Wonders

What dreams awaken

Rat didn’t come back. Karen closed the shop at six. She called Shion to dinner a half hour later. He told her he was going to wait for Rat. Shion sat in a chair looking out the window of his sparse bedroom. Here he could see both doors. With the bakery closed, he wasn't sure if Rat would know to come to the side door.
Night started to fall, still the pale boy didn’t move. Shion leaned against the window watching for his friend. Safu called at eight as she always did.
“Hey, how's everything?” she asked. Shion was a bit short telling her he was waiting for Rat.
“Shion, I thought he wasn’t talking to you.” She had been with him all week as he worried about why the other was being so cold to him. She had tried to tell him that that cold being was the real Rat. Shion wouldn’t believe it.
“He walked me home tonight. Said he was coming back.” His tone had a note of fear in it. Safu worried for her friend. Rat had a way of hurting everyone in such a way that they didn’t recover.
“Just be careful, Shion. He's not the boy you remember.” She hung up shortly after that.
Shion looked out the window again. The streetlight illuminated the back door. Nothing was moving. He pressed his face against the cool glass as his tears began to fall. He said he would come back. He always kept his promises. Shion closed his eyes to shut out the pain.
A loud thud woke him sometime later. He looked out the window but all was quiet. He heard a noise above him. Jumping up he ran to his attic room. Flinging the door open he took the stairs two at a time. When the lights came on, he gasped in horror.
Rat was there, lying on the floor. He was in a pool of dark liquid. Shion saw the blood but tried not to think about it. He rushed to the boy’s side. “Rat, Rat can you hear me?” A small moan answered him. It was all he needed.
Shion ran downstairs to get the first aid kit. When he got back, Rat was leaning on a long ottoman. “Shion?” he gasped. Shion had him take off his jacket. He gave him some water.
“What happened? It's after midnight!” Shion fought to keep the emotion from his voice, he had to blink several times to keep the tears at bay. He had to search the others body but he found not one but two gun holes.
“Dogkeeper called. Said she needed help.” Rat said. He had lowered the water.
“You need to drink.” Shion commanded. Rat obeyed.
Shion used a lighter and a steel rod to stop the bleeding. He gave Rat a belt to bite into. Once the bleeding was stopped, he was able to sew up both wounds. As he worked, Rat lost consciousness.
Shion got him a blanket and made him as comfortable as he could. The boy was too heavy for him to move. Once Rat was taken care of, Shion set to work to clean up the blood. What had Dogkeeper gotten him into? Shion wondered hating the girl.
Shion sat beside the injured boy all night. He tried to get him to drink but it proved harder than he thought. He didn’t know exactly when he fell asleep, he only knew when he woke up.
Shion was laying on the floor of his attic room, a blanket over him. He touched the ‘pillow' under his head. He bolted upright when he realized it was Rat's arm. The other chuckled.
“You looked so sweet, couldn’t bear to wake you.” He smirked. He looked pale. Shion grabbed the water bottle.
“You lost a lot of blood. You need to drink so you don’t get dehydrated. I will get you…” his voice was stopped by Rat placing a hand over it.
“Can you just relax?” he smirked. This boy before him was the Shion he had been looking for. All it took was for him to nearly die again to find him.
“You're hurt.” Shion voice was muffled. Rat dropped his injured arm. He had been shot in the arm and leg. Good thing they had both been on the same side. He wasn’t sure how he had managed to make it to the pale boy before him.
“But I came back.” He joked. Shion punched him in the gut. Rat laughed. “You're weak!” he crowed.
“You're an ass.” Shion stated. The two looked at each other a moment. Neither could hold it in. They both busted up laughing.
When they were able to catch their breath, the white-haired boy slipped away to go find breakfast. Rat sat on the floor looking around. He had only glanced at the room, but now he saw more. He struggled to pull himself to his feet.
