Bloom

39. toxic cake

Zephaniah

If there was one thing that life taught me, it was that you were formed by the people surrounding you. It was as if you took small pieces from each person that was close to you, only for it to form to something new, someone new, you.

For example, Dad had always taught me the importance of women in our life, even when I wasn't surrounded by one the first few years of mine. He taught me to respect them, to love them, even when the woman who brought me to earth hadn't done the same to the both of us.

He taught me how to love myself, how the things I struggled with deserved to be seen, to be talked about. How it wasn't a taboo that I had autism, along with epilepsy. He was emotional, it made me sensitive to certain emotions- I could feel them without seeing them first.

Mum had given me enough space and time, she had taught me how to trust people, how people that were once strangers- could turn into the ones you loved the most. How bonding with people you didn't know, didn't necessarily have to be a bad thing. How you could care for other people, even when they weren't standing close to you, when they weren't related. She taught me how to have Faith.

Cooper taught me how to be a friend to others, how to give my mind a voice sometimes- to speak out loud, to speak my deepest thoughts and feelings.

My grandparents taught me to be respectful to the elder, my aunts taught me how to get along with children- aunt Doniya how to be loving even when it doesn't come from both sides.

And then you had uncle Samuel, the one who taught me how to add humour in any situation. He'd never failed to make me laugh, no matter what he did or said.

They had arranged for me to sleep over this weekend- I was excited for it. I loved Jael and Phebe, I loved aunt Ruth and uncle Samuel.

The door flew open, uncle Samuel running out of it. "Niah- Zeph!" He yelled loudly, making me laugh softly, my eyes squinting at his nickname he had somehow came up with. "How's my awesome nephew?" He grinned, briefly pulling me into a hug.

Hugging him back, I lightly gripped onto his shirt, pulling away after a brief moment. "Good." I answered simply, watching Baba hug him as well.

He couldn't stay, he said. He had to run some errands, so after I had given him a long hug, we waved goodbye, Cooper and I following uncle Samuel.

"Come in, come in." He rested his hand on my neck, leading me into the house. "Jael and Phebe are super excited. They made a rainbow cake, you know, with all the colours. It turned out to be blue- ish, almost brown." He laughed, cuddling Cooper. "Just tell them it looks awesome, oh, the lies you gotta tell kids sometimes."

I laughed softly, covering my mouth as my eyes averted to my backpack. I placed it onto the floor, my eyes blinking faster at the two, dark haired girls who ran over to me, both of their arms wrapped around my waist.

"Hi," I said softly, briefly patting their hair then pulling away at the affectionate contact- not really feeling like it today- meaning the stimulus were a little too much.

"Zephy! Zephy! We made a cake for you!" Jael cheered, Phebe just gave me a cheeky smile. "Do you want to eat it? We made plenty you can have so much, right daddy?" She raised her arms into the air, perhaps, to show me the amount even when that was a rather strange amount for a cake. I knew I probably shouldn't have to take it literal.

Glancing at uncle Sam, he simply shrugged at me. "If you're hungry- I won't stop you. Not sure if it isn't pure toxic, though. It looks like it, after all." He held his hands up as he joked, I bit my upper lip to hide my smile.