Gen One- Chapter Five

My fingers furiously tapped the buttons on my controller. I ignored everything around me besides what was going on on the screen. Sunflower constantly mumbling to herself, Sunset's fidgeting, and Sunset's mom's cries of frustration when she messed up never registered to my consciousness. Unlike most everything in the normal world, being good at video games had come naturally to me. I didn't have to read anything. I didn't have to worry about knowing stuff I was supposed to know. I was given an objective, and I followed it. That was all I required.

I was so entranced by the game that I hadn't noticed Sunset's dad coming over either. I think he watched us for several minutes too. It was only when he spoke that any of us bothered to acknowledge him.

     "Are you four still playing this game? Dawn, I can't believe you're in on this laziness."

Mrs. Glory leaned forward as I passed her on the track.

     "It's fine, Mel," she almost whined to her husband, "It's still hailing! Surely you don't expect me to force them outside in this weather?"

I nearly hurt my fingers as I smacked the buttons so hard.

     "I won again!" I cried merrily as my character finished the last lap.

     "Shoot. So close." Sunflower said.

     "I guess it can't be helped. Meadow's so much better at stuff like this than us." Sunset laughed.

     "I almost had her that time too." Mrs. Glory rolled her eyes.

I heard Mr. Glory sigh, but it was a sigh of mild amusement more than one of annoyance.

     "No, I don't expect you to send them outside. There are so many other activities you could be doing than wasting your time with video games though." he said.

     "Like what?" Mrs. Glory asked tauntingly.

I smiled widely. Sunset had told me her mom was decently older than her dad, but Mrs. Glory often seemed more like one of us.

     "Reading books. I just bought a whole bunch of new ones. Or if you want to be social- tell stories. Ghost stories are a good option with dreary weather like this."

     "Ghost stories?" I said curiously.

My enthusiastic question covered up large exhales from both Sunset and her mom.

     "Don't get him started, Meadow. He's obsessed with ghost stories. He'll make up any excuse to tell one." Sunset explained.

I pouted slightly. Eden had told me all about ghosts after we came across a documentary about them on television. It didn't take long for me to become enthralled with the idea. If Mr. Glory had stories about ghosts, then I was all for them.

     "I want to hear one though." I admitted.

     "Then hear one you shall," Mr. Glory continued eagerly, "I knew you were a girl with good taste."

Sunset and Mrs. Glory rolled their eyes when he rushed out of the room. I was confused as to why he had left. They told me he was getting a flashlight. When he came back, he did so quietly. He moved as if he was trying to sneak in without us noticing. Mr. Glory dimmed the lights ever so slightly, and he held the flashlight under his chin as he began his story after we shifted to sit closer to him.

     "There was an old woman who had no living family. Her only friend was a little white dog who was with her all the time- save for one exception. During the cold winter nights, the dog loved to curl up in front of the fireplace. He would go to lie in front of the warm coals whenever he didn't sleep near the woman. However, most of the time, he did sleep near the woman. She wouldn't allow him on the bed, but she would always make sure he had a warm blanket on him. If she ever became frightened or had a nightmare, she would reach her hand down. Her dog would lick it reassuringly."

Mr. Glory paused dramatically to give us a mischievous smile.

     "One night, the woman was reading the newspaper before she went to bed. She shivered and pulled her comforter closer around her when she read that a mental patient had wandered away from a nearby hospital. It hadn't been said if he was currently dangerous, but he was a suspect in the murders of several women who had lived on their own.

     The woman tried desperately to sleep, but she was so terribly frightened. All she could do was toss and turn fitfully. When she could stand it no longer, she reached her hand down for her dog to comfort her. Sure enough, seconds later she felt a warm, wet tongue lick her hand. The woman let her hand hang over the side of the bed now that she was content. Then she opened her eyes for just a second and glanced out through her open door to see into the living room. In front of the fireplace, gazing into the coals and wagging his tail, was her little white dog. "

Mr. Glory's voice got deeper and quieter.

