The Diary of Joy

The Lost Lamb Returns

20. Peace, the year of the Phoenix

Dear Angel,

The first thing is first, I should inform you that Chatterbox is finally back. It took mom and dad hours to find him, but the important thing is that they did find him.

But I better start from the beginning. So, as I told you last time, mom and dad went out to find him because no matter what he said or did he was still their son. They love him more than words can describe. They were gone for several hours but finally, they returned with embarrassed-looking Chatterbox who didn't say anything to me or anyone else, but just went to his room.

"What happened?" I asked.

"Well, my dear, that's a long story," Dad said.

Seeing the look on my face, he gestured for me to follow them into the living room where we were joined by my other siblings. I guess he understood that it was a long story, but that we needed to hear it.

"So, your mother and I went around the magical community asking everyone if they had seen our darling son, but none of them had seen him. Honestly, we found that strange since he is a big guy." Dad said.

After he said that, mom nudged him harshly with her elbow which confused him for a moment. Then he seemed to realize how it could be understood and corrected himself.

"What I mean is that he is not a fairy to be invisible. I mean, I almost didn't see your mother when I first met her." Dad said.

That earned him another hard shove from mom, and I feel like in that moment she had stripped him of the right to tell the story. I could understand why, he kept digressing, talking about the past when all I wanted to know was what happened with Chatterbox.

"So I started thinking..." Mom said.

"We started thinking..." Dad interrupted.

"We started thinking." Mom said sternly.

"Where would he go? What was the one place where he would feel at home outside the home? And then it came to us. An idea. At first, it sounded like a crazy idea, but it was an idea nevertheless. Since we had found him and his brother in the forest, we thought he might still remember that place. Well, maybe not exactly remember, but some part of him might have felt safer there.

We, the beings of magic, never underestimate the power of one's emotions, so we thought that his emotions might lead him back to where it all started. The possibility of him being there wasn't very high, but, even greater miracles had happened before." Mom said as she gently squeezed dad's hand.

I couldn't help but think that what mom and dad have is true love. No matter how silly dad can sometimes be, he is always there when mom needs him, and the same is true for her when he needs her. When problems come, (such as their child telling terrible things about them) they face it together, united in their goal to help the child, not punish him. That has always been their way.

"Anyway, we were right. The moment we entered the part of the forest where we had found your brothers, well where you Joy, found them, we could hear loud sobbing coming from behind a tree. As we came closer, we could see that it was Chatterbox.

He was curled up in a ball and sobbing. I have never seen that boy cry, well maybe an involuntary tear from injury here and there, but nothing like this. It felt as if his little heart was splitting apart and to hear those desperate sounds broke my heart." Mom said.

Her eyes became full of tears, but she didn't allow them to fall. She wanted to stay strong for the rest of us. Still, she seemed to appreciate it when dad put a comforting hand on her shoulder. It looked as if it gave her the strength to go on.

"I honestly didn't know what to do. Even after everything that he said about us, about his loving family, he was still my little boy, our little boy and he was hurting.

"Chatterbox," I said.

He startled at hearing my voice although we weren't so quiet in approaching him. He was like a scared mare looking at the eyes of the cowboys trying to catch him. It was as if he was scared of us." Mom said.

Then, it became obvious that she could no longer control her emotions. She started crying, rivers of tears running down her face and sobbing as quietly as she could.

"Our own... son... was scared... of us." She managed to say through her sobs.

Dad hugged her tightly and did his best to reassure her.

"Shh, it's okay, he wasn't afraid of us, he was afraid of our reaction. No matter what he had said or done, he still loves us, dear. He was scared of losing us." Dad said.

Since even that didn't manage to make mom feel better, Mischief, Peace, and I joined in the hug which made her cries subside. The simple action was worth more than words, and as a fairy that was true for her more than anyone else.

Still, she didn't seem to be able to go on telling the story, so dad decided to take over. He was careful not to stray too much from the point, and he often looked at mom to check if what he was saying was okay.

"He tried to bolt, but I told him: "If I taught you anything, young man, it's that you can't run away from your problems. Stay and let us talk this through like adults."

No one was more surprised when he obeyed than me, (I have to try out this authority thing more often) but he stayed where he was looking at us with red eyes filled with tears. It was obvious that he wanted to avoid the conversation, but he still wanted to prove to me that he was an adult, so he stayed.

"Why did you run away?" Your mother asked him.

"I didn't want you to hate me," Chatterbox said.

"Like you hate us?" Your mother asked cautiously.

That was when he broke down in tears once again and ran towards your mother hugging her with so much love that I knew we would be okay. Still, I wasn't sure what to make of the situation. Did he lie about not hating us? Had he ever hated us?

"I am so sorry mommy, daddy." The little guy said looking at me.

"I never hated you, I just tried to. The fairies that I was playing with were saying some really bad things, and since I was angry I decided to believe them, although I never truly did." He said.

Seeing the confused expressions on both of our faces, Chatterbox went on explaining himself.

"I was angry at the mother that gave birth to us, at the parent who abandoned us, in the middle of the forest! If our own parents could leave us, not want us, why would you? So, I thought I better start hating you before you start hating me. I even tried to convince Peace that it would be the best, but he was always the smarter twin. He refused." Chatterbox confessed.

"Listen to me, Chatterbox, I might not have given birth to you, but I love you and I will never leave you." Your mother said.

"We both love you to the stars and beyond. You can act as stupidly as you want, but we will still love you and try to help you." I said.

That was of course when your mother gave me one of her 'gentle' nudges but we were able to get the idea across and convince him to come back home with us." Dad said.

"What should we do now?" I asked wanting to help.

"The best thing you can do for him right now is to pretend nothing happened, and be there for him if he needs you. He feels very embarrassed about this whole thing, so I think we should promise as a family not to mention this to him unless he mentions it first. Deal?" Dad asked.

"Deal." We all said in unison.

And that is how another crisis was averted, luckily for all of us. It will be a bit awkward for sure, but at least we know that we love each other and that we will always be there for each other.

Talking about being there for each other, I have to go. Dad wants me to help him with his little project.

Love,

Joy