Date: Thu, 21 May 2020 16:34:56 -0500 From: Puer Ex Machina Subject: Mirror Game Puer here, hope you enjoy the first chapter of a story that i wanted to get out of my head. Dont really know where i am taking thia one yet. As i like to just let things flow out. And this is my first post. In the future i will be updating this story and developing a long term story i hope you all will like. Also remember to donate to nifty, this site is awesome and keeps literature flowing ! My eyes shot open to a briney burn and damp smell of fervent sweating. I could feel myself crawling through the marshes. Gun strapped to my back, only the miniscule ripples that signified my creeping commrades. Once the olfactory hallucinations became to strong i shook my head loose and jumped out of my bed. Kathunk! My eye lids where drawn closed by the recluse in my head. My hand reached out blindly to pull the blackout curtains together. Once the dim blacklight lamp was turned on i felt at ease. My small world began to materialize around me. Shadows danced like flame, dripping into cooled casts of the objects they outlined. My bed, the hoardes of boxes of useless shit i had managed to acrew in my years. I remembered when i was a small boy and Twenty Seven seemed more like an ancient concept that a distant future. I pulled my hair back and lumbered towards my door groggly. I swung it open and sighed in relief as the cool air of the livingroom rushed past me to combat the desert swamp air in my den. I walked out and then inhaled sharply and jumped back into my room as i realized that the lump on the couch was my slowly rousing son. I threw my robe around my shoulders and fastened it with the plush belt. "Daaad ?" The little voice croaked out. His eyes werent even opened yet. And he gaped open his little maw to release a whistling yawn. Drool lines traced river maps over his cheeks and his hair was a frizzy chaos. "That's me, go brush your teeth and take a bathe." I tried my best to sound like an orderly. Parenting strictly was not in my nature, I believed in a laid back environment. But i was not a fan of when the kid would fall asleep on the couch and wet himself. I drew my attention to the countertop fruit and snagged the last apple with a cheeky grin. My eyes were drawn to the motion of something pale in my peripheral. Two smooth taught pale orbs of flesh rubbing together as my kid walked slowly to the restroom. I thought nothing of it initially. And then I realized that he had slept on the couch naked. "Garrett !," I barked out in a slightly raised tone that i attended to carefully. I made a point to pepper dissapointment into my tone, "Wha'd i tell you bout sleeping on the couch with ya ass kid ? Gonna make the couch smell like a brownie shop if you dont stop that!" I dont know why i threw a joke in their. I figured it would make me seem less scary. I am a pretty scary looking guy. 6'7" of lanky white noodle. Covered in a mural of tattos that made me a prime suspect. That and my felony riddled childhood records. But i had come a long way. 3 years since a fight. I hadnt touched a bottle in 5 years. I had reason to be proud. But i knew that my voice was my weak point. I was still learning to not yell as my dad had yelled at me. The sound of rushing water told me that i would probably need to clean the couch cushions. But i just shook it out of my mind and oriented my attention to what i was going to cook. I rummaged throught the fridge and assembled the ingredients for some omelets. As i was dicing vegetables and oiling the pans i used my unusually long arms to snake around the cabinets above and snag the spices i had organized a few days ago. A meledy of spices and sauteing onions and peppers emminated through the apartment. I could tell that soon the smell would purmeate the steamy bathroom and illicit the stampeding of a ravenous boy belly. I laid out the plates and gently guided the steaming omelets onto each of them, smothering them in cheese and sour cream. In no time, my son came bolting to the dining room bar and scrambled up his stool as if all six of his years had been spent in a torturous hunger. "Awe Yeah ! Thanks Dad !" My son winked his eye and saluted his thumbs up proudly immitating his favorite cartoon characters hero pose. That made me forget the damp couch and i ruffled his soggy dark hair before sitting down beside him to eat. I listened as he rambled on about his fantastical dream that night. Something about being a knight and saving a village of towns people. And then a massive rain storm that flooded the village. I chimed in with a snarky comment along the lines of, "Maybe all that rain wet the couch" and Garrett's cheeks looked like a coal burning engine. I ruffled his hair again and then got up and rinsed of my plate. I turned to head to my room and get dressed but not before my som called out. "Dad?" I could hear the pleading tone in his voice. "What?" I already knew whst he was going to ask. "Can I come in your room please ? I dont wanna play video games all day again." I didnt turn to see the blatant puppy dog face he would be adhorning. I just scoffed out a yeah and tacked on a, "For an hour". As I opened my door i flicked on the bright bulbs to illuminate the room