Things Fall Apart

16. The Kids From Yesterday

That day, Poison woke up thirty, and helpless. He wasn't meant to live this long already. When younger he had decided he would not live past that age, and now, for some reason, he found himself still alive. The truth was that he had never felt that defeated before. He simply had ran out of ideas of dangerous situations to propel himself in. But then, maybe life had been the most dangerous situation that could ever happen.

It didn't matter much anymore. He knew this would be his last day.

He looked at Kobra, still asleep, snuggled against him. And his heart ached from love for him.

And, without really knowing why, he whispered his secret name. A name he hadn't pronounced in seven years.

That was it. He had found it again, the key he had once lost. He had unlocked the pandora box. He had never entirely forgotten, after all.

His brother's eyes fluttered open immediately, and Poison felt something weighing down his chest. He had forgotten how heavy a heart could be. And the look on Kobra's face, that look of hope, it struck Poison in the deepest place.

So he hadn't forgotten, after all.

Kobra hadn't talked in seven years. But, lurking inside of him, Mikey was yelling. Poison knew he was craving to be heard. Mikey knew secrets, secrets that nobody was ready to hear just yet. Secrets that Kobra himself couldn't understand. Secrets that had been hidden under a mask and a new name. And maybe some things were never meant to be said, after all.

But now Mikey had been summoned, and it felt like he had just woken up from a seven years long coma with a soul too old for his bones and words too big for his mouth. These Words Poison wasn't brave enough to hear just yet.

And maybe the reason why Poison was so afraid was because, deep down inside of him, he had always known.

"Kobra..." He whispered, and he saw that look of hope fading away, as quickly as it had come. Silences were filled in and eyes lighted out. And his life became muffled again.

It had always seemed quite amazing to him, how his whole life could fit into such a little box.

That little wooden box Poison and him had once found by the seaside.

Maybe Poison was aware of how he had denied his own brother's identity, torn him away from home, captured his dreams and redreamt them, bottled up the air from his lungs and lighted out his voice, kept his heart locked in a secret place in order to keep it safe and then lost the key. And maybe he didn't like at that much after all because he knew he was slowly killing him from inside, but, even though he wouldn't admit it to himself, he was afraid. Because maybe it was all His own fault from the start, after all. And he wanted love to be easy. And he wanted to forget. And he wanted to ignore the fact that, under the many layers he had wrapped his brother's life in, Everything was Falling Apart.

It was still dark when they prepared their guns and got into Trans AM.

Everything was calm except for them.

They were like bombs about to go off.

They all trusted Poison when he said the Girl was special and needed to be saved. Trusted him enough to give up their lives.

And that was beautiful.

And that was unity.

And that was "We".

Because "I" never mattered.

This was "We" and Fun Ghoul knew it. It felt just right. He looked at Poison, wild, dangerous, powerful, and he loved him so much it hurt. He loved him with all his self.