TIFITY

Hello?

I had to get caught in the most inopportune moment. I had just come back from Tifity with the notebook in my hands, feeling proud of how things were turning out. I was walking back to my room as silently as I could when I saw my so-called brother at the end of the corridor. I didn't move a muscle hoping that he wouldn't see me, although I knew he already had. He smiled diabolically and looked straight at my parent's bedroom. "Please don't do it", I begged him in my knees. His intentions were obvious: he was about to wake my father up and tell him I was in the corridor in the middle of the night. I would have to pay insanely if he sneaked up on me. I knew my dad would ask about my magical notebook, and probably would rip its pages off as a punishment, before actually punishing me physically for being out of my room at two in the morning. For my surprise, my dear brother said: "You'll have to do me a favour for me not to tell him".

I had done him a lot of favours before and that's exactly why I was so scared of asking. But I did it anyway. "I want you to give me all the money you have", he answered. He was aware of the little box I had hidden behind my bed. I used it as a piggy bank, that's where I would save every single cent I earned by working during the previous summer. I was saving it to help mum pay for her medicines. I was sure about him asking for the money to spend it on drugs. That was the only thing he spent time on, doing drugs instead of acting maturely and looking for a job to help pay the bills. 

I could not let him use that money for that, so I took all the courage and said: "no". He looked at me incredulously. "Are you sure?", he asked with a threatening tone of voice. I nodded, knowing that he would go straight to my parents' room and tell my father I had been wandering in the middle of the night. Or which is worse, he could go to the backyard and destroy the door to Tifity. None of these happened. By the time I realized, he had slapped me on the face so hard that I had fallen to the floor. "My revenge will be epic, you'll see". I thought he would keep hitting me, but he just stopped and left as if nothing had happened. My breathing was still so intense even after he had left and I swear I was extremely surprised by him not sneaking on me. I could not believe I was emerging victorious of the situation.

*****

I woke up to the phone ringing the next morning. It was Friday, which meant I was alone at home, so I made the effort to wake up and take the phone. I was so exhausted that I barely could move, but once I reached the phone I went: "Hello?". What happened next, left me absolutely speechless. "It's Evangeline's mum talking". It had been two months since I heard about Evangeline, so hearing that, was the best surprise. "I'm calling you because the psychiatrist has given Evangeline permission to talk with a friend, and she wanted it to be you". All of a sudden, my exhaustion disappeared completely. I was so excited to talk to my dear Ev again after such a long time. "Hello? Al?" was the first thing she said after her mum gave her the phone. "You don't even know how glad I am to hear your voice again", I answered.

She described the psychiatric to me and said it was not as horrible as she thought in the beginning.  She explained they spent the day painting, making thread bracelets or sewing plushies. "I've sewed a heart for you. I like to call it the rainbow heart because it's made of differently coloured fabric pieces.", she said. That made me blush instantly. "I love you endlessly Ev" was the only thing my brain could think about during the two hours we spent talking. To be honest, she was the one talking most of the time, as all I did was silently thank the universe for her being alive. I had missed her insanely much, and it was hard for me to believe she had somehow come back. It was obvious enough that I would not get to see her that soon, but it seemed she was getting better and that was all that mattered. I was just hoping I'd meet her soon enough. It felt like an eternity since the last time I saw my family friend, and I seriously couldn't wait to see her again. I imagined myself running into her in one more month or so, and hugging her as tightly as I could. I was not planning to tell Evangeline about Tifity, so it would be a surprise whenever she came back. I thought of taking her there the very first day I would get to see her. 

I was lost in my imagination when all of a sudden she asked me: "It has been so long since we last talked, how are you, Al?". That question caught me by surprise. I had no clue about what I should respond, but I knew that if I told her the truth, she'd feel pitiful on me and that's the last thing I wanted. "I'm okay, besides the fact that you're not here", I answered with the aim of not worrying her. "You are the sweetest", she continued. What I said was partially true, except for the "okay" part. I have to admit that making Tifity kept me busy enough to distract me from thinking and recalling what my father and brother kept doing. They had not stopped beating me nor my mother up, but they kind of slowed down, I must say. My situation wasn't the best and although it would have been the best for me to go to the psychiatric or get some help at least, I kept my mouth shut. For some odd reason, I decided to deal with everything all alone. But this is not about me, is it?

After two hours passed I heard Evangeline's mum say "dear, it's time to end the call". "I'm sorry Al, it's time for me to go, but I promise you we'll see each other sooner than you think. I love you Sulli", she said. "It was the best thing that I got to hear your voice again after so long. I cannot wait to see you Boo. I love you endlessly, please don't forget." I responded right before the call got cut. I had no other chance but to wait for her to get out of that place and keep making our universe. Keep making our safe place.