Catch Me (Synacky)

Chapter Five: Zacky

On Christmas Day, Dad came to visit. He was allowed to take me out of the institution for two hours. He took me to a park that had a swing set. And he brought along my acoustic guitar.

“How’re you doing, bud?” Dad asked. His shirt had three buttons, and the top one was undone. I did not like this. He smelled like exhaust, so he must have been with that woman with the yellow bag. I didn’t reply. So Dad gave me my guitar, and I tuned it and apologized to it for the underuse, and ran up and down the scales and played the chord progressions I had thought of in my head.

He did not speak to me, and I did not look at him. I had bad feelings when I thought of him.

Anger. I was angry he left me alone at that institution.

“I brought you a couple Christmas presents, Zacky.” Dad had a bag with him. He handed me three packages, wrapped in blue paper. I smiled. Blue was the best color, because it was soft and pleasing to the eye.

I ran my finger over the paper, before picking at the tape to open it. I didn’t want to damage the paper.

The first gift was a book called Black Holes and Time Warps: Einstein’s Outrageous Legacy by Kip S. Thorne with a foreword by Stephen Hawking. I knew I would enjoy that. The second gift was also a book, but by Michael Dregni, called Django: The Life and Music of a Gypsy Legend. That was appropriate, because if I couldn’t have my guitar with me, at least I could read about one of my favorite guitarists. The third gift was a liquid hourglass, which was overall, fascinating. They must have used some sort of hydrophobic substance in order for it to work.

I remembered to say “Thank you.” Dad smiled and patted me on the back.

I would show these gifts to Brian. He might like them.

Then I went to sit on the swings, and Dad pushed me higher and higher. I liked the feeling. It was as close to flying as I’d ever get.

We walked into the town, and he bought me hot chocolate and we looked at Christmas lights that adorned some of the houses. The hot chocolate burnt my tongue and I screamed and threw it down. Dad sighed.

After I had calmed down, he said, “I put up the Christmas lights at home.” Dad said. “They’re all blue, so I can think of you when I look at them.”

I envisioned the Christmas lights. That was always the most exciting part of Christmas time. Blue lights strung up everywhere. When Mum was at home, she even strung lights in the kitchen and in my bedroom. We had some that would blink in succession, giving the effect of twinkling stars. It was amazing.

These lights were not as special. But they were still beautiful, nevertheless.

We returned to the park for a while, and Dad asked me to play a Christmas song on my guitar. I’ve never played a Christmas song on the guitar, but I put together Silent Night in B minor, because it sounded nicer in a minor than a major, switching between strumming and plucking to make it sound better. Dad said I sounded wonderful.

“Can I come home now?” I asked him.

Dad sighed. “Zacky… you’re going to have to stay at the institution for a while. They’re going to help you. You just haven’t settled into the schedule yet. Just give it time, okay?”

I frowned down at the ground. I did not want to stay there one more second. “How long?”

“Hell, I don’t know Zacky. A few months, maybe.” Dad ran a hand over his face. “It’s not just going to help you. I’m going to get my life together, okay? I’m going to be able to take care of you.”