Vixivo

The Painted Bird

"Don't let him push you around, Jim," Ximena said.

"I know, I know," Jimera responded, "He's a tough guy, but I know my limits with him."

Jimera and Sal have been practicing hard for their up and coming fight. With Sal even forcing Jimera to wake up at four in the morning to train.

"Dad has a habit of going too far," Ximena explained, "I just don't want him pushing your buttons."

Jimera sat alone in the dining room, looking out in the backyard window that was in front of the table.

"I've been dealing with his old ass for years, I can handle him," Jimera assured, "The only issue I have with his 'training' is that he refuses to allow me to eat Whataburger.

"I mean, seriously Ximena. I've been waiting to eat there for months since they're not in New York, but now that I'm here, I can't have any."

An owl flew throughout the backyard, soaring from side to side, fence to fence. The boys' mother has said before that there's an owl's nest somewhere in the yard. With even a few owlets taking home in the main tree.

"Jim, you're a grown man," Ximena said, "If you want a burger from somewhere, get it."

October twentieth. Currently seven in the morning. While having his morning cereal, Jimera decided to call Ximena, his girlfriend.

"Being a grown man doesn't matter to Sal," Jimera said, "He'll chew me up and spit me in the trash if he catches me eating a burger. Like, he has me on this strict diet for the next few months, and if I break it then I'll be in massive trouble."

Sal has gotten a hold of a public gym for Jimera and him. But, of course, Sal wants to keep the recognition to a minimum, so he forces Jimera to train before even the crack of dawn.

"I'm just saying, you shouldn't let Dad push you around," Ximena said, "You're the star, the mainline fighter. You're the one that's going in the ring, not him. As long as you control your weight, you shouldn't care about Dad telling you what you can and can't eat."

"You're right."

"I know I'm right."

"It's just that-," Jimera took a spoonful of cereal, "I know this fight is important to us, and it could really boost me up in the charts. At the end of the day, Sal is looking out for me. He wants what's best for me, even if he has to be difficult for it."

"I get that," Ximena said.

...

...

...

"How's Ciro?"

Jimera can hear Ciro in his room upstairs. The faint sound of a movie being played is scurrying across the room. To be watching a movie at three in the morning is blasphemy. Though, it is a Sunday.

"He's been good," Jimera said, "Have you heard about the gas station incident?"

"No."

"Ciro got caught up in a robbery at the corner store," Jimera explained, "Ended up punching the guy's jaw off and made a bloody scene."

"You're kidding."

Jimera is jealous of his younger brother. With the only worry in his life being school and sleep, Jimera wondered if he'll ever have the simple life his baby brother is experiencing. Or at least. Experience it again.

"Yeah, somehow the whole mess got swept under the rug," Jimera said, "No charges, no further investigation; Hell, the actual investigation was put on hold for other cases in the town."

"The people in that town were always on the slow side," Ximena said, "You remember the incident at that children's pizza place? The one with the animatronic? They completely forgot about that one over the weekend."

Now that Jimera hears it, it might be Jurassic Park that Ciro is watching. He can hear the animalistic roar from Ciro's room.

"Yeah, I don't know why, but I feel like there's a reason why these cases were forgotten."

"Don't go all conspiracy theorist on me now-"

"No, I'm serious," Jimera took another bite of his cereal, "If the situation was different, the news outlets would be all over the scene.

"I love Ciro, he's my baby bro, but he didn't exactly clean up the evidence when he was finished."

"Maybe everyone felt bad," Ximena said, "They saw that it was a kid and decided to drop the story. You know, not ruin his life or something."

"I doubt it," Jimera responded, "I'm just saying, someone had to have done something with the situation. To cause this whole thing to disappear."

"Just be grateful that you don't have to deal with the legal fees," Ximena said, "You know you're the one who was going to have to pay for the lawyer."

"True."

The sun was lighting up the sky like a bonfire, streaks of red danced across the sky. Jimera can even hear a few of the birds chirping in the trees. It's a shame that the owls already conquered the backyard.

"Listen, Jim," Ximena spoke, "I'm going to have to let you go. I have a meeting with a few clients later this evening, and I want to make sure I get a nap in before then."

"Alright, I'll call you later tonight."

"Try to stay out of trouble," Ximena said, "And keep Ciro out of it as well. Love you, bye."

"I'll try too. Love you too."

The call ended.

"I'll try to."

Jimera sat at the table, a bowl of milk in front of him. He pondered the idea, the belief that someone might know what is going on.

Maybe someone paid off everyone to "forget" about the incident. Maybe everyone actually forgot. Maybe God prevented everything that would come after. Maybe aliens from outer space wiped everyone's memory or erased the evidence.

Who knows.

But this will be on Jimera's mind for the next few weeks.

Until the answer was finally given to the brothers.