o1.
xxx
"goodness, Addie! What've you done to the place?"
I was stirred by the fulminating tone of Sarah, Halle's mother, her obnoxious heels stabbing the poor wood beneath her as she censured her daughter. I shakily peeped out the window, not fully aware that I'd nearly slept half the day away. The sun was squatting over the skyline illuminating a path for the jubilantly crooning birds as they sailed aloft heading north of the parting winter. From their enraptured ditty and the sweet, gently waltzing draft that snuck through a few crevices in the window did I capture the realization that spring had finally sprung. A contented grin tugged at my lips and I stuffed my fingers into my left pocket, retrieving the berries I'd smuggled for the occasion.
As soon as the first drupelet fell into my mouth, Sarah'd begun maundering on about how banal and dreary Halle's bedecking skills were, the grimace of distaste that I'd fancied to be blemishing her countenance made evident in her speech. Halle — or Addie, a title her mother had taken a liking to calling her — retorted saying she thought her home's décor was quite alright and enchanting however, and everyone else thought likewise. Addie then justified further that there hadn't been a sole problem with her deep beige woodwork and ivory upholstered furniture to deem. Sarah cackled, evidently amused by her daughter's delusions. She told her that she'd only been in denial, that she merely refused to accept the unfavorable truth that she was a horrible interior decorator. Sarah's raillery caused me to laugh a bit to myself, her goofy guffawing all too intolerable for my weak stomach. I'd have nearly vomited whatever little remnants dwelled in my gut had I laughed any harder than my emasculated being allowed. I swiveled my head at her puerility, now bested by my frailty, and listened on as Halle expertly evaded any other slanderous remarks that might've been swarming her mother's lips.
Just as I burrowed into their quarrel regarding Halle's displeasing employment selection, the aural of Sarah's tall pumps and Halle's naked feet thudding against the timber toward the farther side of the house found way to my ears.
I shut my eyes and availed myself of the moment of coveted silence to recollect the ephemeral times back on Xenon:
A younger, doe-eyed aspect and I would scuttle about Abuela's home having the ever profuse balm of metal whiffing up our little noses. Defying Mother's wishes to symbolize a respectable King, Father would trot — or lag, considering his age — behind the obscured vessel [ whom I own only a vague distinction of ] and I, his arms outstretched and prepared to grapple either of us by our person, tickling us until our stomachs felt queasy [ I remember always being the first to be tackled, for the bleary soul had been much swifter on her feet than I ]. Abuela and Mother would watch with dissimilar countenances; Mother's, berating but her lips — as best they could — resisted her scowl and curled into a minuscule smile. Reluctant, but present still. On the contrary, Abuela's visage held an effulgent, intended grin, her chest heaving with gleeful laughs chucking through her lips.
The days generally contained Mother and Father parading my younger likeness and me before a throng of raucous people, their screams and hollers vehement and rather odious, much to my younger disliking. We'd always have these itchy circlets mounted upon our heads, their monetary worth made apparent through their immense weight. Etched into each of our crowns was a symbol; a cursive "x" with a single line swimming along its upper left stem. As I'd overlooked the all too familiar faces below me I'd acquired a tad of mediocre knowledge of my inhabitance; every Xenon native was cloaked in ice blue rags, each of their eyes imparting divergent tinctures of a soft azure, dainty emerald — much like my own — or piercing grey-white — in much semblance to my Abuela's. My creators' irises oddly harbored a fusion of the three pigments, offering a deep teal.
When twilight would taint the sky and the luminous stars flickered, I can muse over the moments in my Abuela's arms, her argent eyes echoing the luster of the pale moon. She'd narrate absurd tales of Earth's abnormalities despite her not having been there to witness the supposed derangement a day in her life.
"Someday you'll see, my child," she'd say, entwining her venous fingertips with a thick heap of my dark ringlets. "You'll surmount the anarchy, my Tev, and show those humans their ideal paragon." The last remark she'd always sneer with a ring of enmity boring her voice.
In my ignorance had I clutched her face and, as if she'd already had a notion of my intentions she knelt her face to mine and permitted my lips to sully her rumpled, burnished olive profile in slobbery kisses. The enactment ironically exemplified my youthful gratitude; I'd unknowingly praised her for having such gratifying foreknowledge.
x
To my incognizance, there'd been a wearing noise disquieting my solitude. I glared to the left of me out the sun-drenched window only to be maliciously greeted by a snarling Maltese. Although her pouty moue and malign swatting proved she'd owned an ounce of defense in her being, I hadn't been fazed — exceedingly amused, if anything — in the least for in her tiny stature, she could merely fit into the palm of my hand. Moreover, I knew as an intrepid puppy she'd only desired to play.
"Come on, A.j," Audrey's familiar tongue summoned.
