Paper Boats // xiaodery

four

"Hendery!"

The boy heard his name being called downstairs.

"Yeah?!" he asked, walking out of his semi furnished room and trotting downstairs.

He found his mother in the kitchen, opened and closed boxes scattered around the area. Though they've been living in this new house for almost three weeks, they're still in the process of unpacking.

"Can you help your dad with the new furniture that just arrived?"

"Uh, sure." he agreed, heading to the living room.

"Hendery, can you hand me that nail over there?" his dad asked him, as he sat on the floor with the parts of a table laid out in front of him.

His son followed through, picking up the tiny bag of nails and handing one to his father. He decided to sit down, watching his dad screw in one of the legs of the table.

"So, you've been out of the house a lot recently. Have you been enjoying the harbor?"

"Yeah." Hendery grinned at the thought. "It's really nice."

"Ah." his father softly smiled. "I'm glad to see you happy again."

—

"Whatcha reading?" Hendery asked, plopping down near the edge of the dock.

Xiao Jun's eyes lifted from the inked page. "A book." he simply answered.

Hendery stared out into the sea for a little bit before he heard Xiao Jun speak again.

"I saw the dull yellow eye of the creature open; it breathed hard, and a convulsive motion agitated its limbs." he read aloud, voice dipping to match the tone of the words.

Hendery displayed a confused expression as he turned slowly towards the other. "What the hell are you reading?" he narrowed his eyes at the cover of the book, realizing it was the classic horror story of Frankenstein.

"Sorry." Xiao Jun apologized, flustered. "I just randomly read out the lines of the book I'm reading."

"Oh." Hendery said. "I don't mind, I was just wondering why you suddenly read out loud."

Xiao Jun continued to read the book, saying sentences aloud every few minutes.

"You should read me a bedtime story sometime." Hendery blurted out.

"What?" Xiao Jun stopped, looking at the other boy.

"You're a really good reader. The tone of your voice matches whatever line you're reading perfectly, and though I don't really know what's going on since you don't read the full scene out, I still get the gist of whatever the characters are feeling."

Xiao Jun blinked, a breathy chuckle escaping his lips. "Thanks." he muttered, eyes drawing to the ocean below them.

"You're welcome." Hendery chimed, a warm feeling running through his veins.