     "Down beside her bed, something...was still licking her hand."

Sunset's face crinkled into one of disgust.

     "Ew." she cringed.

     "That was passable." Mrs. Glory shrugged.

     "So it was the mental patient licking her hand. That's so creepy." Sunflower added.

I nodded. I figured I was probably missing some of the impact of the story given that I didn't quite understand what a "mental patient" was, but I had gotten the gist of what had happened.

     "That was a scary story and not a ghost story," I noted, "But it was a good one anyway."

     "Oh, that's right. It wasn't a ghost story. My bad. I'll make sure to have a real good one lined up for you next time." Mr. Glory promised before turning the lights back on all the way, "Now, who wants waffles?"

Mrs. Glory had to take her leave then. She was due to pick up Sunset's older brother, Vermillion, from practice. Sunset, Sunflower, and I wandered into the dining room to wait for Mr. Glory to bring out the waffles. He sat down with us while we began to eat.

     "Why are we having waffles for lunch?" Sunset got around to asking.

     "Why not?" Mr. Glory asked with a curious grin.

     "They're a breakfast food."

     "Doesn't breaking the status quo make them taste better?"

     "They taste like normal waffles."

     "I think they are really good. Much better than Eden's cooking." I joined in.

     "Thank you, Meadow. You're a very appreciative young lady," Mr. Glory smiled before winking, "And I'll be sure not to tell your brother that."

     "Perhaps Eden's cooking is just so bad that even normal food tastes amazing." Sunset teased.

I would have been more concerned that Sunset was being a bit too ungrateful if I hadn't learned that her and her dad constantly making jabs at the other was simply their way of bonding. Thus, I was amused when Mr. Glory sighed once more in an exaggerated hurt manner. He was only playing along.

     "So critical this one. Exactly like her mother," he said dramatically, "She still calls my food 'normal' even when I've been so gracious as to step up and help prepare the dance she's been excited about for months."

     "Dance?" I asked curiously.

    "Oh, that's right. You wouldn't know," Sunflower recalled, "In order to inspire more effort during our grade's fundraiser this year, they pitted us girls against the boys. If the boys won, they would have had a mother-son dance. Since the girls raised more money by a whole lot, we're being thrown a father-daughter dance."

     "I still think it was a strange way to go about things. No boy your age would care about dancing with his mother for hours. It is no wonder they didn't try." Mr. Glory mused.

I took another bite of my waffles.   

     "So what do you have to do to prepare for the dance?" I asked Mr. Glory.

     "I'm one of the ones in charge of making sure there's plenty of food to go around. The dance has actually grown a lot from what was originally intended. It was only supposed to be for the one grade, but there was enough interest in it that it was expanded to include the girls from the other grades. It has been opened up to the public as well. You're more than welcome to come." Mr. Glory invited me cheerfully.

     "To a father-daughter dance?"

     "Of course."

Sunset's eyes narrowed ever so slightly.

     "Dad." she whispered disapprovingly.

Mr. Glory stared at her for a moment with a look that clearly showed that he didn't understand her disapproval. Then, steadily, his expression fell more when he remembered what he had forgotten. I didn't have a father. "Meadow's" dad was dead, and Ethereal simply didn't have one.

     "Uh, bring Eden naturally," Mr. Glory spoke more hesitantly, "It's called a father-daughter dance, but you can take whomever you want along with you."

     "I'll ask him. Although, maybe that's not in the best interest for my feet. He's such a klutz he'll probably step on them the whole time." I joked to lighten the mood.

Mr. Glory latched onto my joking and did what he could to ease the conversation away from the awkwardness he had created. I would like to say that it disappeared completely, but it didn't.

Sunflower and I left before Mrs. Glory and Vermillion returned home. Sunset, Sunflower, and I had already played all the games we could think of. We were no longer in the mood for videos games, and with the weather deciding to take a break in the fit it was throwing it just seemed like the best time for Sunflower and I to make our departure. The house was quiet when I entered. Eden had to have been upstairs working again. Having finally learned how to do all my work as soon as it needed to be done, there was actually no work left for me to do.