but Garrett quickly retorted asking if i could keep the normal light on because it looks cooler to him. I switched back to my black light and then walked over to my closet and yanked a shirt off of a hangar and laid it over my arm. I picked a pair of lounge pants out of my drawer and then walked towards the bedroom door. "Why dont you just change in here ?" Garretts question threw my train of thought off and i turned to look at him. He kept his eyes on his hands which where rubbing each other. I realized that he was probably having issues with his own body. I tried to think back and realized i hadnt had the talk with him. About maturing. Or sex. But i guess his own curiosity was peeking now. Blame it on over saturation in the media. Or video games. But regaurdless I had let him be exposed to it. It was easier to give him an iPad or get him a game. I was dealing with a lot of things. No one said a word as I lowered my robe off of my shoulders and fastened the sleves at my waist. A faint sigh came from behind me as i pulled my red and green plaid lounge pants up past my robe and then slipped it off. I paid the gesture no mind as i couldnt really understand where he was coming from. I crawled up onto the bed and flipped the TV on with a remote before looking down to my right to see garrett pouting slightly while resting his cherubic face on his forearms. Knees pulled up to his chest and his haur drapped past over his eyes like the leaves of a weeping willow. He had no idea how much he looked like his mother. Even down to the expressions they would make when they where sad. "Did you hear that?" I exclaimed hopping onto my knees and rocking the bed a couple of times. Garrett snapped out of his trance and scanned the room with his eyes. He brushed his wildly curled hair behind his tiny ears. And then looked up at me with a puzzled expression and said, "I dont hear anything. Maybe a car." His voice sounded leveled and cool. I could hear a slight shake to his voice. It wavered like a sharply plucked violin string. Like he was edging back a well of tear. Thats when i realized this was not something that would he resolved with the infamous Tickle Quake. And so i launched in any way. Garrett's eyes widened in shock as i grabbed him by his torso and managed to swing him through the air while balancing his weight to not hurt him. It took the wind out of him as he helplessly yellped out stop before flying into a fit of laughter. Seeing him squirm underneath me was enlightening. This small life that i had created. That i was shaping. He was a part of me. My ears where carried down the soft dirt roads of nostalgia by a carriage of reflection. I could hear myself swinging from great oaks that My friends and I had fashioned swings onto. I slowly sat down and turned Garrett around and pulled him into my chest and wrapped my long legs into a nest. He folded his arms over his chest, signalling me to cross my arms over his. I rocked back and forth for a bit until i felt him finally rest his head back against my chest. He had fully calmed down and was open to talk. I spent years developing this method of opening him up to telling me anything. I pulled my arms off of his combed one hand through his hair while leaning back on my elbow. "Your breakfast not sit right kiddo ? You've had a funky face for a while now." I ruffled his already untamable hair and listened for his response. He sat there for a while. I could feel his shoulders almost tense up before relaxing further. "Jason and Max where makin fun of me yesterday." He paused for a moment. I could tell he didnt want to address the subject matter of the teasing. I assumed it was some boy hood masculinity complex. Asserting dominance and leadership always meant someone had to feel like the follower. I was almost ready to respond when Garrett turned around and sent his knee into the family jewel vault. Blinding pain shot through my hips and twisted vines around my intestines and stomach. I laid back and placed my elbow over my eyes and gasped for air. I could only half hear Garrett profusly apologizing. I had explained to him as a child that you dont hit men there because it hurts. And he had his own childhood memories for reference. I pulled him up onto my chest and rubbed his back to let him know i wasnt angry. But i still didnt speak. My stomach was twisted in knots and i was certain that he shattered something. I just slowed my breathing and chased my swirling thought before i passed out. I dont know how long it had been, but when i came to there was no light pouring in through the curtains. The only light in the room was my purpled tinted black light. The harsh blue of the TVs 'No Input' screen. As well as the red and green christmas lights i had lined around the head board. The dark and macabre mixture of lights bathed the room in a strange ambiance as i searched around for Garrett. I found him under a mound of pillows. Body bare as the day he was born. His cloths strewn around him as he stripped down before rest. I couldnt blame him, as i often slept in the nude. I pulled him a little closer to me amd placed my arm over him before closing my eyes. As i fell back to sleep, i couldnt halp but smile as he nestled his back against me.