I would like to thank Guild of Scribes for telling me the first posting of this was screwed up, so I hope this is better. Fingers-crossed!
so much with so little
Erik had always grown up with very little, even before he and his mum was taken by Shaw. I've seen everything that goes through his mind, thoughts, dreams, memories (even the ones that have been buried by all his anger). I enjoyed seeing his memories before the war and seeing how caring Erik's mum was before everything happened. Sometimes I wish I had as much as he did.
(Time skip to when they're in the mansion sponsored by a beach divorce law firm)
I was reading in my study one night. I was waiting for Erik to come to over to play our daily game off chess. And just like clockwork he knocked on the door. I still don't know why he insisted on doing that. But I guess the thought of pretending to not know who's behind the door. I closed the book and set it aside. I smiled saying in a cheerful, oblivious tone, "who is it?"
The door opened, and Erik said teasingly, "Oh Charles, it seems like your losing your touch."
I rolled my eyes and moved over to the chess board. "You wish, my friend, maybe you would win more than two games."
He sat down across from me. "Hmm, that seems like a challenge."
We played and talked game after game. Some of our discussions were just light banter and small battles of wit. The others were intense arguments about our opposing point of views; we try not to dwell on those ones though. And many games later, somehow we got onto the topic of our childhood, which was a topic both of use were quite touchy about, and what we had growing up.
"Don't even begin talking like understand what it was like growing up for me." the said glaring at me, putting up all his mental walls. "I barely had a room to call my own, you have entire wing to yourself. You had enough money to get whatever you want, I barley had enough to get bread some days."
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath to try and calm myself. I've heard throughout my life that I had the patience of a saint. But everyone has a stopping point to how much they can take. I have never understood the true meaning of this phrase until tonight. I slowly opened my eyes and tried to speak quietly. "your right, I couldn't even begin to understand what it's like to live in a lack of material items, but do you know why I think you had so much more than I could ever have."
Erik crossed his arms and leaned back into the chair. "Oh yes please, enlighten me on this."
I opened my eye, "You had a family that loved. I may have all these things but you, you had someone cared about you. why do you think I like being in your head so much! That is the only place I can actually see what it's like to have a mother didn't drink till she passed out or to feel what it's like to spend time with a father that at least gives you the time of day!" I paused for a moment to calm down. I didn't notice I was shouting. I let out a somber smile, "Oh, Erik, you have no idea how much you had, even with so little."