The Door

{4}

Aiyden entered the bedroom, and Dela was nowhere to be seen. He knew there was only one place she would be. Ever since finding out she was pregnant again, Dela had mostly been leaving the room only to go sit outside.

Aiyden made his way into the backyard, where he saw Dela leaning against the hawthorn tree. The wind blew and white flowers from the tree fell around her. He could not remember a time without this tree.

This is the home his adoptive parents once owned and left to him. They would purchase it after finding him, their apartment not big enough anymore. The home was picked because of the hawthorn tree, the only one of its kind in the neighborhood. His grandmother would tell Aiyden, when he was older, that as a child he was drawn to the tree during the hunt for a home. The child seemed at peace sitting under it, and they did not want to take that away from him.

After his father passed away, it was hard for his mother to be in the house and look at the tree. He understood why. His mother would never forget the image of finding him there lifeless, crushing small blue flowers, sprinkled with white ones from the tree, and Aiyden sitting there silently.

Aiyden shook his head to clear his thoughts, and walked closer to Dela. She smiled, looking up, as he came to stand in front of her. "You forgot your meds."

"I don't need them anymore."

Aiyden sighed and rotated his shoulders. "The doctors said–"

"I told you they don't know what to do with me," she squinted up at him against the sunlight.

Aiyden squeezed his eyes closed. He looked at the woman he loved and knew he had to bring her back to reality. "The doctors said the baby won't survive," he said weakly. "That they aren't strong enough."

Dela quickly jumped to her feet, hand covering Aiyden's mouth. "Don't." She glared at him. "He can hear you. He is not weak. He will not be weak. Sacrifices have been made. Our Duncan will be–"

"Duncan?" He cut her off, removing her hand. His mind was filled with images of twisted bodies, heads in a crib, and the knowledge of a missing child. It had to be a coincidence. He never told her the name of the child. "When did we decide on Duncan?"

She smiled brightly, "Dark warrior, the perfect name for our son." Aiyden turned his gaze away, not understanding how she could be so sure everything would be ok. "And we'll add him to the tattoo on your back." She gently grasped his shoulders. "But please don't speak down on him, never call him weak. Especially out here," she stated. Aiyden nodded. He knew this was a peaceful place for her, one of her favorites in the world.

Aiyden smiled and grabbed her wrist to pull her inside. "It would make me feel better if you took your medicine, ok?" They stepped from the backyard, into the kitchen, and Aiyden poured her a glass of water. He motioned to the pill container on the counter and handed her the glass.

Aiyden walked over to the fridge and peered inside. He would make them an early dinner, and then find some way to tell his wife the horrific news of what he witnessed that morning. Lost in thought, he jolted as he felt a hand on his back.

He looked to find Dela, holding out a glass of water to him. He took it with a quick half smile. As he drank, he noticed an off taste and decided it was time to change the water filter again.

"Go sit and relax, my love," Dela said softly. "Let me handle dinner. You look like you could use the rest."

Dela was correct. Aiyden was beginning to feel stressed. His wife's pregnancy, his neighbors being murdered, and the conversation with his grandmother were all weighing on his mind. The missing boy had him thinking of his past, and he often tried to avoid that for his own sanity.

"Okay." They shared a quick kiss, and Aiyden walked past the kitchen island, to sit on the sofa in the adjoining room. He rested his head against the back of it, closing his eyes for a moment, listening to the sounds of Dela in the kitchen. Everything began to fade away and he entered a light doze.

Then, he quickly jumped up at the sound of knocking on the back door. He looked around, the kitchen now empty. He heard Dela's voice. "Aiyden," she sang happily, "open the door. Come with me, love, and meet your son."

'Meet my son?' he thought. Maybe the baby is moving and she locked herself outside.

"Quickly Aiyden, before he hides again." Aiyden made his way to the door and as he got closer the knocking started again. This time, as loud as it was previously, each sound shaking him to the core.

He paused for a moment and wondered if he was actually hearing Dela from outside, or if she was in their room. As he stood there, within feet of the door, the sound of the knocking grew quicker. The door seemed to pulse under the force of the bangs.

"Please Aiyden," Dela's voice begged. "Come with me, and introduce yourself to your son. Open the door, and let Duncan inside."

He smiled to himself, shaking away his paranoia. He wanted to feel the baby move. He reached to turn the doorknob when a sharp sound caught his attention.

His phone began to ring, it seemed far off in the distance. It let off a distinct sound of his grandmother's ringtone. He knew he should answer it and make sure she was alright. She was an older lady, after all.

"Aiyden, come now!" Dela yelled, frantic.

He tried to open his mouth to speak, to tell her he would just be a moment, but the words would not come out.

His phone seemed to ring louder, fighting against the sounds of the frenzied knocking on the door. Then, Dela began to sing. Softly, her voice carried into the room, seeming to fill every corner. In a language he couldn't understand, Dela's voice grew louder until it was all he could hear.

Aiyden was drawn closer to the door, unable to control his own movement. He reached for the knob and grabbed it. The voice of his grandmother sharply echoed in his head, "don't ever open the door if you look and ain't no one there." But his wife was calling and he wanted to feel his son moving. He wanted so very much for this child to come into the world healthy. He hoped it had Dela's smile with too many teeth, nails that were just too sharp, her strange quirks, eyes that looked through everyone she saw, and that he had her ability to entrance him as well. He wanted to meet Duncan.

Aiyden smiled. Delas's voice grew louder. Without much thought or fight, Aiyden finally opened the door.