Kapitel 26: Blue Sky
"I see nothing has changed since we last visited."
Stepping into our apartment, I heard Vicky's say as she gave my mother a hug.
"I don't know if you are praising us, or complaining."
Separating, the two women gave each other a complicated smile before swiftly moving away from that topic.
"So? Where do you want us to put the furniture?"
Directing her gaze towards me, I led the two adults into our room and drew out in the air where Oliver and I had agreed to place our things.
"The bed needs to shift, my one will be against the wall with Oliver's one next to it. The table goes there, and we can put the two chairs next to each other."
Nodding her head at my words, Vicky glanced at the room before smiling at me.
"Alright! Then I'll tell the two muscle men outside where to put things. But first, we should probably remove the old table. Where do you want to store it?"
Looking at my old table, I could feel a small bubble of resistance rise up. I walked over to it and ran my hand on its smooth to touch surface. This table was special. It was the only one of its kind. Letting my finger dip into one of its countless pits, I paused.
It was at this very table where I suffered countless defeats against Leo. The two of us would always put our sandboxes on it, wielding our sticks like wands and transporting ourselves into a brutal battlefield where the winners and losers would be decided from the first move. Sweeping my finger near my face, I could see the old sand stuck to it, and couldn't help remembering those golden days.
But now, as I looked at the old rotting wood, I was suddenly aware of how long Leo had been gone. It felt like our last game was only yesterday.
"...Throw it away."
Tearing my eyes away from the table, I walked out of the room under their surprised gazes. Oliver was going to join our family, and it would be too much to expect him to understand the sentimental reason for keeping a non-functional piece of decaying tree stump.
"Are you sure?"
Hearing my mother's voice calling out at me from behind me, I felt a warm hand touch my shoulder. The warmth seemed to burn through my thin clothes and deep into my heart. It hurt. But at the same time it was like a warm plaster, covering the old wound that had just been dug open.
"....Yeah."
Feeling the hand disappear, my mother lowered her voice to discuss the details with Vicky. Exiting our room, I saw Sky and Jasper standing next to each other, before heading into the kitchen.
Walking up to shelves, I grabbed a childish painted cup and poured myself a cup of water.
Sipping from it, I leaned on the window sill and gazed out at the back of the apartment building.
Today was a rest day, so school was out. Just by sticking my head out of the window, I spotted at least five families walking about. Some of them clearly had an objective, their feet carrying them forward towards their goal as they smiled at each other. Others were just wandering around. They stopped here and there, enjoying the view, basking in the sun, making the most out of their lives.
Peering down, I saw Dara slowly limping across the back alleyways behind the apartment. As she walked past, people would raise their hands to greet her. Then after she waved back to them, she would continue making her way across the alleyway. That direction led to the crosswalk between Middle street and Bottom street. It also led to the old cemetery.
Watching as her curved back disappeared from view, shifted my gaze onto the brighter and more cheerful road that led to Middle Middle Market.
On that road, there just so happened to be a small family of four passing by. Three adults stood next to each other. The one in the middle was holding a small child, while the two beside her were arguing with each other through glares. However, as the woman in the middle grew noticeably more irritated by them, the two quickly avoided her murderous gaze. One of them took the child away from her arms with a weary smile, while the other reached over to placate her.
Met with such a hilarious but wholesome sight, I couldn't help the smile that crept onto my face.
"What a loving family."
Hearing a low and airy voice from above me, I tilted my head up to see a pair of familiar lazy eyes..
Moving those pools of still water towards me, Sky gave a goofy smile unbefitting of her face and placed one hand on my head.
"I heard that you finally let go of that table."
Smiling at me, Sky ruffled my hair before gently helping me comb it back in order. Her touch was cool and gentle, and I couldn't help closing my eyes to enjoy the feeling. The two of us stood there, enjoying each other's presence, before she broke the silence with a low mutter.
"I'm envious."
Returning her gaze back to the warm family, Sky sighed before turning her back on the window.
"Sky."
Calling out to her, I saw her pause in her steps and turn back towards me. Those clear blue eyes were overrun with grief, but even then they were still gentle and cooling. Like a deep deep salted lake where you couldn't see the bottom.
"...Thank you."
I grinned at her, stretching out my hand to slip it into hers as we both walked back to the living room. Sky remained silent for the majority of the walk. But, as we reached the doorway, I felt her stop.
"You say thanks, but I don't think I did a very good job."
Squeezing my hand, Sky's voice sounded like soft and fluffy dark gray clouds. Although they were almost overflowing with rain, they felt comfortable to touch. Almost like a soft wool blanket.
"I think you did a great job."
