Part I – The Funeral

"If something ever happens to me, Riddick, I want you to be there for Cylus. No, let me finish. I want you to be the one he goes to when he's hurt or needs something. You know how my family treats him and you know that if I wasn't around that they would try to commit him or something. You have to promise me, Riddick. You just have to."

"Okay, Jack, you know I'll be there for him. Anything for you, Jack…. Anything."

It all started on a cold Saturday morning in mid-March when I attended my friend Kyra's funeral. I couldn't believe that my friend Kyra was dead. Apparently she was driving down the street she lived on the night it we had a storm warning and was hit head on by a drunk driver. As I stand here staring at her coffin, I realize that I never really got to know her like I should have. She was one of the people that I considered a friend. Hell, if you really get down to it, she was one of the only people I considered to be one of my friends. I look around at the other people there and I noticed her brother, Cylus, who is by no means shy about his emotions apparently, sobbing his heart out. I had never seen a grown man cry the way he did and I don't think I ever will again. She had told me that her brother's form of autism kept him from making friends and having a social life. But, she also told me that his autism didn't stop him from being what he wanted to be in life. Cylus became an astrophysicist at the local university and he didn't let his autism stop him. No matter what the doctors or their family said, he never let them keep him from staring at the stars and following his dreams. Kyra was so proud of him for accomplishing the feat regardless of his disability. As I stared at Cylus, I noticed how much he looked like her. Their faces were shaped same, the same high cheekbones, and something about the way he was standing reminded me of her.

As I was staring at him, he turned and looked directly at me. My breath caught in my throat, I have never seen eyes as green as his ever in my entire life. He started walking towards me; it took him awhile to get to me because I was standing further away from everybody else. I don't particularly like people very much but this was my Jack and I'll be damned if I wasn't going to be at her funeral. Cylus stopped a few feet in front of me and gave me a sad smile.

"Are you Riddick? My sister's Riddick?" he asked me. His voice has this rich timber to it that sent chills running up and down my spine.

"Yeah, I'm him and you're Cylus, right?" I said. He gave me a slight, sad smile as he nodded.

"Yes, I am Cylus but Kyra always called me Vaako. Why did you call Kyra 'Jack'?" he asked. I knew it was hurting him talking to me about Jack but I think it's good to speak of your loved ones who have passed on. It keeps them alive in your soul.

"That's actually a funny story, Vaako. Would you like to hear it?" Riddick says with a chuckle and Cylus nods his head vehemently yes. "Well, Vaako, when I first opened my bar I used to let teenagers come in there before 10pm to play pool and such. Then one night, there was a fight in the back near the pool tables, I went back there to see if I had to bust some heads for starting crap in my bar. When I got back there, I see this skinny bald-headed runt on top of a guy at least twice his size on the floor. He, or what I thought I was a he, had a knife to the guy's neck and was yelling at him that if he ever touched him again that he was going to cut his balls off. I walked over grabbed the skinny runt and told the big dude he was banned and to get out. After all the commotion calmed down, I asked the runt who he was and he muttered something. All I heard was the word 'Jack' and I asked if that was his name. The runt just laughed and told me if that's what I heard then that was his name. I found out later that Jack had said that I didn't know jack shit about nothing and that's how I ended up calling Kyra 'Jack'."

Cylus busted out in a happy chuckle and I smiled. I'm glad I told him something happy about his sister. I knew that she wasn't really around him the way she wanted to because of his scheduling at the university. I know I need to be there for him because Jack wanted me to watch out for her brother. To protect him from those who would hurt him.

"That was a funny story, Riddick. Can you tell me more of them?" Cylus asked with a hopeful look on his face. I smiled at him and wrapped my arm around his shoulders. I turned to look at him and it was like my whole world just stopped at that very instant. There was something about the way he just fit like he was supposed to be there. I smiled down at him and chuckled.

"Well, let me tell you about the time me and Jack got drunk and went to Tijuana on a whim. It all started –"

… To be continued