I wandered into my play area with my heart growing heavier with each step. I wouldn't have ever expected Mr. Glory inviting me to a father-daughter dance would make me feel how I was feeling. It was hardly the first time I had been reminded that I didn't have parents. For my chest to be hollow all of a sudden was disconcerting. I rushed over to Fluff to hold him against me, but even his comfort didn't do much. The continuing silence of the house began to bother me. Sunset's and Sunflower's houses were always so loud when I went over to visit. They were always full of parents and siblings. Compared to them, my house suddenly felt rather lonely and empty.

I didn't know why I did, but all I could think of to do was sit at the dining room table and stare out the window. The seat facing the windows was my favorite because I could look out and see Sunset's vibrantly orange house and the glorious colors of the rolling hills past that. The fury of the rain, which was increasing again, played a chaotic but somehow calming melody as it struck the outside wall. I was so focused on listening that I didn't notice Eden making his appearance.

     "Back already I see," he said, "What are you doing? You're just sitting here still like a statue."

He took a seat next to me.

     "I'm just watching the rain."

     "It's that entrancing?" he teased.

I only shrugged. Eden's smile turned into a frown.

     "What's up?" he asked with concern.

     "Huh?"

     "You've got a strange expression on your face. Something's wrong."

     "Oh. Um..."

I set Fluff on the table, absentmindedly playing with his feet for a few seconds. Eden never took his glance away from me. I resigned myself to the fact that I was going to have to tell Eden the truth.

     "While I was over at Sunset's place, Sunflower told me of this father-daughter dance the girls in their grade won for raising the most money in their fundraiser. Mr. Glory revealed that the dance has been opened up to everyone, and he invited me to come." I explained quietly.

     "I see," Eden said sympathetically, "And that upset you."

     "A little," I admitted, "Mr. Glory told me to bring you along when he remembered that I don't have a dad."

     "I have no problem going if you want to go. However, I have to say that I'm not a very good dancer."

     "That's what I said to Mr. Glory." I said with a forced laugh.

     "Thanks for that." Eden rolled his eyes, laughing too.

I opened my mouth to continued the conversation, but no words came out. I could pretend in front of my friends and their parents. It was much harder to pretend in front of Eden. I didn't want to pretend in front of him. Unfortunately, I wasn't sure if it was right for me to say what I really wanted to say.

In the end, Eden gave me no choice.

     "What else is there?" he asked again with concern.

I shook my head and fiddled with Fluff's feet once more.

     "Come on, Ethereal. There's something else that's clearly bothering you." Eden prompted.

     "It's just..."

I hesitated.

     "I'm understanding more of why you didn't want to become my dad," I spoke in a whisper, "But, I wish we would have...I mean..."

I paused one more time, and my voice was even softer when I did force my words out because I knew how awful they would sound.

     "I would rather have a dad than a brother."

It was my every intent to keep my gaze firmly on Fluff's feet. That was exactly what I did until Eden placed his hand on mine. A small glance upwards showed me that he was not upset. In fact, Eden was giving me a reassuring smile.

     "Hey, don't worry about it. Honestly, I wish I could have taken on that role for you. The truth is though that I know I would have ended up doing an absolutely horrible job at it. It was better for both of us that I didn't try to force it."

     "Yeah." I agreed quietly.

Eden gave my hand a squeeze.

     "If it makes you feel any better, I know exactly how you feel."

     "What do you mean?"

     "I wish I had a dad too."

     "You don't have one?"

     "Yes. I don't have a mom either."

I stared at him.

     "You've never told me about you." I realized.

