[The Second Glimpse | Smoke and Mirrors]
"I'm starting to cave,
I'm losing my flame;
I wanted your truth,
but I wanted the pain to disappear.
Dream maker, life taker;
Open up my mind.
"All I believe, is it a dream;
that comes crashing down on me?
All that I hope, is it just smoke and mirrors? (I want to believe)
But all that I hope, is it just smoke and mirrors?"
- "Smoke and Mirrors" by Imagine Dragons
x + x
He doesn't understand.
He can't fathom why they're so damn happy, and he's just here, listening when all he wants to do is move away, possibly take another walk along the shoreline.
The boy sighs in frustration, watching his younger sister ask her nonsensical questions about the equally nonsensical tale their mother tells. She turns an inquisitive look upon him shortly after, her head inclined in his direction as a smile takes hold of her lips.
"What is it, my little hero?"
He scowls, averting his gaze. "It's nothing."
"It's not nothing when it makes you all grumpy like that," his sibling giggles, and his frown deepens as he glares at her. It only serves to fuel more of her amusement.
"It's still none of your damn business." He repeats firmly, crossing his arms across his torso. It's not long before he feels his mother's hand ruffling his hair, and he lets out an untimely yelp, covering it up with another annoyed scowl. "What the hell was that for--"
"Now, now, Hiro-nii," again his sister grins her abominable smile. "No cursing, remember?"
If only he can make her stop with her aggravating, sing-song voice. Unfortunately, he knows that he can't - stupid parents favoring her over him, their eldest...
Before he can even snap back one of his famously witty - read: foul-mouthed - retorts, their mother cuts in with one of her dangerous smiles. This time, it is one which is simply meant to express, "If you don't stop your bickering, you won't get out of another lecture still fully sane." (And yes, he had developed the skill to interpret the meanings behind the woman's different smiles. It proved to be a particularly handy technique if he wanted to escape possible death-by-sermon. True to a fault, their mother's lectures were superbly long-winded. Also with the usage of profane speech whenever she was on the edge of anger.)
He swallows thickly instead, casting a brief glance toward his sister, who, thankfully, had the tact to turn pale and look elsewhere for the time being. After a beat of uncomfortable silence, the woman claps her hands briefly, apparently having managed to pass on her hidden meaning to her children.
"Well - shall I continue with Lilith's tale?"
'Hiro' frowns once again. "Why do we have to listen to this? It's nothing but pure fiction!"
"'In my youth I was taught that at the heart of every story is a grain of truth.'" The younger of the two siblings recites, looking much too pleased with herself after managing to say her piece seemingly successfully. "Isn't that what you keep telling us before every story, Mom?"
She nods, satisfied. "It's a quote from a book I was rather fond of a long time ago - 'The Sorceress' by Michael Scott." She smiles, turning towards her rebellious son.
"Not every tale is made up of lies, Hiro. Sometimes" - and here he could almost swear he sees a vast amount of sorrow in his mother's eyes... but that can't have been real, can it? - "there's the tiniest bit of truth; so small it's almost unseen, but it's there, all the same. It's what gives a sense of life, of beauty to an otherwise nonliving thing."
-To be continued.
[Originally written February 2nd, 2016. Edited December 29th-30th, 2016. Word Count: 635.]