Chapter 70: The Fog Island [10].

"Aldrus," someone said.

The boy had found it wrong at first, unnerving, even. The timbre of that voice, rough like sandpaper. A damaged throat healed long ago; a deep tone coming from a scar and a story told at bedtime.

"Father...?"

"What’s wrong, Aldrus? Still too sleepy?"

"No... I just, uh..."

The man stood by Aldrus’ bed, watching him sit up straight.

"So? Are we heading out?"

"Heading out? Where?" Aldrus said.

"It’s my day off, son. We arranged to go out today, remember?"

"I... huh? No, I just—"

"Aldrus, are you okay? Are you feeling well?"

It took a minute for Aldrus, who was still half-asleep, to clear his head somewhat. The mess of his thoughts may have only been on par with that of his own room. Something had been forgotten.

"I had a strange dream, Father," he soon said, staring at the nightstand by his side.

"Did you, now?"

"Hm. I dreamed of being tall. Taller than now."

"Like a giant?" The man smiled.

"No. Tall like you but not that tall."

"So you were all grown up, huh? Was it nice?"

...Was it nice?

For a second Aldrus fell quiet, then simply said, "I don’t know."

The man nodded in silence and slowly walked about. Soon he pulled the blinds open, followed by the windows; the sunlight poured into the room.

"Your mother made breakfast. I’ll eat with you once you’re done making your bed and taking a shower."

Aldrus looked the man over—the silhouette standing before him, his back and his hands. He felt like an old friend whose face he had forgotten. A piece of his home; how could he...?

"Okay," the boy said.

His father turned around, flashed a soft smile, and stepped out of the room.

Sitting alone on his bed, Aldrus felt the breeze like a warm memory taking over the chill the previous night had left behind. A blurry mirage of distant yellow mornings: a woman, a man, a child, and himself. All shadows against the sun, overly bright, blinding. The scent of leather, amber, and spice. A topcoat, cap-toe dress shoes, a cup of coffee, and the clink of silver keys.

He stared at his own hands and compared them to that man’s, then quietly broke down into slow and longing sobs.

***

A while later, Aldrus was ready and had fully woken up. He made his way through the hallway, lost in thought. It had been some time since he last dreamed something so vivid and, at the same time, so irritatingly vague. He could barely remember what it was about or if it had a deeper meaning; although, for some reason, he was fairly sure it did.

"Good morning, Aldrus."

"Morning," he said. His mother smiled at him from the kitchen.

He sat at the table in silence, his gaze fixed on the marble finish. Oblivious to the sound of plates and cups, he allowed himself to unwind. It was just an ordinary Sunday morning; he was safe.

Right. Why wouldn’t I be?

"Good morning!" Someone greeted him for the third time.

"Good morning, Claire."

"Hmm..." His sister squinted at him suspiciously.

"W-What’s wrong?"

"Nothing," she said, pretending not to see his puffy eyes. "We’re watching a movie tonight, right?"

"Sure, but we’ve already watched a lot lately. Don’t you get tired of it?"

"Nope! I wanna watch every single one of them!"

Clink.

"Don’t shout, Claire. You’ll wake up the neighbors," said their mother, placing two cups of hot milk on the table.

"But it’s not that early!"

Aldrus grimaced. "Milk again? When will you let me drink coffee like father does?"

"That’s not good for you, son. My job is to make sure you grow up strong and healthy," his mother said.

"Pfff. Such a cliché..." Aldrus grumbled.

"Look at Claire; she’s not complaining. Why make such a big deal out of it? I’m telling you this as your mother: coffee tastes really, really bad."

"Hey, that’s not true," his father chimed in, carrying over a skillet of scrambled eggs in one hand and a bread basket in the other.

"Coffee is delicious, and even if you hated it, there are many ways to prepare it. You can surely find one that suits your taste," he added matter-of-factly as he sat down and blew on a roll.

"Honey?" Their mother glared at him.

"Ah, b-but, of course, Aldrus, I shouldn’t need to tell you that it’s not a great idea to drink it so young. Milk and juice, that’s it. I’m sorry, buddy."

Figures...

"So, when are you coming back?" Claire asked.

"Coming back?" said Aldrus.

"Yeah, aren’t you heading out today?" She pointed her spoon at Aldrus and her father. "I thought you’d be back soon, though, or are you not going?"

"Ah..." Aldrus looked at his father, who had an encouraging look in his eyes.

Well...

"...Yes, I guess we are."

***

It was the end of May, and the first vestiges of summer were present in the air, even across the cold southern streets. Aldrus liked summer; he could wear his lighter clothes and watch TV all vacation long. Although, it would be more precise to say he was forced to watch countless movies with a certain someone. Still, he could not complain, since he was free of all responsibilities for twelve weeks straight.

If there was a downside worth mentioning, however, it would be the fact that his father did not get to enjoy the same privileges.

"What’s up, Aldrus?" Suddenly, the man asked as they strolled past an arcade and an ice cream shop.

"Hm?"

"You’ve been down since morning, son. Is there something bothering you?"

Aldrus looked down at the street, not sure himself of what kept his mind concerned. The click of leather shoes beside him urged him to respond.

"Why do you have to go there every day?" The boy looked away. "There are more people too, so why..."

The man looked at him, the sun obscuring his face. Aldrus tried to read his expression but was never able to, even looking back. A sudden silence made them stop.

"Come, follow me," he finally said, taking Aldrus’ hand.

The sun kept getting brighter. They went past Mary’s Pets,Barber Triz, and Rob’s All Strings. The sun shone on the buildings; the skyscrapers shone back; everything followed the sun. The sun. Something had been forgotten.

Before long, they were standing right outside a local café. His father gestured for him to go in, then followed behind.

"Two vanilla lattes, please."

"On the way~."

"What are we doing here? You said I wasn’t supposed to drink that," Aldrus said, confused.

The man smiled and handed him the latte.

"Let’s go get a seat."