     "I know. I should have said something way sooner, but the appropriate moment never came up in any of our conversations here before. Besides, even if you had asked while you were with The Company I wouldn't have told you. I was already pushing the limit of how close I was getting to you way too far. I discovered I was actually going to be fired because I had indeed gone past my boundaries, which threw a wrench in the plans of me and my friends. We had to rush, and that caused this whole hiding in plain sight situation to happen. I was stunned though. That The Company didn't toss me out sooner when they realized what I was doing is a really big mystery to me."

     "I never told Ms. Yellow that we played together. I always lied and said all you and I did was go through those questions that you had to ask." I revealed.

Eden stared at me in amazement.

     "Really?"

     "Yeah."

A wide grin grew on his face, and he laughed really loudly.

     "Well, there's the answer to the mystery! They had no idea we were so close is what it was! I had assumed you had told her everything. I'm really surprised. I never told you to cover up for me."

     "I just realized it was better not to say anything." I admitted.

     "And that was excellent thinking on your part. You saved both of our skins."

My mood brightened hearing that. My intuition having been right relieved me.

     "So, about your parents?" I asked, bringing the conversation back on point.

     "Oh yeah. You know, it's a funny thing. You, the one who was illegally genetically altered and carried by a surrogate, are the legitimate child. I, on the other hand, am the illegitimate son." Eden chuckled wryly.

     "Your parents weren't married then?"

     "Not exactly. My birth mom was married. It's, well...the man she married never wanted to have any children. Ever. She was alright with that even though she did want children herself. She chose him over her own desire. Things were perfectly fine with them for years. Then they had a massive fight. My birth mother was so upset that she went out to a bar, drank a bit too much alcohol, and ended up sleeping with another green man that she never learned the name or identity of. As you might suspect, that is how I was conceived."

    "What happened when her husband found out?"

    "After he got over his initial fury at having been betrayed, her husband gave her two options. She could choose to keep me, but lose him. If she wanted him to forgive her and to remain by his side, she had to either abort me or give me up for adoption. While the truth is that she chose him again over her potential child, she did at least allow me to be born. I was put up for adoption," Eden said before taking a deep breath, "And I never got adopted."

     "Why not?" I asked indignantly, which made Eden chuckle again.

     "There was just never anyone who found the idea of having me as a son an attractive idea. I tried everything I could to make all the couples coming in want me. That was why I worked so hard on my schooling. I couldn't be the athletic superstar a lot of those dads wanted, but I thought perhaps being a genius would catch someone's attention. Unfortunately, it didn't. Even though I was praised by many, as soon as I reached my teenage years I knew there was little chance of anyone taking me in. I worked harder to graduate both high school and college fast so I could go ahead and make my own way in life."

I frowned and bumped my foot against my chair's leg with more force than what was my habit.

     "That's not fair," I pouted, "All those people missed out."

     "I feel the same way, naturally. The whole thing did suck rather badly. It was tough participating in school events and not having anyone there for me. I never entertained the idea of going to any of the parent-children activities. Not getting any presents on my birthdays wasn't pleasant either."

     "I don't like your birth mom and her husband." I mumbled.

     "They're actually incredibly pleasant people." Eden countered with unexpected cheerfulness.

I gave him a look.

     "I've met them." he clarified.

     "How?" I questioned in vast confusion.

     "I suppose I should have told you this first- my birth mom's name is Field and her husband's name is Jungle. Their last name is Seedling. Anyway, Jungle said it was alright for Field to mark on the adoption papers that I was allowed to contact them when I turned eighteen. So I did. Field was glad to meet me, and, despite how I was conceived, Jungle was ridiculously nice to me as well. In fact, he was more guilty than Field was when they learned I had never been taken in. He was still adamant that my relationship with them was only that of a friend and not a son, but the three of us got along great."

     "How come you said 'got along' and not 'get along'?" I noticed.

Eden glanced to the floor, looking crestfallen for a moment.