Ever resolute, A.j remained before the glass, eyeing me expectantly whilst yelping so fervidly her entirety leapt.
An inkling granted me the admonition that by reason of A.j's pertinacity Audrey would be following suit in curiosity, so I'd better hide. In view of the case's futility I thought it hollow to try and find a place to obscure myself. I'd simply lay low and hope to not be seen.
"What'd you find over here, girl?" Audrey's small voice traveled fairly swifter than he as his footsteps were heavy in number.
In response A.j bayed, her head bucking as she did such.
When the lad had at last arrived I'd bowed a tad nearer toward the ground, virtually kissing the grime that bided there. The delightful solar glow had been obstructed by Audrey's massive head and the cellar grew gravely somber. I could practically feel his large, chestnut eyes boring into the seams of my loose, dingy sweater and solemnly hoped that he'd make the conjecture of the psychedelic design being that of an old pillow or couch cushion. His small fingers rapped an uneven beat against the glass before light soon flourished back into the dwelling. He stalked away, A.j almost reluctantly trailing behind.
I sighed lowly and felt the thick knots thrown violently over my head while brushing my hardly moist tongue along my lips.
Just above me, Halle bid her mother a farewell, impetuous but still calm as she insisted on prolonging her stay with a reminder to which Halle exasperatedly responded, "alright, mom", before shutting the aparture and sighing. Her feet shuffled a bit until I heard a soft thud; I assume she'd taken a seat on the couch. I hadn't heard much more for a long while, so I watched little Audrey and A.j scamper along the backyard. I thought it funny how alike the two were; or at least wanted to be. Anything Audrey'd do, A.j'd try her best to; it was a delightful sight.
Fatigued from running, Audrey knelt on his knees and picked at the grass while A.j insisted on dashing about a little more. This pestered Audrey.
"Calm down, A.j," he'd say whenever she leapt on him and whipped her paws all over his face.
"Hey, little man!" his all too familiar voice taunted my ears.
Audrey looked up at the taller, fair-faced man innocently and simply greeted, "hey, Sydney."
Just hearing the brute's name made me cringe and an uneasiness bided my frail innards. I watched as he put his hand to Audrey's face and whispered something, a look of edginess blemishing his unnervingly charming countenance. Audrey maleably nodded and shrunk in discomfort when Sydney attempted to dishevel what little hair lived on his head.
"Sydney?"
I hadn't even noticed that Halle'd left the living room until I witnessed her small physique standing right in front of Sydney. My heart nearly leapt right out of my chest when I saw her, she'd changed so much since the last I'd seen her. Her long ocean of curls no longer swam down her back, now it set just above her shoulders resembling golden bed springs and somehow hugged her neck like a lion's mane. She appeared a bit taller but drastically thinner. My stomach ached at the very inkling of Halle having starved herself on account of her consuming boyfriend's mistreatment.
She screeched and flung her arms around his uncomfortably broad shoulders, nearly tearing the lips right from his face with her own, her offspring's very subsistence vague to her cognition. His haivng witnessed such sensuality appearing more casual at that very moment than ever. I sighed for the umpteenth time today and saw how quickly Sydney portrayed a far too exaggerated smile, only occasionally eyeing Audrey as he spoke to Halle.
"He's getting bigger," Sydney noticed, reaching his arm toward Audrey. Audrey shrank a little more and tried as best he could to stifle his grin, only simpering lowly at the mention of his growth. "Little guy's growing up on me." Halle regarded her son briefly, offering him an encouraging smile, raving, "sure is! My baby'll be starting kindergarden pretty soon." Sydney cocked his eyebrow and gave Audrey a faux unbelieving glance, clutching his heart overemotionally. "Is that so?"
Audrey nodded meekly, a soft pink rose blossoming upon his cheeks. He momentarily stared at Sydney, then he diverted his eyes to Halle, then back to the ground. For a few seconds, there'd been no conversation only mere glances and awkward sighs until A.j'd returned from where ever she'd gone to hide. She vaulted into Audrey's lap and covered his face in excessive, sickly sweet kisses. This made him cringe and swat at her cloy sentimentality. "A.j," he whined.
Sydney whispered something into Halle's ear before pecking her temple and lightly clutching her backside. He gave Audrey a long-fingered wave and sauntered away from the two of them, his gait oh so pretentious and swarming with far too much self-importance.
Once Sydney was out of sight and not so much out mind, Halle's next utterance left my stomach in knots and an imaginary set of hands had seemingly grabbed hold of my throat and held on for dear life, I could hardly breathe. All of the blood in my body seemed to have flourished to my cheeks as they stung and my fingers dripped a foreign substance that I had no idea I still had the aptitude of producing as they gradually began to tremble.
"I'm going to need you to help me move some things out of the basement. We'll be having a yardsale tomorrow."
xxx
more coming soon c:
halle's to the side ➳