2 Chapter 2: Trial of Tribute

Throughout the evening, the Corpse family had a blast with Grandma Pat and Grandpa Otis. During a grand feast consisting of ribs, brisket, mashed potatoes, collards, corn, potato salad, and a turkey the size of a 5-year-old child, laughter was roared at the dinner table, jaw-dropping stories were told by Mason’s grandfather about Michael’s childhood, and a heartwarming vibe showered over them all. It was exactly the kind of joyful atmosphere Mason needed to temporarily calm his nerves.

Later, when he gained an opportunity to be alone, Mason hid away from the rest of his family inside the bathroom of one of his grandparents’ spare bedrooms. His social battery was completely drained after an entire evening spent with his loved ones, so he needed some privacy to regain himself. These days, he preferred to be left alone while struggling to bring himself out of the depressed state that has taken over his soul.

Three months prior to this family vacation, Mason underwent a physical change that practically destroyed his life as he knew it; he discovered that he had the ability to summon and control nature!

The first time he uncovered his new powers was on his 13th birthday after he created pollen storm throughout the kitchen while blowing out the candles on his birthday cake. As time passed, the teen soon discovered he could control the movement of plants, grow vegetation, revive dying nature, raise roots from the ground, and so much more! Any other teen would dream of having abilities such as these. But Mason was a part of the minority that saw these powers as a curse!

After months of accidentally leaving trails of flowers around the house, unintentionally growing mushrooms out of his face, and an unfortunate giant dandelion incident in his school’s lunchroom, Mason was shunned by the majority of his peers and became the black sheep of his family. With a limited amount of control over these abilities, he was mortified and embarrassed almost every single day by the mishaps and catastrophes he would cause with the plants he would inadvertently empower. The worst part was how different his relationship with his parents had changed so quickly. Before all of this took place, his parents used to show him all the love and care that a child could dream of. Now, it was like he was living with complete strangers. His mother was constantly stressed out about Mason becoming a danger to those around him while his father was constantly tense over the possibility that Mason could be taken away from his family. Their love drastically turned into fear, considering that they would keep their distance from him due to the damage he could cause. They even refused to hug him or take part in any form of physical affection with him as a result of the uncertainty that Mason would turn them into plants.

Now, he spends every day praying that it would all end, one way or another.

As his sobbing eventually came to end, Mason finally gained control of his breathing and slowly wiped the tears running down his face. Eventually, he stood up from the edge of the bathtub and made his way over to the bathroom mirror to gather himself. Gazing into his reflection, he took a long look at his brown eyes, clear brown skin, curly black hair, and slim figure. Internally, he hated who he was and how he looked. But he knew there wasn’t a thing he could do to change it.

Suddenly, he heard a knock at the bathroom door. “Mason, baby, you in there?” he heard his grandmother on the other side of the bathroom door say.

‘Damn, can’t let her in yet!’ he thought to himself. “Um, yeah. Just a minute, Grandma,” he said out loud for her to hear him. Quickly, he took several tissues out of the box on the sink and wiped the remaining tears out of his eyes. After placing the used cloths in the trash can, he twisted the left sink nozzle and watched as the cold water from the faucet came pouring out. He placed the palm of his hands into the water and drenched them underneath the faucet. Taking his soaking wet hands to his face, he rubbed them up and down his face to refresh himself following his breakdown.

“Hey, boy, don’t waste all that water now! Old folk need some moisture too!” his grandmother whimsically said to him through the door.

Mason quickly scrambled to turn the water off and his quietly chuckled at his grandmother’s remark. After he dried his hands and face off with one of the towels hanging up on a rack next to the shower, he unlocked the bathroom door and came face-to-face with his grandmother.

“Everything alright in here, sugar?” she asked her grandson. A skeptical Mason knew to choose his words carefully anytime he was asked this question. Heeding his father’s warning about keeping his troubles to himself on this trip, the young man automatically nodded his head to throw his grandmother off.

“Yes, I’m fine,” he said as he walked past her through the doorway of the bathroom.

