Picture Perfect

Chapter 4: The Days Memory Forgot


"Look! Look!"

An excited boy with messy silver hair from hours of play in the park ran up to his older siblings, a few rocks in his hand that he had tripped over not even a minute earlier.

The group turned to him with curious expressions "What is brother?" the one with a taciturn expression asked, indigo eyes gaining a hint of curiosity "What did you find?"

The boy skidded to a halt, nearly falling before the tallest of the group easily caught him and helped him gain his balance once more.

The little boy smiled and held the rocks out "I fell over these, but I don't mind since it helped me find them! Aren't they pretty?"

The one with gravity defying hair quirked an eyebrow "Bro, those are just ro-oof!" a quick elbow to the ribcage from the taciturn boy next to him and he was silenced, save of a small hiss of pain as he rubbed the now sore and already bruising area.

Another boy, the second youngest of the group gave a confused look "What do you see there?" he asked as he pointed curiously.

"What do you mean what do I see?"

It was the little boys turn to be confused, not quite understanding how the others missed what he observed.

"Well….all we see is rocks. Perhaps you could elaborate a bit?"

The one who had elbowed the boy earlier spoke up as he ignored the still pained Dane next to him, like it was a common occurrence.

The little boy looked at the rocks held in has tiny hands, how could he explain this sight? Couldn't they see how the stones sparkled in the sun due to the minerals in them? How that if you looked closely enough you could see a teeny tiny rainbow surrounding that sparkle? Didn't they observe the patterns of the rocks, how they seemed so random and quick but had actually formed over millions and millions of years. All the time that had been put into each little rock by mother Earth, and the result was breath taking.

How….

Just how would he ever be able to describe such beauty?

Maybe if he gave them a hint….

He smiled "Shiny!" he said as he held the rocks closer to the others "See?"

"Dude, I don't see anything shiny 'cept for the gum wrapper next to your foot…"

Well, the pained boy seemed to have gotten over his minor bruise and was now giving a bored expression to the other as he tapped a coin against the metal park bench he sat on in a steady rhythm, it sounded like the drum beat in "Back in Black" by ACDC.

Emil smiled as he heard the sound and looked down at the rocks, smile growing ever wider as the sound of a rock and roll drum beat seemed to fit the personality of the white rock with dots of black strewn on it. If he looked closely at the dots, he could make images. Right now he saw a man with a beard. Fitting for the song, right?

With each pang of the coin against the park bench, the shine grew ever brighter and more….arrogant in a sense, as if the rock was proclaiming just how amazing it was, how it was unique compared to any other rock.

But he couldn't help but feel sad for the little rock next to it. So small in size, only a solid color of dingy brown. It seemed to pale in comparison to the other rock but….he couldn't help but like this little rock better.

Sure, it was plain, but it held an aura of its own. He was drawn to it like a magnet, like the moon to the Earth, and like the universe to the life it held within it.

It's as if in that moment, he had suddenly clicked with the little sad rock and made it his own. Like it was no longer a rock, but a piece of him.

'I know how you feel, Rocky.'

The child thought as the other rock slowly slipped from his hand

'That means you're my rock now, you can stay with me. You'll never be lonely here!'

He smiled down at the little rock in his pale little hands.

"Yo…Yo! Bro! Come on, Lukas said it's time to go home like, five minutes ago!"

The boy snapped out of his stupor and looked up "Ah! Coming Dan!" he said, using the other boys nick name as he surged forward.

He stopped short and turned back, picking up the rock he had dropped earlier

"No friend left behind!"

"Emil!"

"Right!"

And with that, the group of brothers left the park after an afternoon of ice cream, elbowing Dan in the rib cage, playing around, and at one point having to pull Matthias out of the baby swing when he got stuck in it after making a dare with Tino.


He sighed as he woke up from the dream, that was such a nice memory. The day when his mind began to realize just how different he was.

Emil silently stood up from his bed, unwrapping himself from the soft and warm navy colored covers as he placed his white sock covered feet onto the dark blue carpeting of his room.

He stood up and in a sort of half-daze, walked over the desk next to his closet. He silently opened the pencil drawer on the left side of the white desk, reaching to the back of it and grabbing the hard objects there.

He slowly pulled his hand out and opened it, smiling softly.

Two rocks sat there, one white with black spots and sparkling brightly, and the other small and a dingy brown and not giving a visible shine.

His violet eyes gave a small spark of humor as he thought back to the day he had found them. They were so big in his little hands back then, he almost needed two hands to hold both, but now they easily fit into the palm of his right hand.

It was a little comforting.

He had grown out of the child he was when he found them, but they hadn't changed one bit. They never left and he could always count on them to be in their usual place whenever he wanted to see them.

They weren't just rocks to him, they were guides.

The very guides that had shown him who he was, even if he didn't like who he was.