The room spun; his vision darkened. He held onto the wall until it cleared. He pulled himself over to a shelf tucked in the back. There were several pictures on it. They were all of a young boy. The shaggy black hair untamed spilled over his face. Grey laughing eyes grinned at the camera. There were four pictures of the boy, but it was the fifth one that Rat picked it up.
Two boys sat facing each other in a sandbox. One had dark black hair; his head was bent resting on the others shoulder. The other had soft brown hair that floated in waves in the captured breeze. His chocolate eyes danced as he looked at the boy his arm was around. The cars and trucks forgotten as they laughed in each other’s arms.
“Can you save me one more time, Shion?” Rat asked the picture. His head leaning against the shelf. He put the picture back and picked up a box. Flipping it open he saw a treasure map drawn in crayon. Under that was the time capsule the children had buried. It remained sealed. The pale boy had been too far gone to want to open it.
Rat sat back on the ottoman when he heard Shion's steps on the stairs. He set the box on his lap. He looked at the stairs. The white head poked up as he climbed. He carried a tray carefully up the steps. A smile touched his lips. Rat was amazed at this face. So like the one he remembered, yet so very different.
Shion saw that he was sitting up. “Oh good, you got off the….” His voice stopped as he saw the box on Rat's lap. Shion turned away from the boy. He set the tray on a small table in the corner.
“I dug it up when mom said we were moving. She couldn't handle living in that house without dad. Plus, the doctors wanted me closer to the specialty hospital I had to attend for a while.” He said as he sorted out the cups and plates. He left a plate and cup on the tray. Turning he carried it over to Rat.
“You never opened it.” He said. Shion took the box, replacing it on the shelf.
“I thought that as long as it was sealed a part of you lived in it.” He said. Rat bit into the toast.
“Maybe later today we can open it. Together?” he asked. Shion sat at the table. He looked at his hands for a time. Then he flashed a quick grin at Rat.
“Yeah, maybe.” He agreed as he began to eat. Shion took care of the dishes when they were done. He helped Rat to the room off of the attic where the beds where. Rat took the separate bed. He had a hatred for bunk beds after being in so many foster homes.
Shion looked over at him. He frowned at the bandages. “Please, don’t ask.” Rat said in a husky tone. Shion's eyes flew up to his face. “I helped someone in need, that's all you need to know.” The pale boy shifted in his seat.
“If you're in trouble…” the offer died on his lips as Rat rolled over. Shion got up to leave him to sleep.
“Don't leave, Shion. Not yet.” He begged. Shion sat on the edge of the bed. He didn’t know what to say to this boy. Everything was so different. After a few moments of awkward silence, Shion jumped up with a gasp. Rat rolled to look at him. The boy had disappeared in the stacks.
Rat sat up. “Shion?” he called. The white head reappeared, a bright smile on his face. Rat looked at him uncertainly. Shion held a book to his chest. Rat tossed his head back, barking out a laugh.
“We're not five!” he grinned at the boy.
“It always made you feel better.” Shion sat back on the bed, opening to the first page. Rat turned, laying his head in Shion ‘s lap so he could see the pictures. He had memorized this book long ago. Shion's voice pulled him to sleep as he read the story of the hungry caterpillar.  Rat loved the book so much because in the end, you could turn into something beautiful.
Rat had a dream. The voice over him turned from Shion’s contented reading to something dark.
“You are not worth this.!” It shouted. “I deserved better.” The rage flinging the words at his huddled form. “I wished it had been you!” The pain erupted along his cheek. When the sound of the slap was heard, there was a gasp. The woman ran away crying.
A field of flowers grew around the startled Rat. Purple flowers that filled his heart with joy. The sight of them always brought a smile to his face. Lovingly he ran his hand over them.
“You don’t deserve this. You don’t deserve him.” A deeper darker voice said. “He will die without you.” Black rain began to fall. The boy twisted around to get out of it.
“Shion!” He screamed sitting upright. Hands grabbed his shoulders.
