Dan & Phil: Not of This Earth

15 | Lester and Howell

Word Count: 863

     No one had seen Dan for days. Christmas and the new year had come and gone. Phil was gone. Phil hadn't even taken any of his things with him. What was he planning to do? "Start a new life" the note had said. What was that supposed to mean?!

     Dan trudged into the kitchen, his hair tangled and disheveled. He had dark rings under his eyes which were struck red with loss. The calendar on the wall caught his attention. It had been preemptively turned to January before Phil disappeared. He sniffled and grabbed a nearby marker, striking each day off, grumbling about how many times he had seen the sun rise by himself.

     It was Phil's birthday.

☆☆☆

     The sky was grey, winter still lingering at the month's end. Dan was freshly showered and he looked much more proper and lively. An expensive bouquet was cradled in one of his arms and his eyes tentatively searched the world around him. He was going to apologize and support Phil when he found him.

     Dan was walking quickly down a suburban street. A collection of red, blue, and orange balloons was in the distance, tied to a mailbox. The very sight of them made his heart jump. He broke into a sprint and a sign came into view. It read "Phil's 5th Birthday Party!!!" It couldn't be a coincidence. It couldn't be.

     He paused when a father and his small child walked out of the front door. The man saw him and greeted him briefly. "Ey there, buddy. Trouble with the missus? Heh heh."

     Dan approached the fence and looked onto the house. He could hear music and kids laughing. A small boy trotted through the snow. His hair was shaggy and held an orange-red hue, edging on a soft golden orange. He was wrapped in a tiny, fluffy red snow coat and the smile on his face was endless. The little boy held an empty bucket and he was looking to collect fresh snow. He looked up in the midst of scooping it into the small pail and made eye contact with Dan.

     "Phil?" His name stung his mouth now. The same blue eyes that had begged him to celebrate human holidays were staring back at him. There Phil was, "starting a new life." They shared an unbroken stare, a silent understanding running between them. "I...I support you in this, Phil." Dan's eyes filled with tears and he sniffled. His chest burned but he forced himself to smile through the pain. "I'll support you in whatever you do from now on. I hope you can find happiness here."

     The bouquet fell into the snow on the other side of the fence. Dan gave Phil a nod and shoved his hands into his coat pockets, beginning his long walk back to the apartment.

     The gate squeaked open, Phil bursting from behind it. He stopped Dan in his tracks by hugging his legs. "We'll meet again one day, Dan. I promise." His voice was as small as his stature was now. "And I'm sorry I swore at you."

     Dan wiped away a tear with the heel of his hand. "You better get back to your party."

     A woman's voice bellowed from behind the house: "Phil! Philip? Where'd you go, honey? Please stay where Mummy can see you!"

     The now childlike Gem twisted to face the house and then back up at Dan. "It'll be real soon, Dan. I promise. This isn't forever," he said. He took a few tiny steps back with a wide smile. When he reentered his yard, he picked up the bouquet with his tiny hands. "This is the nicest gift I've ever gotten, Dan. Thank you!"

     "Phil! Phil, you're scaring me! Please come here!"

     "Coming, Mummy!" He sloppily ran back behind his house. Dan lingered a moment to hear the last words he'd hear from Phil for over a decade: "A man was giving away flowers! Look, they're so pretty!"

     Dan was on his own. He didn't like it but he didn't know what else to do. He continued working and he continued living in the apartment until the lease was up. Afterwards, he just left. He donated all their things to charity and left. He had nowhere to go and no-one to go to.

     He chose to hitchhike across the country for several years. He did odd jobs here and there but he kept moving. It was a journey of self-exploration and reinvention.

     The last place he went was Wokingham in the late spring of '96. He shapeshifted into a 4-year-old child at a park. It was then he noticed the issue of his gem. The outline was obvious through the fabric of his shirt and it was huge on his small back. Gem movement was dangerous and extremely painful but he did it. The pain was unbearable, threatening to poof his physical form, forcing him to cry loudly and noticeably. It was then the Howell family took him in.

     "Found Child" posters were scattered throughout Wokingham but when nobody claimed Daniel James, he became Daniel James Howell.