Arguing back with a testing voice, I could hear a low chuckle coming from above me before Sky let go of my hand and pushed me back to the living room.
"Go. The moving should be almost done."
Taking a step back into the living room, the previous empty and still air was blown away by the ridiculous scene in front of me. Vicky was gripping onto one end of the bed, face so red blood could drip from them, as she tried in vain to move the bed. Veins bursting on her arm, I heard her take a deep breath and haul her side of the bed up. Then, with all the strength left in her tiny body, she took one heavy step towards our room before stopping to rest.
"Vicky, maybe you should wait until Sky comes back?"
My mother's concerned voice sounded from within the room, and I saw Jasper nod his head as he glanced at Vicky with weary eyes.
"No. I'm. Fine."
Huffing and puffing, Vicky somehow managed to move the bed one more step into the room.
"That's dangerous."
Reaching a hand over, Sky easily lifted the side of the bed that Vicky struggled with, and used her legs to push her out of the way. Then, without any words, the two of them shifted the bed into the room.
As the two fully disappeared into the room, I shifted my gaze to Vicky.
She had been pushed aside by Sky, and was now sitting dramatically on the floor. With her head hung low, I saw her eyes glisten as a thin layer of moisture appeared on them. Blinking her eyes, I could see that water collect on the sides of her eyes before she sucked them back in.
"I thought I could help."
Muttering to herself, she slowly stood up and dusted the dirt off her clothes. Then, making sure that she was clean, she joined the three adults in the room.
Walking behind her, I saw Sky push Oliver's bed right next to mine. Then, taking a step back to check her work, she nodded her head in satisfaction.
"Hey.'
Going up to Sky, Vicky latched onto the sleeves and looked up at her.
Turning her head, Sky saw her face and immediately placed a hand on her head.
"Thank you. But you shouldn't push yourself."
Rubbing the top of her head, I saw Vicky shoot her hand up to grasp Sky's wrist, her face turning back into a more cheerful smile. She then scrunched up her face playfully at Sky.
Looking at the other two in the room, I saw my mother smile at the scene while Jasper couldn't help but chuckle from the side.
Hearing that sound, Vicky's eyes snapped to Jasper as reached out to drag him next to them.
After a little more noise, the five of us filed out of the room and headed towards the front door.
'Since the furniture has been moved in, we'll get going."
Sharing another hug with my mother, Vicky smiled as she accepted the three bills that my mother passed to her.
"If you have any time, feel free to stop by the furniture shop!"
Waving goodbye to the three of them, we watched their backs disappear down stairs.
Standing at the doorway, I peered at the direction of the stairs for a couple more minutes before locking the door.
After all that noise, the apartment felt a little cold and empty. However, I quickly shook off that feeling and hurried to the kitchen to stare out of the window.
This morning, after I had woken up, I saw my mother sitting in the kitchen drinking her tea. Usually, on rest days, my father would take the time to join her, and the two of them would flirt happily from morning until night.
Seeing my mother alone, I didn't have the heart to ask about my father's whereabouts.
Tilting my head, I watched on quietly as my mother peeled the skin off the vegetables she bought from the market and chopped the stem up into large chunks. Then, dumping them all into the water, she seasoned it with salt before setting the pot on the stove.
Turning around, my mother saw my gaze and responded with a warm smile.
"Are you looking forward to when Oliver comes later?"
Reaching over to pat my head, I closed my eyes as she combed through my hair gently.
"...mm."
Standing in a comfortable silence, I leaned on her arm as we waited while listening to the sound of the water in the pot boiling.
"Hey Mom. "
I started, eyes glancing lightly on the happy families outside the apartment. In contrast to them, the whole apartment felt like another world. As if we were isolated from 'happiness' by a thick screen of glass."
"Yes Dan?"
Using her nails to scratch a particularly itchy spot, I could feel my eyes close again.
"Do you sometimes think that 'things' were different?"
Leaning closer to her heart, I could hear her heartbeat skip a beat at my question. However, it returned to normal as I felt her fingers curl slightly.
"Sometimes. But I still consider our current life pretty fortunate."
Angling my head enough to see her face, I saw my mother look down at me with a bittersweet smile.
"After all, I still have you."
She bent down a little to kiss my forehead before she moved to turn off the stove.
And just as she put down the pot on the counter, I heard the rattle of the key in the direction of our front door and rushed over.
Opening the door from the inside, I swung it open to come face to face with my father's jet black eyes. And despite the tired look on his face, I saw him smile at the sight of me.
"I'm back."
Wöchentlicher Energiestatus
-- Power-
Rangliste 
-- Power-
Stein