Behind the Lines

I wake up in the middle of a meadow, trees and various plants circling me. The meadow is absolutely beautiful. It is filled with blooming flowers of all types, like a gigantic garden. Colors light up the meadow, filling up the space with a rich scent.

But as the beauty is stranded in the middle, chaos flutters all around, like the eye of a hurricane. In the distance, where all the trees lie, a fire blooms bigger than any of the flowers here. It kills of any trees and spreads around like a pandemic. The smell of the fire empowers the sweet scent of the flowers. And the color is so bright, blinding anyone that steps near. It is absolute chaos.

Birds chirp continuously in horror, leaving their nests behind. There they go—leaving behind the place they once called home. They fly away, far away into the horizon, but it is difficult to see them with all the smoke polluting the sky. All that can be seen in the once blue sky, is grey and black and orange—the colors of hell and destruction. Animals that are incapable of flight flee across the meadow, not looking back at the mass destruction.

While all this happens around me, I cannot help but notice the clarity that my eyes, ears, and nose pick up. It is like my senses have become stronger, more defined. I can see things I never would have before, like the minuscule dust particles filtering the air, or the pollen of the flowers I lie in. I can smell the distinct scent of each flower one by one, not even having to pluck them out. If I want, I can even filter out the smell of the fire and just focus on the meadow.

But in the distance—what I see is not what I expected to see.

I see man hunting wolves—big wolves, and the wolves hunting man. Whatever would have led to this fight must be big. While wolves hunt with their bare claws and teeth and brute strength, the men have guns and bombs and knives and numbers of people.

I do not know why these men would want to kill these wolves, but I feel anger spread throughout my body when I see these humans killing off these majestic creatures. Ever since I was a little girl, I have always been intrigued by them. In fact, when I wandered off too far into the woods at the park near my house, I came across a wolf. A big one. Unlike anything anyone would have ever seen, and it was huge. But for a strange reason, I was not threatened by it at all. If anything, its green eyes reminded me of my father. And I am glad I did not feel threatened by it. For a reason, it knew I was lost, and guided me back to the outline of the forest, where the park and woods meet. Before I left to go back to my family in the playground, I could not help but kiss the wolf on the nose when it leaned down, waiting for me to go. It was always something I used to do to my dad. And at that moment, I wish I was a wolf, so the wolf could be my dad. But that was just a six year old speaking.

Right now, I am not six. These wolves are in danger and I want to help them… but I cannot. While I lie on the ground, my bones crack and break, and I writhe in pain. Bone after bone, break after break, the pain is absolutely unbearable. It hurts so much, I am unable to scream and call for help. I am so occupied with my own pain, I never see the hunter by the end of my feet.

Just as my spine breaks, I let out the scream I have been holding. All the pain and anguish releases from my body with my scream, and after the final crack of my bones, I lay limp, unable to show any emotions.

Instead, I just listen to the hunter say, “You are just like one of them,” before he shows his hand and holds a gun to my head.

I scream again before he laughs and I wait for him to pull the trigger, but before it happens, I feel a sudden force shaking me…

I sit up screaming and breathing heavily, sweat covering my body, making my clothes stick to my body. I feel a hand threading through my hair and a voice asking if I am okay, but I am too shaken up from the dream to register anything. It felt too real… the colors to vivid, like I was in the dream… gosh, it was only a dream.

Coming back to reality, I find myself looking at two worried faces. Blaine and Claire circle around me, waiting for me to tell them I am okay.

I get my breathing in check before I provide them with any information.

“Guys, I am okay,” I confirm, finally feeling better since the time I woke up.

“Are you sure? Do you want to talk about it?” Blaine asks, his voice coated with worry.

“I’m sure. I promise. Just a nightmare from all the scary movies you made me watch,” I say, adding in a fake laugh to lighten up the situation.

Claire has not said anything yet, but I can tell she knows I am far from okay. I am still shaking.

“Why don’t you go and take a shower. You are sweating with fear,” Blaine admits. He gets up from where he was sitting next to me and offers a hand to help me get up.

