"It's close to midnight. Something evil's lurking in the dark. Under the moonlight, you see a sight that almost stops your heart!"
Ikki and Meelo scream in tandem. I roll my eyes along with Jinora and Kai at Bumi's pale wiggling fingers, and goofy, twisted facial expressions.
"What?" Asks Bumi, his eyebrow arching towards the three preteens sitting behind the two, terrified children, holding one another at his feet.
The aged former military officer gives a look of offense before leaning back in the wooden rocking chair, tapping his boot that he still shines nightly before going to bed.
"Think you kids can do better?" He challenges, making the chair sing in a high-pitched squeak as he stands.
I didn't bother volunteering, no one listens to me anyway, besides, I'd rather stay as far away from the chair as possible. Rocking chairs have never been my thing, you see. Call it a pet peeve or whatever you wish, but I prefer to stand most of the time, besides Air Temple Island is weird enough, who needs an ancient rocking chair passed down from generations to remind them of this out of body place? Families suck, anyway, I conclude glaring over to Kai. Speaking of…
"I'll give it a go!" Pipes the so-called, child hero as he walks towards that dumb rocking chair and takes a seat.
I cross my arms, brow furrowing. He just loves attention, while I always feel like the third wheel. I couldn't remember why I detested him so much. Maybe it was his new haircut? Why'd he have to go do that, huh? Guess to get in good with Jinora and her holier than thou family. Why bother? I haven't cut my hair in forever, though it always looks like I'm just rolling out of bed anyway. He thinks with his fancy haircut, they would forget that he was still just a dirty, no good, thieving orphan boy, who got lucky to meet the avatar and company, blah! Leaning against another ancient relic in the airbenders' kitchen, I nearly jump through the roof at the sound of the grandfather clock's chime.
"Wha-?"
"Dinner time!" joked Kai with a shake of his head.
Jinora casts narrowed eyes in my direction. I hold up my hands in artificial surrender as she nears me, eyes boring holes into my own. Suddenly, her face softens into a smile, I return.
"Wow! That thing has never gone off before!" She exclaims excitedly.
I blush and just about to speak on my awesome feat when, of course, she turns away, ignoring me and looks directly at Kai, her handsome knight in shining airbender pajamas.
"Makes for an even creepier tale, huh, Kai?" She gushes, cutely.
I purse my lips as he laughs smoothly, leaning forward in the rocking chair, towards Ikki, Meelo and now Bumi sitting at his feet, legs crossed.
"Darkness falls across the land," he begins with his corny, sinister voice. I watch and listen more attentively, something about the way he rocks the chair just slightly, barely allowing it to hit the stone floor with its front arches, captivates me. "The midnight hour is close at hand. And creatures crawl in search of blood".
Geez, just get it over with. I know the story, of course, though I never remember the ending. We heard it often in the past. I yawn, rubbing my eyelid with a fist. Why am I so tired all of a sudden?
I actually can't remember when I fall asleep or where, but of course, I remember waking, every time. Old habits die hard when you grow up the way my brother and I did. Before the story ends, I am startled awake actually in time to hear Kai and Jinora going at it…hard.
I listen attentively at their soft, though biting bickering, Tenzin's daughter was a sweetheart, but obviously can hold her own with a street-rat like Kai. I catch the words coward, wrong, fool and the like. Wondering if I should speak up.
"You have to make amends with them, Kai!" Hisses the masterbender in the confines of her bedroom. Kai looks to me, standing by the windowsill, the moon on my back, full and glowing throughout the room.
I have no clue what to say so I saynothing, only nodding. I have the feeling that Jinora is right, she normally is about most things.
"Fine," Kai gives in, looking back to his girlfriend. "But you have to go with me along with Ikki and Meelo".
"Good idea," I add, sarcastically. Like that won't have us kicked back on the streets by tomorrow when Tenzin wakes to find we took all of the airbender kids on an adventure at this time of night. Great, Kai, just great.
