Tears of Light
Chapter 1: The Lonely Beatnik
The Mystery Inc had rarely seen their friend Shaggy sad or depressed! They was used with he always at the saturdays start the morning to make home made pancakes to everyone, spend the time outside to play some new game with Scooby and later at the evening watch a movie with everyone in Mystery Inc.
But this saturday seemed to be unusual.
Shaggy wasn't quite himself, he has been staring through the window in the living room at their headquatrers since the morning. Scooby had been worried for his best friend.
Shaggy sighed when he watched the snow flakes fall down to the frozen ground at the garden. Daphne's flowers was already freezen and wouldn't bloom again until the spring comes. It was the end of November and it started to snow later than usual.
Shaggy just waited, waited for a voice from his past. A girl he used to see at the corridoors in their High School. Her sea blue eyes, her short spiky blonde brown hair and her voice. A voice filled with joy and happiness. He could imagine her coming back, she was like the spring.
Shaggy felt his eyes being tired and his mind was a bit dizzy. He hadn't slept at the whole night. Whole his body ached when he sat like that in a uncomfortable position. He couldn't be awake much long and before he knew it, he had passed out while the snow became a real winter wonderland outside.
It was summer. He was around 10 years old. It was the best summer in his whole life. He loved the summer and being with his friends.
One of his three greatest friends was Fred Jones. They didn't live near each others, but their parents knew their families. Fred was really a good friend. He learned Shaggy lots of stuff. He was like a big brother to always took care of him when no one cares and tried to teach Shaggy to get rid of his fears (he actually managed to get rid of the fear for very high places).
He had also his new friends Daphne Blake and Velma Dinkley.
Daphne was from one of the richest families in Coolsville, she was beautiful, nice and knew much about the had everything any child in their age could wish and she had more than half of the Coolsville children as amirers. Everyone loved her. Shaggy knew Fred had knew her since the two of them was in kindergarten. Shaggy had always a nasty feeling that he maybe wasn't worth Daphne's friendship.
Velma Dinkley was like Shaggy, middle class. She was the youngest in their group, but she was most clever girl Shaggy ever had met. She was smarter than the boys and girls in High School. She was also very kind and had respect for others feelings. She came from a nice family whose owned a Book Store in Coolsville. He knew Velma had many sisters.
Shaggy wasn't the bravest, richest or smartest of his friends. He was just scared of everything, he was a middle class and only little book smart. But he liked to being with his friends and draw. He loved to draw different things. But he could never be like his friends whose he though was free from problems.
Shaggy's name was acually Norville Rogers and he lived with his stepmother and stepsister Maggie. Maggie was actually nice, but her mother was worse than a nightmare for Shaggy. She wanted him to be a perfect boy. He should have the highest and best grades in school, being popular with friends, being perfect handsome, clever and study to a lawer!
But Shaggy didn't want that! He just wanted to solve more clues like he had once or twice read in books. He wanted to be loved the one he really was! It seemed to be a impossible dream.
Until he met her!
Her name means "sky" and her blue eyes was fitting perfect to her. She was far too nice for her own good! She was always in good mood, though good of everything and never gave up. Her surname was a bit unusual because it was a Brittish surname; Lennox.
Sora Lennox!
She disappeared when they had finished High School. No one knew where she was going or where she was now. Shaggy had never felt so depressed since that day. The day he'll maybe see her again! His sky, his Sora.
Shaggy could even imagine her to say the usual thing to him every time he fell asleep.
"Shaggy, your lazy bum. Wake up!" Just to see her blue eyes, her blonde brown hair and her smile. His heart beat always faster when he though of her or see her.
Suddenly Shaggy felt someone tried to shake him awake from his dreams, but his eyes and his mind was so tired. He didn't know if he had some strengh left. He could hardly move, he tried to move his leg a little. But it didn't move, how hard Shaggy tried. He didn't know why, but it felt like he was burning up. Whole his body was on fire. Then finally he managed to open his brown eyes.
"Shaggy, what's the matter with you?" he heard a worried voice which belonged to the one who tried to wake him. It was Fred. Around him stood Daphne, Velma and Scooby. It looked like they had been running.
What he couldn't understand what why he was on on the floor in the living room. It felt hard against him, his neck and back ached terrible. His head felt cloudy and heavy.
"W-what's the matter? Why am I, like, here at the floor?" asked Shaggy when Daphne handed him a glass of water. He drank everthing fast, he was so thirsty. Worse than when they was in Egypt once. His throat felt sore and warm.
"It seems like you fainted, Shaggy." Velma answered at his question, with a First Aid kit in her hands if Shaggy had been hurt. Lucky he wasn't hurt.
"Oh, okay! Like, Daphne, you keeps staring at me!" said Shaggy, still he felt the warmth burning inside and shifted a bit uncomformtable.