He appreciated it though, people couldn't guide you like that. No, they just left you in the middle of the journey. Or they just never came with you at all….

He closed his fingers around the rocks, feeling the rough yet comforting texture of the little objects he had gotten so attached to.

He sighed softly.

Of all the things, he got attached to two rocks.

Couldn't it have been a book, or you know, a dog like any other normal kid.

Even a CAT.

And we all know how evil cats could be.

He put the two little rocks back into the special place in the pencil drawer, slowly closing it and walking back to his bed and silently slipping underneath the covers again and closing his eyes

"Someday, I would wish to be understood by a person. It seems my imagination is leading me to the deep end…I fear for my sanity."

With that, he let the cool moonlight drifting in from the window wrap him up in it's relaxing grip, letting it's soft lullaby of wind and rustling leaves lull him into a peaceful sleep the likes of which he had not known in days.


He groaned as the fierce and blinding light of the suns rays beat down on his eyelids, waking him from his slumber.

In a last attempt to preserve the coolness of night which had lulled him to sleep hours ago, he pulled the blankets over his head.

...

Too late, the coolness had left when the sun decided to give him such a rude awakening. There just weren't enough hours of the night for his liking.

He would have much preferred a rainy day, the soft melody of the raindrops and deep baritone of the thunder keeping him asleep in peace.

He threw the covers off of his form and got out of bed with a sour grumble, pulling on a white Lopapeysa and a pair of dark colored jeans and his favorite boots.

Now, time to face the music. The horrible, screeching, high noted music he faced every morning called an energetic breakfast to kick off the day.

How he wished for sleep again, but the sun wouldn't allow that. Stupid rotation of the Earth…..

He heard hushed voices drifting up the stair well, causing him to give a curious glance towards it.

Slowly with both natural and practiced stealth, he slunk his way down the pristine white carpeted stairs, avoiding all the creaky steps and eventually touching the linoleum floors of the entrance hall. He looked in front of him and quietly slunk forward, the floor transitioning to the cream colored carpet of the living space full of books, three white couches, a coffee table, and a decently sized HD T.V.

Slowly, ever so carefully, he edged along the wall towards the entrance of the kitchen on the left side of the room.

"Dude, did you see though? He had panic in his eyes! Like…like a deer caught in headlights thing!"

"What are we going to do? We can't just pretend nothing happened here!"

"I know, but we must act normal. He'll be suspicious if we suddenly ask questions two days after the incident. We're just lucky today is a Saturday and we can use this to help ease the tension."

"Ja, I agree with L'kas."

"….Fine you two, you win."

"Alright bro, but if this plan backfires, I get bragging rights to say I predicted this would-"

"Yes yes Matthias, we all know just how exactly on spot your gut instincts are. Like that time you woke us all up at three in the morning on a Sunday because you heard a 'murderer' in the house when it was just Hanatamago poking around in the kitchen and licking up some spilled applesauce off the floor."

"Hey! I thought you said you would never bring that up again Lukas! And I'm sorry for leaving the applesauce on the kitchen counter! I didn't know the dog could jump up there!"

"One, I never said I wouldn't bring it up again, and two, quiet. I thought I heard someone walking."

Emil froze on the spot. His breath caught in his throat and for a moment, it was as though time had ceased. Panic flashed painfully in his chest as he felt himself tense up and he began to feel a bit dizzy from lack of breath.

"…I don't hear anything, Lukas."

"Hm, must have been Hanatamago then."

Like that, their conversation switched topic.

Emil quietly exited the living space, edging along the wall as before, and not taking a breath of relief until he reached the stairwell and climbed it silently.

So, they hadn't forgotten. He had been wondering why they hadn't questioned him about it the past two days. Now he saw why.

Well, if this was all just a game, a mystery, to them….

Then another player had joined the game. He wasn't going to let his guard down after this, no, if anything he'd be listening in at all times and watching them when they thought they were alone.

He'd make them have the feeling of him staring at you when he wasn't looking at you at all.

No one was going to find out about his photography.

He entered his room silently and stood in the doorway, facing the same window which had woken him up that morning, except now he was grateful for the rude rays of the sun for waking him up and forcing him out of his daze.

He gave a glance at his closet before glancing over his shoulder and to the stairwell.

He would not lost this 'game', his sanity and security of self and mind depended on it.

His world-no. His universe depended on it. His existence, his reality.

He'd win this little game of cat and mouse, there was no room for error.

He turned to face into his quiet and still room once more, light amethyst eyes glowing with a determination he had never felt at such a colossal level and a protectiveness he had never known the likes of, he even felt a tone of hate under lying the thunderstorm of emotion in his eyes. Was this what insanity felt like...? No time to wonder now, he had something to do.

"Congratulations boys, you're playing in the big leagues now."

With that, he shut the door behind him and went to his desk to plot out his course of action.