Dreams Upon A Silver Pine Branch

Chapter 14: Water of the Womb Be Damned

Hunching over a stack of colorful origami paper and a few rolls of what used to be paper towel, Aiden shut his eyes and bit his lips before moving the scissors in his hand to cut through the patterns of flowers he had clumsily drawn on the origami paper. He could scarcely move his upper left arm with a cast secured over it, but luckily his fingers still worked just fine. Wincing as he realized his craftsmanship wasn't as good as it could have been had he not broken his arm, he slouched until somebody knocked on the door of his motel room and calling his name.

"It's not locked, co—"Aiden stopped mid-shouting when he remembered that the other person might be a deaf student. Resisting the urge to groan for having to get up from his chair, the teen boy opened the door to find his older step-brother grinning, holding two tiny circular mirrors.

"Look! I got the art supplies you asked for!" Ezekiel exclaimed in a mix of Hebrew and Pinean Sign Language. "What exactly are you making, though, and why? I've never got the impression that you're the artsy type. Is this something your therapist told you to do? Want me to help?"

"Thanks, but I'll do this myself." Aiden signed back while simultaneously speaking. "I'm making a kaleidoscope. You know what it is, right? We used to have one—God knows where it is now! I miss the pretty patterns you can see from the eye hole and I miss tilting the tube just so the reflection on the mirrors inside merge all the colors. I miss that simple happiness, Ezie."

"Ah. That toy might have gotten lost during our move to this planet." Ezekiel replied with a sigh. "But Aiden, if you want a kaleidoscope I can easily buy you a new one. You don't have to go into the trouble of doing this art and craft with a broken arm, you understand? For real." 

"This is not for me," the younger boy gestured with his right hand while his left continued on with his tinkering. "But for Kenta. Go on, laugh all you want, but I can be nice if I want to be. In fact, after that afternoon with the berries..." he took a deep breath before looking at Ezekiel with a grimace. "After that afternoon, I haven't stopped wondering why I ever quitted being nice in the first place. Maybe it's because I've been bitter for so long I almost forget how not to be so."

"I'm sure Kenta would appreciate your gift." Ezekiel nodded. "It's inspired by millefiori, the Italian glass beadwork, isn't it? I've been meaning to ask why you so out-of-the-blue borrowed a book about flower-themed trinkets from the library, but now I get what you've been planning."

"Yeah. I remember he created a beautiful ornament for Johan, so I guess he won't say no to more knickknacks like that. At first I thought that was so girly of him, but then again he does grow up with a girl around, so I guess it's sort of understandable. Speaking of, Ezie, you still gonna take Akira out for shopping later today? She wants a new pair of high heel, I hear? And didn't you mention that you need a blazer?" Aiden alternated between gesturing and speaking. "I think I might be able to go with you guys. I could get myself a cheap tuxedo for the Winter Ball. Is Baz coming too? If anyone has to totally revamp his wardrobe, it's Baz. I mean, look at his shabby clothes!"

"Yeah, all of his clothes are covered in Sebby's fur!" Ezekiel chuckled. "Oh, that cat and our green-haired friend are inseparable. Enough about them, though. I've been wanting to ask you this but I figured I gotta wait until we're alone. Aiden, how come your dad turned violent? I thought you got along just fine after he took you to that baseball game some weekends ago?"

"It was my fault. I shouldn't have stolen his money, you understand what I'm saying?" Aiden brushed his brother off and returned his attention to the unfinished kaleidoscopic project on the table. "He wouldn't have to hit me if I didn't resort to stealing. I brought this upon myself."

"Regardless of how much you stole from him, it's still very wrong for a dad to break his son's arm!" Ezekiel's mixture of signing and mouthing his words became more frantic. "It's even more messed up that the reason you were driven to steal had to do with hunger. What kind of monster makes his own son famished? But Aiden, how come you never told me everything until the day you ran away? Did you at least let my mother know of what a monster his husband is?"