2 New Face, Old Times

"Oh, that looks bad." Elijah said looking a red bump of my forehead, his voice showing pity with hints of anger while glaring at mom who stood beside the couch like a child about to get scolded.

"Aww come on! It's not even that bad. Besides, what made him run away like a bat out of hell as soon as he saw me?", She exclaimed trying to soothe the bump on my forehead with an ice pack.

Mom had makeup on and some fake skin hanging from her face making her look like a real zombie. Elijah told me she had been watching too many YouTube videos and ended up getting obsessed with Halloween themed makeup. She was only eager to hug me which was why she came running to me.

What a wonderful way to welcome your son, mom. Dress up like a deranged zombie and run to him. Wow.

And just like what a normal human would do, I ran as soon as her hideous figure came in view and hit my head against a pole. She looked that scary. Never thought she'd have such a flair for makeup. Her face looked a lot better now, without that blood-curling makeup. Not a wrinkle on her face. She's happy with her life. She's always been that way.

"But what was the knife for?" Elijah asked her.

"This." She said showing me the life-size flamingo cutouts.

"I couldn't find the scissors so I brought out a knife to cut their strings off. I'm sorry sweetie."

"It's alright mom. You didn't do it on purpose so don't apologize."

She grinned from ear to ear. How I missed my mother's smile.

"Ever the sweetheart, my Blaine." She hugged me, sighing.

Elijah stood up and came to me saying, "I'm sorry I couldn't have a proper chance to introduce myself. I'm Elijah Maldonado. I first came to town three years ago. I own a restaurant a little far from here."

Now that I observed him, he didn't look bad. About 6 ft high, light brown hair, almond shaped eyes, narrow chest and abdomen. Hmm...little muscle and little fat. Regardless, he looked fine for a man in his early forties.

"He was a cardiologist." Mom chimed in. I was quite surprised. Cardiologists were one of the highest paid doctors in the field of medicine.

"Why would you leave your job and settle in a place like Vanifernum?"

A place like Vanifernum? There can never exist a place as blistering as Vanifernum.

"Cooking was a hobby of mine, and I loved it. So I thought of pursuing it and here I am. I gotta say, I'm thankful for it or else I would've never met your mother." He said looking at her lovingly.

"Why didn't you marry anyone all these years?"

"I was too immersed in work and research that the thought never came to me even when my parents insisted. But that changed when your mother tripped and fell into my arms in my restaurant." He looked like a teenage boy with those dreamy eyes.

"I tried to call you but you had the audacity to change your number. So I let the wedding happen without your notice. Sorry, but I'm not sorry."

"I didn't want anyone to know about my personal life. Not even my secretary. I couldn't risk our house swarming with media. You'd definitely throw a shoe or a chair from all that commotion and end up on the newspaper as the hot topic of the week. I don't like unnecessary attention and you know it, mom." It was only fair if I reasoned with her.

"Well...yeah. You're right. But look at you, could I be any more proud? You've become the ideal man! The face of Octavia! It's a good thing you got plastic surgery done. You look like an angel."

A gush of memories clouded my mind, all at once. I was never a healthy child. 'The Walking Disease' was what I was called at school.

"Sweetie? Blaine!"

"Yeah? Oh, I'm sorry I spaced out again"

"God, Blaine. You still haven't gotten rid of that habit."

"I'm trying to. Honest."

There was one thing my mother would never tolerate. Me spacing out.

"Things are going great for you but if only Loralie had not-"

"I do not want to talk about it mom. You say another word about this and I'm leaving."

Tears filled my eyes but I tried not to let even one drop slip. I couldn't be weak, not now of all times. Mom didn't know half of what happened but she was there to comfort me every time. She saw me scream blue murders due to her absence every night after she disappeared, but that was six years ago. I really wanted to get over her, I tried everything but even the tiniest things set me on fire with her thoughts. Every single time.

"I'm sorry."

"Umm....I'll just-I'll just go and check if the chicken's done." Elijah excused himself and headed to the kitchen.

Change the topic, idiot Bennett!

"You’re lucky to have married a man who knows how to cook. It was a nightmare whenever you tried experimenting with different foods and shoved it in my mouth." I told mom, cringing at the thought.

She scoffed, folding her hands and sitting beside me letting go of her hold on the ice pack.

"I'm the best cook okay?"

"Mom, the only thing you know to cook is a pancake. Wait, you don't cook pancakes. You just fry them." I told her, trying to position the ice pack on the right place.

"Well, they were tasty pancakes."

"Yeah...there's no denying that. Only that."

There was one last doubt I wanted to clarify.

“Mom, is he a part of the…you know…”

Well, what can I say? Every family has its secrets swept neatly under the carpet. Her eyes widened for a second, then relaxed with a smile on her lips.

