A Dream...
Last night my sister and I traveled to a dilapidated house, the skeleton of a home that we lived in as children. Our brother was absent because he chose to leave this world almost two years ago. Mom was absent because she's chosen to be...absent.
My sister and I walked through the front door, determined to find fragments of our childhood. There was an eery stillness in the house, but there was almost a tangible energy or presence following us in each room and hallway.
We explored together. In every room we entered, she found boxes of her old toys and sketchbooks covered in dust. We found my sister's and brother's treasures tucked into cabinets, rickety old drawers, and closets. With every toy and book she found, I fell deeper and deeper into the sad realization that all my childhood belongings were gone. An overwhelming sense of grief and pain swept over me.
We had backpacks. My sister filled up bag after bag with her tattered stuffed animals, books, and sketchbooks. I carried a few bags as well, filling them with our brother's old Transformers, G.I. Joe, and He-Man action figures. My backpack was empty, no matter how many rooms and boxes we found.
We'd gone through almost the entire house. As we were about to leave, we noticed a door leading to a room that we had never seen before. We knew we were dreaming, and we knew weird things happen in dreams, but this still puzzled us. We looked at each other and silently agreed to explore this room that didn't belong here.
We opened the door and walked in. There was a daybed against the back wall and a long dresser on the opposite wall, supporting an old television and Nintendo console. Our brother was sitting on the edge of the daybed with a controller in his hand, playing Castlevania. He looked up when we walked in and nodded at us, smiling briefly before turning his attention back to the game.
My sister and I were stunned – he shouldn't be here. What was he doing here? After a few minutes, he shut the game off and turned his attention back to us.
“What took you so long?” he asked. Before either one of us could answer, he chuckled as if he knew something we didn't, and then subtly nodded his head towards the door at the back of his room. “It's all there,” he said, as he got up to lead the way.
...