Recalled to Life

A few days after Tom and I went to the mall, he came down with the flu. He had been coughing and hacking all night and in the morning our mother drew the line and wouldn’t let Tom leave the house. Once all of us were awake, and Tom wasn’t throwing up, our mother asked me to run to the market to get some medicine for Tom. I started to complain about how the last time I went out in public I practically got mauled to death, but she told me I was just going to have to find away around that part. I was still going to have to get medicine for Tom. Our mother gave me some euros for the medicine and I grudgingly agreed as I went into my room to get some warm clothes on.

Thankfully the day Tom and I went shopping we picked up some jackets for me during the winter months, so I didn’t have to look very hard to find something to wear. Tossing on a black tee shirt and skinny jeans, I snatched my red leather jacket and slipped into a pair of Adidas shoes as I hurried out the door. The winter air was crisp against my thin skin as I stepped out. I stood on the front steps for a moment, contemplating on whether or not I should get some warmer clothes on, as a few stray snowflakes licked across my face. Running back inside, I grabbed a scarf, some gloves, and a hat, saying good-bye to Tom and our mother again. This time I was ready to get to the market.

The walk to the market, as I had remembered, was long and tedious. It seemed like a walk through a winter wonderland though at this time of year, with the trees iced over and snow blanketing the ground; it was as if nothing could truly go wrong. I smiled to myself, muttering the lyrics to “Leb’ Die Sekunde” under my breath as I strolled through the park, hoping it would serve as a short cut to the market. My breath came like a silver wisp from my mouth, proving I could smile at the simplest of things. I watched where I stepped and who I looked directly at, trying to keep myself hidden as well as possible. It would have worked too, if I hadn’t seen those kids playing in the snow.

There were five of them, all were boys except for one girl who had short hair and could have easily passed as one of them. They were only about seven or eight years old and had started a snowball fight between themselves, laughing and giggling all the while. I stopped to watch them, a smile spilling over my face. I started to remember those days, when Tom and I were young like them, the days we would play in the snow and build forts, pretending we were in World War II and trying to stop the Americans from advancing. Those were the days, I guess you could say. The children must have noticed me because the next thing I knew they were all dancing around me saying, “Play snow fights with us, mister! Play, play, play!”

I frowned. “Should you really be talking to strangers?”

The oldest boy shook his head, and smiled up at me. “Nien, but we need someone to play with us!”

I raised an eyebrow, looking down at them. “That doesn’t sound very logical to me.”

Then the little girl tugged on my pants leg, frowning up at me with her big blue eyes. “Please, mister, please play snow fights with us.”

Her voice and expression broke my heart. How could I have said no to that face? “Oh alright, but only for a little because my brother is sick and--” They cut me off as they started to cheer and hurry back to their game. I sighed, rolling my eyes and walking after them, smiling. “Whose team am I on?” I asked, bending down to start making a snowball.

“You can be on Delia’s team,” the oldest boy told me, pointing towards the little girl.

I smiled warmly over at Delia, handing her the snowball I had just made. “Looks like we’re teammates, huh?” I asked. The girl simply nodded, smiling back at me. I turned to the boys and asked, “So what are all of your names?”

“I’m Abel,” the oldest boy said proudly, standing up to his tallest possible height.

A red headed boy raised his hand and said, “My name’s is Finn!”

“Oh, me next!” A blonde haired boy grinned. “I’m Leo, and this is my little brother, Warren.” Leo patted a shorter blonde boy on the head.

I grinned, making another snowball. “Nice to meet all of you, now who’s ready to play some snow fights?”

Excited laughter rippled from the children as they scattered like chickens, their giggles flooding the air. The park was blanketed with so much snow I found it hard to believe that they could even run. The snow covered my feet entirely, so it must have at least been up to their knees, but somehow they figured out a way to scurry their way across the park before I could even lift a foot.

We played for at least an hour, cold snowballs nipping at my face as the children threw them. I had more laughs than I had had in a long time and I was starting to hope it wasn’t going to end. Soon there was a call to the children, all of their names being yelled out.

“Delia, Leo, Abel, Warren, Finn, time to come in for lunch,” a male voice called to the children, who obeyed obediently and hurried towards the man who was waiting for them. I watched my little friends hurry over to the man, smiling and waving good-bye as I trudged back across the park, adjusting my scarf and scooping the snow out from under my shirt. Then something I would have never expected happened. “Hey, wait a second,” the man called after me.

I stopped and turned around, whipping my nose with the back of my hand. “Ja?” I replied, striding back towards the children. My stomach twisted into a knot as I got closer to the group; that man looked so strong that he could snap my neck in one blow. “Ja?” I asked again, forcing a smile as I drew even closer.

The man was mad at first, but then his face was covered with disbelief. “Bill?” he choked out, eyes wide.

Shoot, was my first thought, had this guy recognized me? “Um, yes, that’s my name,” I replied, scratching my head as I glanced towards the ground.

“Bill, Bill Kaulitz,” the man repeated, smiling now. “Bill, it’s me, Gustav.”

Whoa, wait, hold the press. Gustav? I looked up quickly, eyes wide with shock as I came to realize it was Gustav, Gustav Schäfer! “Gustav!” I exclaimed, tossing my arms around him. “My, my, you’ve changed so much!”

He laughed, patting me on the back, pulling away to look at me. “I suppose, but you look much more different than I remember,” Gustav replied, smiling. “New clothes, a new hair style, what next, a new brother?”

I laughed. “No, no, no new brother. But speaking of Tom, I’m supposed to be picking up some flu medicine for him,” I said, sighing.

Gustav frowned, telling the children to settle down. “You’ve got to head out already?” he asked, turning back to me.

“I’m afraid so.” I nodded, looking down at the kids. “Are they all..?”

My friend laughed, adjusting his thick, black framed glasses. “Mine? Nope, none of them are; they’re in the daycare I run with Georg.”

“Oh,” I muttered, flushed with embarrassment. “Well tell Georg I say “Hallo” and I’ll visit you both soon. Sounds okay?”

Gustav smiled, nodding. “Of course, now you’d better go get Tom his medicine or he might blow his top.”

I smiled, chuckling. “I guess you’re right.” I looked to the children. “Bye, everyone, maybe I’ll see you another day.” And with that I trotted back across the park and towards the market, a grin plastered to my pale face.

Running into Gustav was the best thing that had happened all day, just wait until Tom hears what he missed. I laughed under my breath, striding into the market. Okay, now to find that medicine.