back around this time, so it was probably her.

And that familiar voice called out softly, "Wilder? Are you awake? It's important."

Wilder turned his music down and opened it. "Hey mom," he said, and hugged her. He hoped that in that hug, she realized everything he had ever left unsaid.

"Mind if I come in?"

He nodded, and gently shut the door behind them. "What it is mom?"

Sarah Ramirez (the names didn't exactly go together but she'd chosen to keep dad's last name) looked more tired than ever, dark bags under her eyes. "I've been noticing something is off with you. You've been more down than usual and you're almost always at a friend's house. I know that's normal for you but I can tell it's a different friend. Normally you come back in high spirits but now it seems like you're always worried. You can tell me anything."

And for a moment, Wilder wanted to. His mom, his kind, understanding mom. She would put all this to a right. But he couldn't. He really couldn't. Noticing his silence, she raised an eyebrow. "Does it have something to do with a certain girl? Maybe that girl is being visited by someone? Or maybe something?"

Wilder almost fell backwards. "What? How did you-"

"I am not an idiot, Wilder. I know about the girl because of the phone calls. Malia told me. I know about the haunting because you left your phone open the other day. I saw the website. So tell me. Now."

"I- well, there is a girl. Her name is Kalyani. She's sort of become a friend and then I learned that she was being troubled by a spirit. It's Roxanne Wesner, mom."

She winced. "Tough one, that Roxanne. I had to deal with her too. But you shouldn't be helping her, Wilder. It messes with the natural order of things. They go away, they take. Sometimes you live, sometimes you don't."

"But mom!" said Wilder, his voice rising. "Kalyani can't die! She's not just something to discard."

"It seems to me that my son has a crush?" It was more of a statement than a question.

Wilder's expression of outrage vanished. His face felt hot. "No!"

"Ah, I see," she nodded conspiratorially. "Don't worry, your secret is safe with me. One question though, tell me something. Something about Malia. Something I maybe don't know about?"

He considered. It would be awesome to rat Malia out, but he couldn't. It didn't feel right. He was such a suck up. "Noo... there isn't. Really, mom. And thank you."

"For what?"

"For being there whenever you can. I know you're always busy, but you also always understand. You make time for me. I guess I didn't appreciate it that much until now."

His mom wrapped him up in a hug. "I love you."

"I love you too, mom."

"Okay, I have another shift in a few hours. Do you want any food? There's tacos from yesterday, or you could have the fried rice Mrs. Chen dropped by earlier today."

"I'll have the fried rice, but I can get it myself. You get some rest."

"Alright sweetie. Good Night."

"Night."

Wilder sighed as soon as the door closed. There was so much his mom seemed to know. What else did she understand? Was there something he didn't know about? She was full of mysteries, unlike a lot of other moms. As he heard the lock click in the room across his, he creeped out of his own.

He could smell the tacos from the instant he exited. He was starting to change his mind about the fried rice. Tacos suddenly sounded better. Maybe because he hadn't had any for a long time. It was mid October, meaning Dia De Los Muertos would be here pretty soon. He'd been so detached from his origins, he felt suddenly far away.

Wilder suddenly felt shy, unsure of himself. Because of what, he didn't know. But he did. He'd lied.

His whole life was a lie. A lot of things came to sense at this instant. And maybe there was a way to make them all understand. But first, he would have some tacos.

He heated it up in the microwave, ignoring how it was crackling. The splintered wooden table was his only place to eat, so he lifted one of the shells to his mouth and sunk his teeth in, savoring the spiciness. Wilder had forgotten how good tacos were. It made him feel even more detached.

The clock turned. He ate in silence. He wondered how Kalyani was faring. Was she still in her room, reading the mysterious book, or was she maybe at the lake, talking to mini Roxanne?

He suddenly wished he could take her place. Sometimes the dead understand you better than the living. They know what it's like to know something nobody else does. They know what it's like to feel far far away.

Footsteps sounded on the stairs outside the apartment. Wilder knew exactly who it was, and took action. In a matter of seconds, he'd dumped the remaining taco, pushed the plate into the sink, and almost bolted up the steps into his room. Almost the moment he entered, someone walked up the staircase and opened the door next to his. Now two pairs of feet entered the room.

Clearly Malia didn't know mom was home.

Ha, thought Wilder. Maybe today will be the day she gets caught.

But just to be on the safe side, he put his headphones back on. Then, he pulled out a piece of paper. It was the only one they had left- their mom couldn't even afford paper anymore. That's how bad things were.

But now, Wilder was going to listen to music. And he was going to write. It would be the only way to escape, the only way they would understand when the time came. He had a feeling he knew the first person he would write about.