     "I cut off almost all of my ties with everyone I knew once my involvement with The Company grew deeper. There's a lot of danger in revealing even the slightest details with anyone, and I was growing too desperate for help. What I did was not uncommon. A good portion of Company employees sever their outside relationships to keep themselves and those they care about safe. Pretty much the lone person I kept in contact with was Blaze. Him and his twin brother Coal were the only ones who felt like family to me while I was growing up."

     "I see."

There was a moment of silence where neither of us knew what should be said next. Eden got rid of the problem by simply ending the conversation.

     "Are you hungry at all?" he asked.

     "No. Mr. Glory made waffles."

     "That's good then. I'm behind on my classwork, so I was just going to grab something quick for myself so I could back to it. That was why I came down here."

     "That's fine. The rain is making me kinda sleepy, so I think I might lay down for a while."

     "Alright. Just let me know if you need anything."

My plan to rest didn't last long. Even with the sound of the rain playing its lullaby and Fluff nestled against me, I found that the sleepiness I thought I was experiencing wasn't really there. Or, it was more like my whirring thoughts tossed it away. Eden had said that me wishing he had been my dad instead of my brother didn't phase him, but I felt guilty again for putting that out there. I had been feeling sorry for myself thinking it was a sad thing that I only had Eden, but the reality was that I at least had Eden. He had been a major part of my life for my entire life. However, there had been nobody like that there for him. I felt as if I didn't have a right to complain anymore.

     "I kinda want to do something for him." I mumbled to both myself and Fluff.

I rested my head on top on my furry companion, swaying back and forth as I contemplated what I could do for Eden. It took a whole ten minutes before one thing he said caught in my mind and stuck there.

     "That's a brilliant idea!" I exclaimed when I made my decision.

I left Fluff on the bed as I eagerly walked out of the room.

Eden's office door was open, just like it had been since our little incident several weeks ago. I walked right over to Eden who was typing away at record pace like normal. He gave me an amused look when I appeared beside him.

     "That didn't take long."

     "Amaranth called." I said, starting my lie.

     "Did he? I didn't hear the phone ring at all."

     "Yeah. He wants to know if I can come over to play. He has a new game or something."

     "I don't know," Eden spoke uncertainly, "I'm too busy to drive you there myself, and Blaze doesn't have a car to pick you up with."

     "I can walk there."

     "By yourself? In this weather? No way."

     "I'll be fine."

     "Their house is almost in the city!"

     "Please?"

     "No."

     "The rain isn't going to hurt me, and there's no one else outside because of it. Come on, Eden. It'll get me off your back. Otherwise, I'll just stand here and bug you." I warned.

I latched onto his arm to prevent him from typing and pouted hard. Eden did a good job of ignoring me until I snatched the remote for his speaker system and turned off his music.

     "I was listening to that." he said in mild irritation.

     "What even is that music?"

     "It's Cherribini's Requiem No. 1 in C Minor: Agnus Dei."

     "I don't even have the slightest clue as to what you just said to me."

     "It's classical music from an obscure composer." Eden clarified, not being able to stop himself from smiling yet again.

     "Oh, okay. So can I go?"

     "Ethereal!"

     "Pleeeease?"

Eden sighed heavily.

     "This is against my better judgment, but fine. If it will allow me to get my work done, go take your long walk out in this horrible weather." he caved.

     "Thanks!" I replied gleefully, stretching up to give him a kiss on the cheek.

I only realized after I left that I should have prepared more for the rain. I had thought my umbrella would do a good enough job, but I hadn't considered the massive puddles that would soak my feet through my sandals. However, once I set out I was determined not to turn back until I had what I needed. My destination was naturally not Amaranth's house. I went north until I reached the streets with all the shops. Passing by the grocery store, I went into the resale store next to it.

