Octo-Oneshots

Reminiscent

Perlita glanced at the photo her sons had sent her and slumped down on her couch. A smiling Pinto looked back at her with his flippers wrapped around Peso's neck in a playful chokehold. Her baby was already taller than his older brother. But he wasn't a baby anymore. Her little chick, who would jump up and down screaming alongside Pogo, her oldest son, when he watched football games and who would happily act as his sister Pinata's baby doll was buried so deeply within that gleeful young man, it would be hard to find him.

Now her baby boy was a young man of eighteen, and going off to medical school in the fall. My, how quickly time had gone by. It seemed like yesterday he had just hatched. Peso had been wary around the egg as it shook and cracked inch by inch, but once Pinto popped his fluffy grey head out, her middle son was in love. Her two younger sons had been close since the day Pinto was born. Sending him off to the Octopod when he was 8 had been a good idea. Neither she nor either of his two oldest siblings had the time or the energy to take care of him, and Peso had promised he'd be safe and happy on the Octopod, so she allowed him to go.

According to Peso, he loved every second of it, and she could see why. The amount of kindness shown to her boys by the crew was phenomenal, there were other children for him to play with, an adoptive father to love them in the way their real father could not. All in all, it was the perfect place for him. There was even an informant who'd let her know about the woman Pinto was seeing.

Yawning slightly, she got up from her seat and began to waddle in the direction of her bedroom. It was getting late, and heading to bed seemed to be the best option for now, or it had been until the shrill ringing of her phone startled her. She immediately rushed to answer it. Whatever reason someone might be calling her at this hour, it must be urgent.

"Hello?" She called tentatively into the receiver.

"Hola, Mamí!" The voice that answered her nearly made the poor woman drop her phone. How long had it been since she'd spoken to him. His voice had gotten so smooth and deep!

"Pinto!" She exclaimed warmly, unable to believe her ears, "What-?"

"I thought I'd give you a call before I head off to Medical School. Just wanted to say 'hi' and er, I love you, Mami."

She smiled and tears came to her eyes at her son's words, "I love you too, Mijo. Good luck in Medical School." And so, with a heavy heart, Perlita finally let her last baby go.