The Diary of Joy

The Grand Escape

19. Peace, the year of the Phoenix

Dear Angel,

Today I don't feel as much joy as my name suggests. It hasn't been the greatest day yesterday, after I wrote to you, so I still feel kind of sad. That feeling is not so common for me, but there are those things that inevitably make us sad, and yesterday one of those things came to my attention.

So, as I told you, my usually quiet brother, Peace, wanted to talk to me and honestly, I wasn't sure what to expect. I was shocked by what he told me, and honestly, I wasn't in the least happy about it.

Okay, okay, I will stop being mysterious, it's just... I don't know how to say it without sounding mean. It was just so unexpected for me because we are generally one big, happy, family, but I guess no one is joyous all the time.

It turned out that Chatterbox, true to his name, has been saying a lot of things. A lot of things that were not so nice. The thing that annoyed me the most about it was the fact that he was saying those things about mom.

It must have been pretty bad when Peace decided to confide in me since he rarely talked about those kinds of things with anyone but his brother. Now, I guess he is scared that he might be losing his twin brother, or at least who he knew that brother to be before he started hanging out with the fairy children.

Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against the fairy children, they can be fun to spend time with and enjoy some games, but they could also be very mean. It's not their fault, I know. They just express opinions of their parents, but it can still be very hurtful. That's why I stopped playing with them. I thought we all had, but I guess I was wrong.

Peace told me that Chatterbox had been secretly spending time with them and that he had started telling him a lot of things Peace didn't like Most of the things he said didn't sound like Chatterbox. He might be very talkative sometimes, but he was never mean, however, Peace told me that things had changed.

Chatterbox started saying and believing bad things about our parents. That they were wrong to get married, that their relationship was unnatural. He even started trying to convince Peace in the truth of his words, and my poor brother didn't know what to do so he came to me.

I just couldn't believe that Chatterbox would dare say those horrible things about two people who have always been there for us, who have supported and loved us no matter what. What annoyed me, even more, was the fact that he did it because someone convinced him of something that he knew was not the truth. He allowed other people to control what he said or thought.

Still, I think that Peace hadn't told me everything. If Chatterbox is saying such horrible things about our loving parents, I can only imagine what he is saying about me, about the fact that I am different. The fact that my own brother doesn't appreciate how unique I am hurts more than I would like to admit.

My whole life, I have tried to better understand and accept my siblings, but I did have a feeling that Chatterbox failed to appreciate me for who I am. I always thought it had something to do with the fact that I was a girl and that I wasn't like Mischief who although she is a girl has many interests similar to the ones of a boy, but now I see that wasn't it. He has never fully understood me, and that is why it was easy for the others to convince him that I am an aberration instead of seeing me as something I truly am and that is special.

It occurred to me that he had probably said a lot of bad things about my friend Echo as well and that's when it became too much for me. I realized that he had probably said and thought a lot of bad things about all of the people closest to me except for his brother, and I could not allow that to go on any longer.

I told Peace that I would tell Chatterbox that I heard from one of the fairies what he was saying and that I would confront him. Although Peace wasn't so happy about it, he understood that it had to be done if we were to get back some of the harmony in our family. Chatterbox didn't need to understand me, or our parents and the others but he did need to respect us, to accept us the same we respected and accepted him.

So I stormed off to find Chatterbox, as soon as I finished assuring Peace that I would not mention his name in any way. It was a bit of a challenge to find him, and maybe it was a good thing since my anger managed to subside significantly. I was ready to be calm, or at least I hoped so.

"Chatterbox, we need to talk," I said the moment I spotted him in the garden.

Seeing my determined stride, I think he realized that I knew and took a small step back. Soon enough he seemed to think better of running away (after all we lived in the same house), and instead stood his ground.

"I've been told some interesting things by our once-friend, well I guess she is still your friend, Kakapo, and I am really hoping they are not true," I told him.

At least he had enough decency to feel embarrassed about it as he lowered his head upon hearing those words. After all, Kakapo is the most talkative fairy ever, and it wouldn't shock anyone for her to blurt out some of the things she shouldn't that was why Chatterbox immediately believed my lie and seemed to be looking for a way out.

"Will you tell mom and dad?" Was the first thing he asked.

It annoyed me immensely that he would call them mom and dad when I knew what he had been saying about them behind their backs, their own son. Still, I was determined to stay rational because I knew that if I got too emotional, it would be very bad for both of us.

"Yes, I will tell them. They are our parents, they deserve to know what is going on." I told him.

"They will refuse to see me ever again if you tell them what I said," Chatterbox said.

In my mind, I was seething. He should have thought about all of those things before deciding to take the side of some mean fairies instead of our parents who were nothing but nice to us. Once again, I managed to control my emotions and to be the bigger person, I almost felt like an adult.

"I will tell them the truth, I can't lie to them, but I can assure you that they will still want to see you. They are your parents, and they will love you no matter what." I told him.

He didn't seem so convinced, but he understood that I would not change my mind. Instead of trying to convince me otherwise, he just nodded his head and started moving away from me.

"Where are you going?" I asked.

"I need to clear my head if I am to face them after everything I've said about them." He said.

I let him go because honestly, I thought I would want him to do the same if the situation was reversed. Now, I wish I hadn't. By the time I went back into the house and talked with our parents, about everything that had happened, (they took it much better than I had) he was gone. I mean, he was nowhere to be found.

It's getting dark now, and mom and dad still haven't come back from searching for him. I do hope he is okay. He might be an idiot sometimes, but he is still my brother, and I don't want anything bad to happen to him.

Anyway, I better get going, I can hear something outside. Hopefully, it's mom and dad with Chatterbox.

Until next time,

Love,

Joy