It was quiet and calm. A nice lady greeted me when I entered, but she was the only other person I saw. She sat behind the counter and read while I browsed through the many aisles of items. Unlike the chain stores nearby, the resale shop was a lot less organized. There were so many objects and things to buy that I had never known existed before. I'm sure there was some kind of system to why things were where they were, but with my limited knowledge I couldn't make any sense of it. I walked past everything until I came upon a section of wall housing book after book after book. Eden loved reading. I assumed it would be a simple thing to pick something out...and then I remembered that I could barely read myself. There were few titles I could make out. Even then, I had no idea what genre they were, what the story was about, or if it would be something Eden would like. The last thing I wanted to buy him was something entirely inappropriate.

I gave up on the books and moved to an aisle that had a bunch of clothing for males. I automatically ignored anything that wasn't green because I knew Eden wouldn't be able to wear it otherwise. Unfortunately, I had no better luck with the shirts than I did the books. I knew even less about fashion than I did about reading. My own clothes had been picked at Eden's discretion. With me not knowing what Eden would like, what looked stupid or what looked fine, or what would fit him, I realized that I was at a great disadvantage. I became discouraged when I saw how hard it was to shop for another person.

I was actually about to give up when someone's voice gave me a good jolt.

     "Meadow?"

My head instantly turned to see a very familiar person heading my way.

     "It is you," Allium smiled, "Hi."

     "Hi. I didn't expect to see you here." I responded.

     "I could say the same. My mom is at the salon across the street, so I'm just wandering about nearby until she's all done." he explained.

     "Don't want to watch her get her hair done?" I joked.

     "I would rather be back in class."

I giggled.

     "You doin' some shopping?" Allium then asked me.

     "Yeah. I'm trying to find something for Eden."

     "What for?"

I sheepishly looked around for a second.

     "Um, we were doing a bit of talking..."

It was rather frustrating always having to hurriedly make up lies for the truths I couldn't reveal.

     "It would have been our parents anniversary a little while ago. That made Eden kinda sad, and I overheard him saying it was tough not having them around for his past birthday. I decided to get him a present to make up for the one he didn't get from them."

     "I see."

Allium gave me a smile that I thought was a bit odd.

     "I keep forgetting you're a part of the 'no dad' club with Am and me, though I guess in your cases it's the 'no parents' club, huh?"

     "I had no idea you didn't have a dad either," I frowned, "I haven't been over to your house yet. You talk about your mom all the time, and since you didn't say anything about your dad I just figured he was around too."

     "He hasn't been around for a long time."

     "So he's not dead then?"

     "Dunno." Allium shrugged.

My frowned deepened.

     "You don't know if he's alive or not?"

     "Nope. He just up and took off one day when I was about one and a half. Not only did he take all of our pictures and videos that had him in them, he has never tried to contact my mom or me since."

     "Why did he do that?"

     "Again, no clue."

     "You don't seem very bothered by it."

I was referring to the smile that remained on Allium's face.

     "A lot of people say my mom's wasting her time, but she fully believes he'll come back to marry her like he promised. They were going to get married right when they were done with high school, but my mom became pregnant with me," he laughed, "She didn't want to have a big belly on her wedding day. So the date kept getting pushed back until their lives had settled down a bit more. Mom says everything was perfectly fine with her and dad. The ceremony was coming up, and that was when dad suddenly left. Most everyone says that he got cold feet and couldn't deal with the responsibility of raising a young child, but mom swears that's not it. She always tells me he isn't that kind of person."

     "You believe her."

     "I do. It does suck from time to time to not have dad around, but mom is optimistic that he does care for us and will make things right one day. I chose a long time back to be optimistic with her."

     "I think that's pretty impressive."

Allium folded his arms and nodded confidently.

     "I think so too," he agreed proudly like he had a habit of doing whenever someone praised him, "But that's enough about me. What kind of present are you going to get Eden?"

I pouted in defeat.

     "I have absolutely no idea. I already looked at the books, and I can't find anything he would wear. Buying him one of the random nick-knacks lying about doesn't seem like the best option either. I was actually just about to give up when you came over." I revealed.

     "That's no good. I refuse to let you leave without a present for your brother."

     "What should I do then?"