Of course, no one listens to me and the four of us set off in the middle of the night with our pajamas on. It's dark, crazy dark even with the moon, overhead. I can't even see my reflection as we near the oceanside, it is so dark. Using Kai's bison, we fly away from the island to a place not far from Republic City.
I recognize it the moment we land. The house is dark as always with a single orange light flickering from an open window with an unseen fireplace, just below the roof, illuminating the shadow of a rocking chair. I am stoic, unwilling to go further. I peel my eyes away from the lone window near the home's steepled roof and look over the dark, six other closed windows on the bottom floor of the brick home.
"We should go," I mutter in Kai's ear, I did not want the others to notice my apprehension, besides they never listen anyway. Kai does, at least, most of the time. This time, unfortunately, he doesn't. Instead, it is Meelo who pipes, "Nobody's awake. Maybe we should come during the daytime, like normal people".
The boy is a genius and I am ready to agree, but the not so genius, Kai says simply, "No, Jinora asked me to make amends with my foster parents, so I'm doing it, tonight".
Before any of us can object, the preteen ventures onto the perfectly manicured lawn, crushing the fragile grass with each step. With six knocks from his firm fist, the door opens and a woman appears. Her pleasant smile is the first thing I notice, memories of a soft, motherly voice put me at ease, readily. "There was no need to worry," her gentle smile seems to say, "welcome back".
I know Kai has the same fuzzy feeling in his stomach as I do when he greets her warmly. "Mother Philip, how are you?"
The woman looks from me, to Kai and finally Tenzin's kids. Her soft smile widens on her youthful face. She hasn't changed at all, still as young, beautiful and vibrant as ever, wooden spatula always in hand, green eyes shimmering in contrast with her ebony, short cropped hair. Her clothing is still as old fashioned as ever, given her age, but given her happy title of housewife, it is nothing out of the ordinary.
"Well, hello, everyone, come in, we were just about to break our fast," she says, sweetly, gesturing with her spatula for us to come into the dark house.
"Breakfast?" Jinora asks. Kai and I give her sour looks. "It's just…ya' know, nearly one in the morning," she adds.
"We break our fast at this time, Dear," says Mother Philip. "The children are always so hungry. I remember Kai being the hungriest of all".
Kai chuckles lightly. "Yeah, it's why I don't eat with you guys much. Guess old habits die hard. I eat dinner at lunch and breakfast at night," he explains.
"Well," pipes Meelo, "The journey was suuuuper long, anyway".
With that, we all laugh and follow the woman inside the house. Though, it is dark on the outside, it is vibrant on the inside, just like Kai and I remembered. One would think the house is dark due to the boarded windows. I simply forgot this little detail.
The kitchen is always the source of the hub bub and little has changed except that there are only four, orphan children left out of a house that used to fit at least ten. All four are donned in all white pajamas, smelling of burnt wood due to the malfunctioning furnace upstairs that keeps the house warm. It is all coming back now like dismembered parts, fitting to create a whole again.
Mother Philip directs us to the long, extravagant dining room table where there are place settings in front of each of the twelve chairs, five on both sides and the head chairs. The children sit on the opposite side of myself, Kai, Jinora and Meelo, who thinks it funny to plop in my lap, I just pray silently that he does not fart-bend during our meal.
Father Philip, a dashing young man gives a smile and nod from the head of the table, making the normally talkative Ikki blush at his good looks. He then returns to carving the hearty roast in front of him, meticulously.
"Finally!" Kai and I yell in unison, "Meat!"
Father Philip and his foster kids laugh aloud, but become silent at Jinora's disgusted face.
"Uh," she says, looking to her siblings with similar looks of disgust. "We weren't planning on staying. We have to get back. We just came to support Kai. He wanted to apologize".
Kai and I pout, Miss Spiritual got us all the way here and now she wants to be rude? Mother Philip is none the offended, however, instead she gasps. "Oh, goodness! I forgot! Your friends are air nomads. Oh…oh…well, I do have some tea instead. I'd just hate for you all to leave with empty bellies".
