King of Shadows: Of Blood and Tears

Chapter 9: Dwarven Friends I

The inhabitants of Shadow Grove were blessed with the sight of the luminescent orange and purple leaves floating gently on a cool Fall day. The trees' leaves were still clinging to their summer greens, but a good majority had already transitioned into their vibrant fall colors. Even more Halloween decorations were finding their way into people's yards, and the air in the sky getting cooler by the second. Some days Maximus thought he could actually smell the close approaching snow lingering, then thought of a line from one of his favorite books of all time.

It was Sunday, September 17, 2022, and Maximus was content with what has been happening. "Have no choice but to go along with it, so why fight it?" He would ask rhetorically, full well knowing that nobody's answer would justify any of the means.

The young boy would sit at his desk every day since he had seen those images, which would be at least a week, give or take. Unraveling the images and memories he had seen in a third journal. "I gotta stop writing so much." Maximus would say every time he bought a new one, but to his surprise, he would never listen. His pleasures of putting pen to paper was unmatched, a healthy addiction giving him some satisfaction.

His desk was a chaotic mess of old writing journals, almost blocking all the space to write, except for the small cleared spot in the center. The cramped space created by pushing everything haphazardly in all the other directions. It seemed like the perfect fit, describing him all too well.

"Your desk looks like a drunken author trying to get his first book published, with no luck finding the correct manuscript." His dad would joke whenever he came down to see how Max was doing. The last time his dad came down to check on him was before the first dream of Max crashing down on an alien planet. As he observed these memories of people who may or may not have been connected to him, he reflected on his own relationships and the people who had undeniably been a part of his life.

A night or two after Amaris tried contacting him, and how he accidentally contacted whoever Amaris was showing him freaked Max out. His anxiety got to the point of him needing a silent space to just...ponder. He sat for a long while before talking or making any sort of human interaction. He thought about his favorite memory of his dad and questioned if his dad even remembered it. Probably not. He was drunk. Max thought.

It was the fourth of July, and Maximus was about eleven or twelve years of age, and they had a bunch of family from his dad's side come over every year to do fireworks. His dad was full Puerto Rican, and his side of the family was Maximus's favorite. They were loud, and a blast to be around. Even the shy boy from Shadow Grove let loose a little bit when they were around. They didn't judge Maximus, nor did they show any signs of resentment like his Mom.

As dusk set in, Maximus's dad guided him towards his bedroom, and he surveyed the scene; the writing journals and sketches were scattered around, and he gazed into his son's wide, youthful eyes.

"I'm proud of you, son. You may not understand it yet, hell for I know if you will ever understand it, but blood or not, you are my son, and I will never stop treating you and loving you as such." Miguel paused, took another sip of his Corona, and looked down at the young boy that was standing before him. Max listened intently, trying to make out each word, though some were slurred; the words he heard meant so much to him that he never forgot them. "I will get better, I will stop drinking, and I will make you as proud as I am of you. Got that? I dont know if you'll remember this...I mean you're young, and I'm rambling, But I will do this." Miguel looked away from Max, and looked on towards his journal.

"I bet you will make an incredible author someday. The way you already make certain words connect and fly past my head, and I dont know if you noticed, but I am much older than you." His dad smiled, his stomach rumbling as he laughed. "I will always protect you from your nightmares. I love you son, goodnight."