     "You know a lot more about Eden than I do. If you think a bit harder, I'm sure you'll be able to come up with more options. What other things does he like besides books?"

     "Classical music."

     "Well, there ya go. And the music section is in the back corner right by here. I'll show you."

I had to stop and stare for a moment when Allium showed me the back corner. There were so many CD stands full of CDs. A dreadful feeling in my chest told me picking out one from among the many was going to be exactly as easy as picking out a book was. I was willing to give the option a try though since I did have Allium giving me useful help.

     "All of the classical stuff is down here past all the players for sale." he explained as he walked further down the aisle.

I quickly caught up.

I bent over and peered as I studied the CDs. It was better that I at least knew whatever I could pick would have a much better chance at being something Eden would like, but then there was the fact that I could still possibly pick something he already had. It wasn't like I gone back through his collection at home. Eden had mentioned quite a few song and composer names, but with all the words on the covers being long and unknown to me that information wasn't any help.

     "See anything good?" Allium asked after a moment.

     "I wish I did," I pouted once more, "But I'm having a similar problem to the one I was having before. I don't know which CDs or songs Eden might have already. I also don't know what his exact preference is."

     "You should go ahead and pick something then. It'll work out fine even if you are uncertain."

     "How can you be sure?"

     "Just trust me. You're going to melt Eden's heart with purely the gesture of buying him a present. It won't matter if he has the CD or if the songs aren't his favorite. You will have made the effort. That's the important part."

I glanced over Allium's way. He continued to give me that smile of his. In fact, the more I thought about it, I could scarcely recall a time he wasn't smiling. Seeing it then bolstered my confidence in his words.

     "Alright. Let's go with this one then." I said as I picked up the first CD that stood out to me.

It appeared a safe enough choice as the cover was a simple design. It had only piano keys and a number 3 in the top right corner.

Allium peered over to take a peek.

     "Yup. Looks like a good one." he nodded.

Music began playing from his pocket.

     "You have a cell phone?" I said in amazement as he indeed took one out of his pocket.

     "Yeah. It's only a simple one though, and the only one who can text me is my mom because none of you have one of your own," Allium shrugged, "And this is my mom texting me. She's all done at the salon. I gotta head over there to meet her."

     "Okay. Thanks for your help."

     "No prob."

Allium moved as if he was going to walk away, but he unexpectedly changed his course to give me a tight hug. I was so surprised I couldn't think of anything else to do but to hug him back. I couldn't even say anything about it afterwards. Allium's smile only got wider and more encouraging, and then he left. I stood still in confusion for a brief moment before I went to hand over the few dollars it cost to buy the CD.

My intention had been to head home, but I got distracted. I spotted an amazingly large puddle just waiting to be splashed in on an open bit of grass near the resale store. Eden had warned me that I shouldn't splash around and get wet in the rain without having the proper clothing on first. However, Eden wasn't around at that moment. The streets were empty as they had been before because the weather was keeping everyone inside. There was no stopping myself from going over to the puddle and getting myself pretty soaked before I did start my way home.

It was only when I entered the house and encountered Eden when I realized how poorly I had thought my plan out. First off, I hadn't considered what I would do if he was right there poking the fire when I returned. He instantly turned around, sort of glared at me suspiciously, and frowned.

     "That must have been some boring game Amaranth had if you're back this early." he pointed out.

I smacked myself mentally. I hadn't thought about the duration of my outing at all. There was a brief moment where I attempted to make up a lie, but I soon realized from the expression on Eden's face that he had figured out most of what I had done.

     "Blaze was just here," he began in the silence.

My gaze quickly found its way to the ground.

     "He was dropping off some stuff I had let him borrow. He then made this fire claiming he needed to make sure you were kept warm. Amaranth has been sick in bed all day, and Blaze didn't want you to catch a cold as well. It was clearly an excuse for the idiot to be a pyromaniac, but imagine his surprise when I told him you weren't here because Amaranth apparently called you over to play a game."