“Oh, oh no. He’s not. He doesn’t know anything. I had his background checked too. It’s as clean as a fresh diaper.”

“What? A fresh diap-” I sighed, listening to my mother’s bizarre terms of comparisons. “Never mind. He looks fine, as long as he’s not a threat.”

"He’s anything but, in fact. He’s so cute, he’s scared of bugs. The other day he almost fainted when a cockroach fell on his lap. Nevertheless, a threat, any kind of threat is like a walk in the park to me. Ah...I just remembered something." She smiled nervously. Not a good sign.

"You see, it's a new house."

"It is."

"We made a room for you, really. Even did some interior designing in it."

"Okay? And?"

"Uh about that, yeah. I was kind of mad at you a few months ago so..."

"So?"

"So...I made it a part of my aviary."

I swear I'll get rid of any godforsaken source of life with wings and feathers in this house before New Year's day.

But I need to keep my cool for the moment.

"It’s just a room, mom. It’s nothing to be bothered about. I don't really mind as long as my old belongings and books are untouched." I smiled at her in a reassuring way.

"That's the worst part. They got burnt up. All of them."

The ice pack I was holding fell down.

"My poor books! Oh my books! You had one job mom. One harmless job! I had memories in them!"

"Memories of what? Romeo and Juliet? The Taylor Swift theorem?" Mom took me to the room which was supposed to be mine and it wasn't a good sight.

"It's the Taylor's Series Theorem!“ I almost yelled.

“I don’t care what it’s called! I was a vet school student so math is least of my concerns. Just looking at the formulae gives me a migraine.”

It hasn’t even been a few hours since I came back and my blood pressure is spiking up already.

”And what's this? The floor is abound with birds! And it reeks of excrement! How long has it been since you had this place cleaned?"

"A couple of weeks, perhaps?"

"You're still careless as ever, mom. Get the cleaners first thing tomorrow."

"Alright." She responded in a small voice.

"Could you please show me a room to rest? My back hurts from driving."

"You could’ve said so earlier. How about I run a bath for you? You can go to bed after that."

She didn't even wait for my response and ran for the stairs, going to the third floor of the house. She always carried herself with legerity, like an extremely reflexive feline. My poor books were ashes and I couldn't do anything about them. My beautiful math and chemistry books....I miss you. My headache had doubled when I got to know they turned to ashes. Mom said they were 'a waste of space anyway'. Let's see if she says the same thing two days later when I get the birds out.

I was never one to get mad. But the one thing I could never tolerate was shoddiness. Shoddiness in maintenance and people was something that always got on my nerves.

Mom bluntly denied my offer of having a Italianate house built for her a few years ago but she said she was capable of buying her own house and that she was already in the process of acquiring the money. This house was built with Elijah and Mom's investment. It was a huge, three-storeyed detached house surrounded by a kitchen garden and of course, massive gates. Nothing like the little cottage-like house we used to live in. My thoughts were broken off when I heard the sound of water, meaning the tap was running to fill the bathtub.

"That room at the end of the corridor is very clean and has a bathroom too. Should be fine. Now off you go."

"Yeah, thanks mom."

"Sure. Goodnight Blaine."

I went to the guest room and put my bags beside the bed before I went to the bathroom. I'd take a bath every night as it helped with my sleep, and after a long bath, I finally was ready to sleep.

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Water. There was water everywhere and I was drowning. I tried to swim to the surface but I couldn't reach it. Then suddenly, I was pulled into pitch darkness, as if I was sucked into a vacuum.

I woke up with sweat trickling down my face and my shirt was wet too. I pulled my hair in frustration. This wasn't the first time I had nightmares. I have them often, unless I take a sleeping pill or two, but nobody knows. Silently praying for them to stop, I reached for a glass of water and I felt myself touching something very soft...and almost feathery ? When I looked at the table, I was both startled and angry. There was a duck sitting on my phone!

"Oh my God! Shoo! Shoo!"

That little thing quacked back as a retort and ended up knocking the glass off in an aggressive manner.

I held that duck by its throat, gently placing it outside the room and locked my door from inside. Next time I see a bird in my house, it's going in the oven.

After giving the room a quick once-over, I laid back in bed reminiscing about the past. I'd have never been living such a luxurious and formidable life if it wasn't for her. Her sudden vanishing was a very huge blow to me, and it drove me to insanity. I swore I'd do anything to keep me away from this madness and here I am, having the time of my life. But when night falls, my mask falls too. I go back to being the same anxious and over-thinking blowzy Blaine from high school all curled up in my bed and crying myself to sleep. All because of her. It's all my-

"Been six years and you still have that darned habit huh?"

I snap my head to the doorway and I don't know if I should feel happy or fearful.

"Elwyn?"