Who We Become (Power Rangers Ninja Steel)

Chapter 28- Noted Discoveries

(March 21, 2011)

The solitary light bulb above Levi did nothing but throw shadows around the attic. Boxes, totes, and random objects filled the small space at a claustrophobic level.

"This seems like a lot of extra stuff."

"Well, living fifteen years in one place can lead to a lot of accumulation." Erin moved a tote causing dust to fly. "Which is why it's time to start purging."

"It probably should be cleaned sooner than every fifteen years."

Erin laughed ruefully. "You're not wrong. You offering?"

"Not willingly."

"Understandable."

"Why are we cleaning now?" Levi poked at a nearby box, grimacing when his finger came away gray from dust.

"Because it needs it. And since you're on spring break we have extra time to work on it." Laughing at Levi's expression, Erin nudged his side. "Oh come on, it's not that bad."

"I don't know. This is almost as bad as some of the condemned buildings I lived in." Erin's face spasmed. Levi looked away. "Sorry, Mom."

"You don't have to be sorry." A hand rested on Levi's shoulder, squeezing gently. "I'm just sorry you have had to go through all that you did."

Unsure how to respond, Levi shrugged. With one last squeeze Erin dropped her hand and turned to look at the mountains in front her. "I admit there is no organizational system here. So if you could open boxes to tell me what's in them I can determine if it's a keep or toss box."

"Alright." Grateful to move on to a different topic, Levi opened the nearest tote. "Christmas decorations."

"I'll have to go through those more thoroughly but for now we'll keep the whole box. Let's put the 'to keep' stuff on the right side."

Slowly two distinct piles began to emerge in the cluttered space. An inadvertent break came when Erin found a box of old scrapbooks from her childhood. They'd gone through one, Levi teasing about various hairstyles he saw in the pages.

"That was all the range when I was younger." Erin protested and closed the book. "Come on, we can go through these other ones later." The scrapbooks joined the keep stack.

Letting the break linger a few seconds more, Levi poked his way to the back of the attic. His eye caught on an oblong shape half hidden in shadows. "What's that?"

"What?" Erin looked over as Levi pulled the case into the open. "Oh, that's Rick's old guitar. I forgot that was up here."

"He plays?"

"Years ago- back in our college days. I don't think it's seen the light of day in over a decade."

"Huh." Levi opened the case. It was a beautiful cream color with deep brown pegs and accents along the neck. A surge of longing for the old days rose up again in him. He hadn't been this close to a guitar since before Dane went missing. Who knew what had happened to Dane's guitar, or any of the possessions Levi had been forced to leave behind for that matter. He only hoped it was still in use, wherever it may be. Gently twanging the strings, he winced at the sound. None of the strings resembled what what their notes should be. His scalp prickled beneath the weight of Erin's eyes.

"Do you play?"

A lump rose in Levi's throat. "I knew just the basics. Dad- dad was teaching me. He played a lot. Though not as much after mom died." Levi shut the case, and started to move it to the keep pile.