The masterbender reluctantly agrees. I watch the four children in front of us as Father Philip rounds the table, placing slabs of the roast on everyone's tray. Surprisingly, none of them eat, only stare back at us, blankly. I figure they have never seen airbenders before now, so of course, they would be a little nervous. When Father Philip makes it to our side of the table, Meelo rudely reminds him, quickly. "Uh, I don't eat meat".
"Well, I do!" I say, ready to shove the boy off me when Mother Philip chuckles merrily.
"It's not for you, Dear," she informs him, making sure to top everyone's cups with steaming tea.
I nearly scream when Meelo, whose finger had been hunting treasure up in his nose while the woman talked pokes at the roast slice as if examining it. Needless to say, I am not hungry anymore. Kai, however, wastes no time digging in like he used to in the good old days while Jinora gets right to business after Mother Philip takes her seat.
"We're sorry to bother you, but while Kai's eating, I wanted to ask you more about Kai's brother. I think it's why he-"
I ignore her, suddenly feeling tired. Of course, as usual, I never remember sleeping, just waking up. It was hot, too hot. I feel like I am facing the hounds of Hell. Jinora, Ikki and Meelo are nowhere to be found. Though Mother Philip is there in a rocking chair, her back to me in the corner of a large room. Her wooden spatula, as always dangles over the side of the chair while a sleeping child I can't make out snores in her arms. She rocks, talking softly. "And whosoever shall be found".
It is the story Kai always tells. The one I never can recall the ending of. I look to Father Philip standing with none other than Kai at his side, their backs also turned to me. I feel like an intruder as Mother Philip nears the end of her story. I decide to join my brother and my foster parents, enjoying the something I did not realize I missed…family. Again, I miss the ending of the story, but that is the least of my worries. When I near my little family, I notice the fork and knife in Kai and Father Philip's hands.
That's when it hit me, I recognize the place and the huge furnace that illuminates the lone top room along with the rocking chair barely touching the stone floor. Mother Philip places Meelo into a metal box next to his two sleeping sisters curled on their sides.
"You did good today," says Father Philip, giving Kai a pat on his shoulder with the fork. "This should keep us full and alive for the next twenty years or so".
Confused, I watch as Mother Philip whistles while locking the metal box with the three children inside, lifting it towards the mouth of the furnace with her bending.
"Too bad they didn't try the roast," she says with a grunt as she places the box on the center rack.
I look to Kai who grins at me, his mouth widening farther than it should, lips peeling back over his gums, then nose, cheekbones, his eyes red… I gasp, at the sight.
"Yes," Father Philip says, his eyes looking at his son, grin splitting his lip. "to think we preserved that boy for months when he had the nerve to come back after what he did to you, and they didn't even get a taste of the real Kai".
I feel a push against my back, my head just under the rocking chair, I struggled, tried to cry out, but was forced to watch the wooden, curled end of the chair descend, slowly, creaking towards my face.
ONCE, sending stars shooting behind my eyelids
TWICE, I tasted the blood on my lip from my temple. I never remember three, though I remember.
...I had been here before...
#
Jinora appears in her doorway, when I yell out to the darkness, blinking awake with Ikki and Meelo at her side. I look about, unsure of where we are exactly, but glad to see they are ok.
"Thank goodness that was all a dream," I say.
"Kai?" I look to her confused.
Meelo and Ikki exchange looks, it is hot, too hot, when Ikki speaks, "Kai, where are we? Did we sleep? I only remember waking up".
#
AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! HAPPY HALLOWEEN
Word count: 2318
Prompts: "The thing you fear most" (fear of rocking chairs), chair (object), Kai (character), contempt (emotion)
Element included.
Oh yeah, I listened to Thriller on repeat while planning this. So let me credit the writers of one of the greatest Halloween songs of all time.