I bit my lip. Eden folded his arms in disapproval.

     "This running off without letting me know where you are is not going to become a habit. I've sacrificed so much to give you freedom. Taking advantage of that is not something you should be doing." he said stiffly.

     "I'm sorry."

     "Where were you? What were you doing?"

I somehow was able to make myself glance up. I sheepishly revealed the gift box I had been hiding behind my back, which had Eden's CD in it. I held it out to him.

     "What's this?" he asked curiously.

     "You said you didn't like how you didn't get presents on your birthday. I've never had the chance to get you one before, so I wanted to surprise you with something now." I explained quietly.

Eden's expression softened. He took the box out of my hands and began unwrapping it.

     "Sorry if you don't like it. I couldn't read much, and I wasn't sure what you would want." I warned as I had rapidly become very embarrassed.

I watched timidly as Eden pulled the CD out of the box.

     "It looks very nice."

I was relieved for a moment when he said that with a smile, but then...

     "Wait." he said suddenly with another frown on his face.

My heart sunk. He did have the same CD then, or it was definitely something he didn't like.

     "Where did you get this?" he questioned with astonishment.

     "The resale shop near the grocery store."

I fidgeted nervously when Eden continued to study his present and was unsure when his face lit up merrily.

     "You lucked out big time."

     "I did?"

Eden opened the CD and pulled out the jacket to show me a signature on the back of it.

     "I know all the long names confuse you, so I'll just explain this simply. This CD is a recoding from a series of very rare concerts. A famous conductor, whose signature this is, led a world class orchestra in playing a whole bunch of songs that are almost never played because the stingy people owning the rights don't allowed them to be performed often. Only a few CDs were raffled off at each concert. I was able to attend all three, and I actually managed to win the recordings of the first two. I missed out on the third. I gave up on ever being able to get a hold of it. But now look at this!" he laughed.

     "It's one of the CDs from the third concert?"

     "Yeah. How much did this cost?"

     "Four dollars."

     "This is crazy. The cheapest I've ever seen one being auctioned off for online is 10,000."

     "That's a lot of money for a CD."

     "I know. Remember what I told you though- people with too much dedication and too much money will go to extreme lengths to get what they want."

     "I'm glad you got it instead. You deserve it more."

     "Perhaps." Eden shrugged.

I was able to breathe a sigh of relief that I had done something well when Eden suddenly gathered me up in his arms. I stared at him curiously.

     "You really did luck out big time. Not only did you buy an incredibly rare CD for a dirt cheap price- you bought me the one thing that could quell my anger at you."

     "So I'm not in trouble?" I asked eagerly.

Eden gave me a studious, amused look.

     "Not...at the moment. I'll simply leave you with the warning that if you go off again alone without letting me know where you're heading that your punishment will be three times as bad."

     "Got it. So next time I go off alone without letting you know I'll have to be wiser about not getting caught."

     "Very funny."

     "I think it's a smart idea."

     "Mmhmm. You say that, but you make it sound so easy to get away with it."

     "You keep telling me I have to share your intelligence because I'm your sister, so it can't be that hard to outsmart you now that I know what to do."

     "Except you're not actually my sister."

I laughed because of how we were reversing what we normally said. However, the sentiment that then popped into my head had my mood turning more serious. I wrapped my arms around Eden's shoulders and hugged him tighter.

     "That's not true. I've decided- I'm not gonna say that anymore. Maybe it won't be by blood, but I'll become your sister. That way you can have family."

Eden said nothing. I couldn't see his face because of how I was holding onto him, so I held onto him even tighter.

     "I love you, Eden."

His grasp on me tightened too.

     "I love you too, kiddo." he almost whispered.

I smiled. Eden shifted me so I could see him again. He was beaming.

     "Let's go put this CD on. The third concert was my favorite."

     "Alright." I agreed.

Eden set me down, but held onto my hand, as we made our way upstairs.

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Scary Story Credit