“I’m here.” A soft voice said. Something fuzzy touched his bare back. He was pulled into a tight embrace. He gasped for air as he clung to the arms around him.
“I’m here.” The boy whispered again, pressing his face into Rat’s shoulder. Rat closed his eyes. He curled his fingers around the thin wrists.
“Don’t leave.” He begged holding tightly to the hands.
“I won’t, I promise.” Shion rocked him gently. The next time Rat woke, the room was dark. There was a thin line of light that circled the celling. Rat looked up to see a set of purple rope lights.  He looked around.
Shion was asleep on the lower bunk of the bunk beds. There was a sandwich, chips and a drink on the table beside Rat’s bed. Had he slept all day? He moved to reach for the food.
“He worries about you.” Rat flinched back. He hadn’t seen the girl in the corner. Safu stood leaning against the far wall.
“He didn’t answer when I called tonight. I thought you might have done something to him. I snuck out to check.” She informed him. Rat picked up the sandwich, his eyes falling to the sleeping boy.
“More like he’s done something to me.” He ate the food not bothering to watch the girl. He looked over at her when he was done.
“How long have you known him?” he asked. Safu stepped into the room. She sat in a chair as far away from Rat as she could.
“A little over three years. My parents died and I came to live with my grandmother. She loves the bakery. We came every day.” She looked at Shion. “He would often hide in the kitchen when people came. I saw him one day and followed. Every time I came after that I made sure to find him and talk to him.” She leaned forward to cover Shion’s shoulder up.
“For a long time, it was just me talking to him. I didn’t have any other friends. I was sure he didn’t either. Finally, after months, he spoke to me.” She gave a tiny smile. “His first words to me where ‘That’s a pretty sweater.’ I never forgot them because everyone in school picked on my about the sweaters my grandmother made for me.” Her eye narrowed at Rat. The teen knew he had been one that had picked on her.
“What was he like when you knew him?” she asked. Rat leaned his back against the wall.
“Weird.” He said with a smirk. “He could get lost in his own back yard.” A smile touched his lips. “He would find a bug, or leaf something that caught his attention. It would draw him away. There were many times, I had to run after him, make sure he didn’t get hurt.” His hand fell to the bed, a mere inch from the boy. “He always was so full of life though.” He tilted his head to watch the boy sleep. “A smile on his face, a question in his mind. He would talk for hours about useless things. Sometimes it was hard to get him to shut up.” Rat chuckled to himself. Then his eyes went to the girl.
“When I saw him last week…” he shook his head. “It was hard for me to put them together. He looked different. I kept telling myself that it couldn’t be him. That they just had the same name.” Rat tilted his head back to look up at the lights. The tears stinging his eyes. “Then I saw that smile….” A smirk touched his lips. He looked back at her.
“I don’t know why he doesn’t talk like he used to. But I swear, no one will ever hurt him again.” The venom in his tone had the girl backing up. The chair squeaked across the wood floor as her head hit the wall.
“Rat?” Shion rolled over. He looked at the boy. Then to where the girl sat rubbing her head.
“Oh, Safu!” he cried hurrying to sit up. “Is it after eight?” he asked. She looked at him with a blank expression.
“It’s close to ten.” She said. Her eyes narrowed at Rat. “I see you’re busy. I will call you tomorrow.” With that she hurried out. Shion’s demon red eyes fell to him.
“Are you ok? Do you need anything? I brought you up food.” Rat chuckled.
“I ate it. Thanks.” He went to push himself off of the bed. Dizziness buzzed in his head. “I should go home.”
Shion’s thin hands pressed him back to bed. “No. Mom already called the Thomas’ said you were staying here.” He gave him a smile. “You need to heal a bit.” He held out the water. Rat took it.
Shion showed him where the bathroom was. He then found some clothes for the other to wear. Rat asked him to lay on the bed with him. They looked up at the celling, talking into the night.