The world we survived together

This TV ad always makes me cry

        David was staring at the ceiling. He had finished his bacon, combed his hair, and brushed his teeth. He wondered if the others would check on him but they never did. David contemplated taking a nap to make the day move faster when he heard a familiar voice. One that he was more than happy to hear.

"Hello," said Yellow. "Are you going to take a nap after breakfast?"

"Hi there Mirror me," David responded. "No, I'm not going to take a nap."

"Then why are you in the bed we sleep in?"

"Because I didn't want to eat with the other two."

"But why not?" Yellow asked. "The first one makes good breakfasts and the other one lets me help him with his word puzzles. Even if he says I'm not good at them."

"Well, then why did they give me so little?"

    "Too much could make your teeth go gray," Yellow said, trying to come up with a feasible answer.

"Well, what did you eat for breakfast yesterday? I'm sure you had a lot."

"I don't know."

   "So you remember the lessons but not what you ate for breakfast yesterday?" David was getting frustrated.

    Yellow said nothing but gave off a blank stare. David wanted to chuck the mirror out of frustration but he didn't want to break it or hurt Yellow's feelings. At the end of the day, Yellow didn't do anything wrong. David was madder at Red and Duck for how they treated him.

"Hey. The... the hands on my watch are in the same place when the TV is on." Yellow chimed in.

"What are you trying to say?" David was confused by the other statement.

"Grolton and Hovirs are on," Yellow flapped his hands in excitement. "The other ones love that show. Maybe you can love it with them."

"That's a great idea Mirror me," David sat up. "Why didn't I think of that?" David gently placed the mirror down on the nightstand before heading to the door. "I'll see you later mirror me."

"Goodbye." Yellow waved.

    David ran down the hallway. He could already hear Red and Duck talking to each other. David hoped that this was something they could bond over. He reached the living room and entered with a big hello.

"Hello," David said, unaware that he was copying Yellow's mannerisms.

"What are you doing here?" Red said with a snarky attitude.

"Did you get grease on the pillows?" Duck shouted.

"No, I didn't," David responded. "I was wondering if I could watch TV with you guys. Grolton and Hovirs should be coming on around now."

Red and Duck looked at Tony to check the time. Tony remained quiet and still, just like a real clock.

"Well, I guess you're right. Grolton and Hovirs will be on in just a minute." Red said.

"I guess you can watch with us. As long as you stay quiet while the show is on." Duck said easing back down in his rocking chair.

    Red grabbed the remote while David walked towards the chair Yellow would sit in. The chair was plastic with primary colors used for the stool and legs. It wasn't very comfy to sit on but it made sense why Yellow liked it.

      Red turned on the TV and the three of them watched Grolton and Hovirs together. The episode was about Grolton getting ready for bed and he made his pet dog Hovirs sleep outside, in winter. The dog couldn't do anything but growl in protest while the man clipped his leash to a pole outside. Grolton Kept telling the dog that it was cold outside and that he wanted to go inside to his warm bed. David felt uncomfortable but he didn't say anything out of fear that Red or Duck would yell at him.

    Once the episode was over a familiar ad played on the TV. An ad for a tub of family chicken played which brought back awful memories that David didn't want to remember. The memories of Lily and Todney and their weird family flooded back to him. When he was Yellow, he could only remember certain details and the rest of it felt like a dream or something he could easily ignore. But now his brain was able to recall everything in full detail.

     David could hear the family chant and his ears an echo through his head. He remembered the Itchy white dress, the red bows that tugged on a scalp, and the earrings made from rat bones that almost gave him an ear infection. He remembered how scared he was and how pathetic he felt. Yellow struggled to find the right words he needed to let the others know how nervous he felt. Yellow knew the Twins were up to something but he was too afraid to do anything else. If he were David he would have those words and maybe he would have been brave enough to do something.

    David started to hyperventilate. The memories were too much for him to handle and he started to tear up. Red and Duck caught notice of this.

"What the hell are you making all that noise for?" Duck glared at David.

"Yeah, you said you were going to be quiet while we watch TV," Red said.

 "But the TV show is done it's just commercials now," David said in between breaths.

"The TV is on so your mouth should be zipped shut," Duck argued.

"I'm sorry but..."

"But nothing. You're just trying to make excuses to talk."

"Come on it's not cool to break promises like that." Red remained calm.

    David wanted to be comforted. He wanted to squeeze Duck's hand and have Red hug him. He knew that it would sometimes take them a moment to realize that he was in distress but that was when he was Yellow and Yellow was more emotional.

"I...I..." David could feel the lump in his throat get heavier.

"We said shut up!" Duck through a fly swatter that hit David right in the face.

   It didn't hurt David a lot but it's still stung. David was hurt that the others didn't want to listen to him. More tears came out as he tried to cover his face. He tried not to cry but that just made it hyperventilating worse. David ran out of the room without any sympathy from Red or Duck. He needed to calm down and since he couldn't go to the others for help he had to go back to Leslie.

   He ran up the stairs. Pass the big boy's room and the bigger boy's room. When he was on the final level he almost felt relieved. David calmed down to the point where he was able to slowly open the door. The soothing sound of the piano started to echo down the hallway as he opened the door wider.

"Hello again sweetheart. How are you doing?" Leslie didn't turn to look at David.

"Well, I came here because... because." David sniffed trying to push the tears away from his face.

     Leslie could tell David was in distress and she turned around. She turned to see David in tears and breathing heavily. She felt bad seeing her boy like that so she opened up her arms much to David's confusion.

"Well come on I don't bite." She said.

     David walked into Leslie's arms and gladly accepted the hug. He already felt his breathing return to normal and his tears started to die down. He wanted the hug to last forever but eventually, Leslie picked him up sat him down on the bench, and started to wipe away the few remaining tears on his face.

"You can stay with me for a little while," Leslie said.

"How long is a little while... mother?" David almost flinched.

Leslie gave him a warm smile and said. "As long as you need."

(Hello everyone. Thank you for being patient. I will be working more on my other story and a new chapter should be out before this month ends. I hope you enjoyed this chapter because I have more wholesome Leslie and David content for the next chapter.)