I take it and pull myself up with effort, feeling like my legs are going to give underneath me. They literally feel like jelly right now.

He leads me upstairs and walks into a room which is probably an extra, since no one is in it. In the room, there is a bathroom, and Blaine directs me in it. He hands me some towels and some clothes that are probably Claire’s. He instructs me to get in, and reluctantly, I do.

I enter the bathroom and close the door behind me, and put the stuff on the countertop. Noticing a clock in the room, it is only eight o’clock. Blaine and Claire must be tired, since we all slept late. I, however, probably would not have been able to fall asleep, due to that horror movie, I have to call a dream.

~~~~~~~~~~~
Seventeen missed calls, forty-six unread messages, and eleven new voicemails, read my phone. All from my brothers, who had contacted me for the first time in three years, for something that is this urgent. Usually, it was just for an errand, but never have they called. They only left messages. So for me to get these many messages is a whole new extreme.

All of the messages and voicemails display the same message: “We need to talk. Where are you? Please, come home,” or some variation of the sort.

I have absolutely no clue what they want to talk to me about, but I know it has something to do with the near confrontation, yesterday at school.

But right now, I ignore the pleas of my brothers, and watch the battle unraveling in front of me. Nothing too serious, but it is getting there. Blaine and Claire are arguing… in the kitchen, and boy, their parents are going to fume when they see the mess they made. This is what I had walked in on, after checking my phone and heading downstairs, back to Blaine and Claire, only to find them in the kitchen, hitting each other with spatulas.

Apparently, today is Drake and Elaine’s wedding anniversary, and Blaine and Claire wanted to make a special breakfast, but that turned into a full blown out war, as Elaine predicted last night, when her kids step into the kitchen. Well, a whisper, food war, since no one wants to wake up Elaine and be the victim of her wrath when she hears these two monkeys bickering. It has not even been twenty-four hours since Claire has been home, and they are already fighting. Goodness… being ignored by your brothers has some kind benefit.

So far, these two have managed to shower the kitchen in a layer of flour and glaze it with some eggs, but not without a splash of maple syrup. The scene in front of me, defines the phrase “fucked up.”

Ten minutes into the argument and I have had enough. I mean, it is clear no one intentionally meant to spill flour on each other’s shirt when they bumped into each other. But they just have to make it a big deal.

I guess it is time for me to butt in. Locating a mop near an adjacent closet near the pantry, I flick each sibling in the back of the head with it—lightly— to grasp their attention. They each turn to me with shocked looks on their faces, almost identical to a gaping fish. It is a perfect Kodak moment, but too bad I left my camera at home. I resist the urge to laugh, before I hand over the mop to Blaine and a sponge, which I had grabbed from the kitchen counter beforehand, to Claire. I instruct them what to do, in efforts of saving Elaine from a heart attack.

“Blaine, you mop the floors. Claire, you clean the countertop. And I will cook the breakfast, you both failed to do so,” I order. I clap my hands together twice as a signal to start working. They both start to open their mouths to say something, but I glare at them before they do so, and they both shut their mouths and start the tasks that I gave them. They do it without any words, and while they clean, I find untouched ingredients that they had not thrown at each other.

I have no clue as to why I am making a breakfast-in-bed for people I have just met, but at the same time, I do not want Blaine and Claire to get in trouble. They so owe me for this.

I get the materials I need to make chocolate chip pancakes, which both of these bozos tried to make earlier, and mix them together to make the batter. I turn the stove on low to heat the pan, and a minute later, I start to pour the batter, making medium sized circles on the skillet. Within ten minutes, the batter is done, and I have successfully made enough pancakes for the whole house, except me.

I grab a tray and put the two plates on it, for Elaine and Drake to eat in bed. I grab two glasses and pour orange juice in it. I also cut up some fruit, and put that in a bowl to make a refreshing fruit salad.