Daphne's face was very close to Shaggy and he felt his heartbeating go faster. He didn't want they would realize he was a bit feverish.
Shaggy, your face looks flushed! Freddie, can you feel on his forehead?" said Daphe to Fred, who just nodded did so.
Shaggy sighed when he felt his friend's hand on his forehead. This feeling was nice, he wanted to sleep so badly and closed his eyes when he sighed again.
"Shaggy, you're burning up. You have a fever!" exclaimed Fred worried. Then the mayhem broke out for Shaggy, he had never had a fever before and didn't knew what will come next.
"Oh, poor Shaggy! We'll going to take of you. I can make warm soup and lemonad to you!" said Daphne, that makes Shaggy blush.
He havn't heard that come from Daphne before. He wasn't used to feel so weak that he couldn't even move and he began to hotter than before inside himself.
"Fred, we need to get in bed quickly! He'll gets worse if he stays here!" said Velma concerned and patted Scooby at the head. She was trying to comfort him because the Great Dane was so worried for his great best friend.
"Right! I'll carry him to his bed, lucky he's light like a feather!" said Fred and lifted Shaggy in his arm and carried him to up-starirs where was the bedrooms and some bathrooms.
Shaggy felt very dizzy and a bit of comfort. It was nice to have a fever sometimes, especially if a friend was like a brother and cares of someone. Shaggy had always seen Fred like his brother, even when Shaggy feels different and Fred was the perfect one. No, not really perfect. Fred is actually crazy about traps and his girlfriend Daphne.
He didn't know how this happened, but later he found himself in his pajama and was comfortable in his warm bed. Fred sat in a chair next to his bed and watch him. Talked to Shaggy about things, both big things and small things. Just like before when they was children.
"Daphne is in the kitchen and making some food to you and Velma had gone to the drugstore to find some medicin to you. How are you feeling?"
"Like, fine." replied Shaggy, not feeling dizzy anymore. Just feeling cozy and happiness. He had friends who cared about him. But he couldn't stop thinking about his long lost friend from the past. Wonder if Fred remember her still in this times?
"Fred?"
"Hmm?"
"Do you remember Sora Lennox? Like, from our High School?" asked Shaggy while he watched at his friend.
"Oh, Sora! Yes, I been thinking about her. As if I would forget that bonehead!" said Fred, laughing to the memory of her. Shaggy remembered that Fred always called her "bonehead" to joke.
"Well, to be honest. I miss her a lot. Sora could invent crazy things, but I'll never forget her." Fred continued to talk, Shaggy could a bit of sadness in his crystal blue eyes when Fred looked down.
"We'll find her! One day we'll find her and everything going to be great!" said Shaggy, he didn't want to Fred being sad. If someone going to be sad, it was Shaggy himself. To his big surprise, Fred was hugging him. Shaggy felt how he turned red, he wasn't used with this.
"I'm sure you're right. I just want to thank you. You may not being the bravest, the strongest or the smartest, but you have something we could learn from you, Shags!" said Fred and let go of Shaggy. Shaggy looked confused, like he always does when he didn't understood a thing.
"What's, like, that then?" asked Shaggy. Fred just smiled and said:
"A pure heart and loyality! Don't you know that? Your heart is the most important in the Mystery Inc!"
"M-my heart?" struttered Shaggy and blushed deeply. He didn't knew his was that important.
"Yes, your heart. You'll never abandon us, Shaggy!" said a voice from the door, it was Velma, Daphne with a bowl with warm soup in her hands and Scooby.
"Like, hi guys!" greeted Shaggy, more happy than before. He had his friends around him, they never left him alone. What more could he wish? Shaggy didn't even wanted gold or money instead for friends. Money had never been so much for him, except pay the bills and buy foods.
"We heard you, boys!" said Daphne and handed Shaggy the soup bowl carefully so he didn't burn himself. "We wouldn't forget Sora, she was smart, funny and ..."
"A crazy inventor!" interupted Fred, trying to make a joke of it. "I remember all stuff she built and every time it ended with a BOOM!"
"Reah, rhat's ras runny!" said Scooby and giggled, only to remember Sora. She was really funny.
Shaggy nodded and sighed when he felt the soft pillow against his head. His mind became cozy and fuzzy, he was ready to fall asleep. With his friends, he promised to be a little braver than usual.
The happens rarely that Shaggy's own courage and confidence comes out. For Shaggy it felt like himself was asleep and and his 'other person' was alive. Like if it was two parts of him. Only Shaggy knew it must be so.
During the adventure with the Phantosaur, Shaggy though it was the hypnos which made his brave side came out. Later when the mystery was solved and they was home at their headquarters, only when he was alone Shaggy realized it wasn't the hypnos. It was himself, but still not him. Like it was an other part of him.