“Baby, sit down for a minute I need to talk to you,” she said softly as she pointed to the bed in the corner of the room. He looked at the expression on her face and noticed the serious demeanor she was holding. He was nervous to hear what she had to say to him, but he knew he had no choice but to listen to his elder.

As they both sat down on the edge of the bed together, Grandma Pat continuously stared at her grandchild as if he was the Eight Wonder of the World. Mason felt as though he was being dissected like a frog in Biology class with her eyes trained on him. They both sat in silence for a moment, until Grandma Pat said the most chilling words Mason could possibly hear.

“I know.”

Mason felt his soul leave his body upon hearing these words. He was scared to hear what she was going to say next, so he decided to take the lead in this conversation. “Y-you, you know about what?”

“Honey,” Grandma Pat said as she grabbed him by the hand. “I know all about your abilities,” she continued. Suddenly, Mason felt a sense of ease overcome him as she gripped his hand in comforting fashion. “How? Did someone tell you?” he asked.

“Your father confided in me about it over a month ago. He called me and your grandfather and told us that he doesn’t know how to help you in this kind of situation,” she explained to Mason. “Oh,” Mason said as began to feel guilt-ridden. He hated how he unconsciously worried his parents to death over his well-being and the safety of others.

Grandma Pat saw the sadness written all over her grandchild’s face. “Now baby, you can’t go around feeling sorry for yourself over something like this. There are plenty of people in the world that share your problem. Just last night, Grandpa and I were watching the news and saw that a young man about your age set an entire neighborhood on fire with his bare hands! And this morning, there was a report about this girl with superstrength who accidentally caused an earthquake while she was playing with her jump rope. You don’t need to feel like you’re all alone in this situation!” she encouraged him, but he refused to believe the words she was saying.

“I know I’m not the only one out there with a problem like mine, but how can I fix this? Mom and Dad don’t know what to do with me and my friends want absolutely no part of me anymore. I feel like I’m a monster that everyone wants to get rid of,” he confided as he looked over at her. He watched as she sat there in silence for a moment, until she suddenly grew a smile across her face.

“Come with me,” she said as she stood up, took him by the hand, and led him to the closet. “Open it,” she instructed him. Mason slowly grabbed the knob of the door and twisted it. As he pulled it open, he came across a huge surprise; there was a shrine filled with pictures of him inside of the closet!

His jaw dropped at the sight of this, and his eyes began to water. Leisurely, he stepped inside of the closet to get a better look at the pictures. The first one he noticed was a picture of him as a toddler playing with two little brown-skin girls with curly hair at the park. It was a photo of the time his mother took him and his sisters out for a fun day in the sun. The second picture he came across was of him in a baseball uniform with a larger, muscular man dressed as a coach picking him up and hugging him. That photo was from when he used to play in the Little League, particularly the day he hit a home run and his father celebrated with him at the home plate. The third picture that caught his eye was recently taken at his elementary school graduation, where he was dressed up in a suit and pictured with two Caucasian women while he was posing with his certificate. The blonde woman to his left with a huge smile on her face was his mother, and the one on the right with straightened black hair was his 6th grade math teacher Mrs. Smith.

All of these photos brought back wonderful memories to him and a joy that he had not felt for a long time. Grandma Pat watched as he reminisced to himself and spoke to him as he continued to look at the photos.

“Darling, you were somebody special before you discovered these new plant powers of yours, and you are going to continue to be something amazing in this world now that you have them,” she said as he turned around and looked at her. “The road ahead of you isn’t going to be an easy one, and this mountain you must climb is going to take everything you have to reach the top. But it’s not impossible. Not if you make the right choices to help yourself and help the world around you. And baby, no matter what path you choose for yourself, I want you to always remember this; somebody in this world will always love you,” she said as she held her arms wide open.

Mason teared up and immediately went up to his grandmother and gave her a humungous hug. His heart felt warm after hearing these reassuring words from his grandmother as she held him tight. These words were something he needed to hear for a very long time, and she just proved to him once again why he considers her an angel sent from Heaven.