Just in time, the Terrible Twos, as I will now call them, have successfully cleaned the kitchen, making it look even cleaner than before, which will be an extra plus for Elaine. I grab the tray and put it in Claire’s hand, knowing if I gave it to Blaine, he would probably drop it due to his clumsiness, and we all would be back to square one.

“Go up, wake up your sister, and then take the tray to your parents’ room, congratulate them, and say nothing about what happened ten minutes ago,” I instruct. Blaine mock salutes me and Claire simply nods, since her hands are occupied.

“Aren’t you going to come up,” Blaine asks.

“Nah. This is more of a private occasion, and I respect that. I wouldn’t want to intrude any more than I already am,” I clarify.

“Oh come on! You made the breakfast!” Claire whines and stomps her foot, but is careful to drop the tray.

“No, this is something special for just your family. Besides, I am wanted at home, so I need to get going,” I tell her. Blaine and Claire pout, but understand and end the discussion there.

I grab my school bag and phone, before waving a quick bye to them.

“You got everything?” Blaine asks. We had gotten up early so that we could make breakfast, despite the fact we slept late. Claire, once again, lent me her clothes, and said I could return it later, while I said I can just wear the ones from yesterday. But apparently, that is a big no-no for Claire.

“Yup. I already packed all my clothes and got my phone. Just congratulate your parents’ from my side, and tell them I will see them soon,” I reassure and order. I take my bag strap and put it on my shoulder, removing hair from my shoulders so it does not get pulled by the strap, and walk towards the main entrance of the house.

“Will do. Thanks for breakfast!” Claire says, carefully making her way up the stairs.

“Bye Journey!” Blaine says, following after her.

“Bye guys,” I yell, but not too loudly, as I open the door and exit. The pleasant morning air greets me as I step outside and close the door behind me. I take in a breath of fresh air, before starting my five block journey home. It is great that my house is only five houses away from Blaine’s. More time for us!

I walk down the sidewalk and within two minutes, I am standing in front of my own door.

I hesitate, not wanting to know about the storm brewing inside. I know how furious my brothers can get, and I know this is one of those times.

Just as my hand reaches for the door knob, the door jerk opens and on the other side, stand my five brothers, all in a disarray of emotions. They all have a look of worry and anxiety on their faces, as we all look at each other. When I think they are going to yell at me, I brace myself, knowing what is going to happen from experiences but am shocked when my eldest brother, Lloyd, pulls me into a tight embrace.

“Oh my god, do you have any clue how freaking worried we all were?” he said, resting his chin on top of my head, since he towers over me… they all do. His voice is devoid of any worry and stress they have faced in these sixteen or so hours, and is filled with relief.

I have no clue what to do or say in this situation. My hands limply rest by my side, and my face is devoid of any emotion, though my mind swirls with confusion and many questions.

“God, Journey, you should have called back, at least. We were worried sick,” Miles speaks up from behind Lloyd, his face also transformed into relief.

“Um, sorry?” I say, though it sounds like more of a question. I was not expecting to be welcomed home by all my brothers. Not at all. That was on the bottom of my expectations list. Be loved by brothers. Yeah, might as well come out from behind a wall and scream “SURPRISE!”

“Where were you, Journey?” Lloyd asks, probably asking the question everyone wants to know.

“I slept over at a friend’s,” I clarify.

“Who?” Garrett speaks.

“Blaine,” I answer. This interrogation is kind of scaring me, but at least they are being civil.

“Is he your boyfriend?” Justin asks, getting a little protective. Yup, still the protective one out of the other five. But his question had me laughing, since Blaine and I were never going to be together, due to his sexual preferences.

“Why are you laughing?” Brandon asks, confusion mixed in his voice.

I get my laughing in control before I speak, “Blaine is gay, guys!” I explain, only to burst out laughing again.

“Okay, Journey. Calm down. We need to talk. Now,” Lloyd speaks with such finality in his voice, it makes me quiver, along with the rest of the boys.

Without any words being said, we follow Lloyd into the living room.

I honestly do not think I am prepared to what he is going to tell me.

And boy, am I right.