Chlorine Halos

Terms & Conditions

Underneath the Somorrah night sky, the radiant resplendence, emitting from the hailer, scattered into the darkness as my curiosity skipped back to Blue's suggestion.

"The Butcher?" I asked, catching a stumbling Maestro. "Who's The Butcher?"

A set of high-beams pierced the fog, which rolled over the cobblestone bridge we stood upon. The squeaking brakes echoed in the stillness as a white, nearly windowless van stopped a few feet short of us. On the side, a gold decal read, "Ballast Craftsman".

"I really hopes they haves candy," Maestro slurred.

"You boys need a lift?" Nelson called, leaning out the the driver's side. Blocking most of the light with a raised hand, my eyes met Harriet's, who sat in the passenger's seat, grinning widely and waving emphatically. 

"Now, now, now, there's a man with excellent timing," Blue said, pointing at him with the dowel, attached to Eighty's strata. "Excellent. Just excellent."

"How ya doin', Blue? Long time," Nelson replied as he climbed out of the van and slid open the side door. 

"I'm fantastic. Fantastic. Top of the grid," he proclaimed, hopping inside the emptied space behind the front seats. "So, so, so glad to be back with friends. Friends. Friends who are family."

Chuckling, Nelson patted his back, then helped me hoist Maestro, still struggling with the concept of walking. "And how 'bout choo, sonny? I don't think ya've ever come back from one of your adventures looking so... unharmed."

"Yeah, I'm really sorry I just took off like that," I said, stepping on the sheet of plywood, laying on the floor of the van. "It wasn't exactly something planned. Well, I guess it was, but it wasn't at the same time." I sighed, shaking my head. "Sorry. I know that probably didn't make any sense."

"Do ya really think this is the first time ya've scampered off?" he replied, rubbing my shoulder. "Me and Mama Harri—we've always been here for ya. We always will be. 'Cause we know you're out there doin' what we can't. Ya make us so proud, sonny. Ya do really scare us from time to time, but ya always come home. This is your home. And I pray for the day when ya don't have to leave it. I pray for the day when you can live the life you have—without a doubt—earned."

After Nelson slid the door shut, Harriet twisted around in her seat and planted a wet kiss on my cheek. "Welcome back, boo. We missed ya."

"How long was I gone?" I asked.

Nelson scooted back behind the steering wheel. "Ya pulled a magic man about five days ago. Why? Are ya finally feeling that thing the rest of us call 'jet lag'?"

"No, it's nothing like that," I replied with a light laugh. "It's just that time has become something so confusing to me."

"That's also not a first," he said, raising his eyebrows as he looked at me in the rearview mirror. "Ya've had some wild theories about time; They all go over our heads, but we're used to that."

"Our li'l boy genius," Harriet added. "Always bright, always sharp. Thank heavens, we had Noah."

I steadied Maestro as we rolled over a bump. "Who's Noah?"

"Teacher uh yours," Nelson explained. "Only person I know, smarter than you. He used to work at the school here. When he wasn't in the classroom, he was out on the field, coachin' the football team. Real good friends with your daddy."

"Hey, can we stops for some munchitty-munch?" Maestro mumbled.

Harriet leaned toward her husband. "We should really take him to Daniel."

"That's what I was thinkin'," Nelson replied. "I'll drop ya off at the house and take him on over."

"Daniel?" I asked.