The Other Father
7.00 am, Sunday 29 October 2017.
They wake up.
They set their hearts straight for ten minutes.
They meet.
Prof. Peter said, "Alright, kids, so, let's check the list, alright?"
Today: Saturday, 28/10/17
-prepare for classes
-prepare for extra classes
(addresses and phone numbers of all vendors they visited)
Questions to Craig:
- what's with the brain scans?
- what's with the birth photos?
Before visiting Craig:
- what route should I take?
- is Craig available tomorrow?
Prof. Peter said, "Alright, any additions to this list you wanted to see?"
Mir said, "Dad, we don't bring our brain scans and birth photos."
Prof. Peter said, "Oh no. Oh well, perhaps we'll bring it the next time, if The Perfect wills. Anyhow, we'll just mention the brian scans and birth photos to him. Maybe he remembers, if The Perfect wills. I'll just add to the list."
Today: Saturday, 28/10/17 -prepare for classes -prepare for extra classes
(addresses and phone numbers of all vendors they visited)
Questions to Craig:
- what's with the brain scans?
- what's with the birth photos?
Mention to him that, we don't bring them. Next time, if The Perfect wills.
Before visiting Craig:
- what route should I take?
- is Craig available tomorrow?
Prof. Peter said, "Alright, anything else?"
Feldt said, "We should check everything in this hotel room."
Prof. Peter said, "Alright. Kids, let's search the room for our status."
So, they did.
The room's status:
Hotel's property:
The room.
All things inside room before they checked in.
Not hotel's property:
Peter's bag and belongings.
Feldt's bag and belongings.
Mir's bag and belongings.
Jasmine's bag and belongings.
Peter's bag:
One egg carton
Pencil box
Summons receipt
School enrollment forms
Clothes
Feldt's bag:
Pencil
Mahhjong papers
Colour crayons
Clothes
Mir's bag:
Pencil
Colour crayons
Clothes
Jasmine's bag:
Pencil
Mahhjong papers
Colour crayons
Clothes
After that, they prepare to meet Craig, locked the door, and they walk out from the hotel.
So they walk to Craig's house, which is one of the many houses in an apartment.
Prof. Peter knocked on the door.
The door opened.
Prof. Peter said, "Peace to you. Peter here with your kids."
Craig said, "Peace to you Peter. Come right in. Oh, kids, how are you?"
Feldt said, "Dad, we're doing great!"
Mir said, "Yeah. Me too!"
Jasmine said, "Dad, we're okay!"
Craig said, "Alright, so I'll... just tell you what happened."
So they sit around a dining table.
Craig said, "Before, I am a happy man with a happy wife. By some time, my wife is pregnant. There is something big happening to your mom more than the usual - much, much more. I suspect something big happening. When we do that ultrasound image, we kept telling to ourselves that we will get twins. We are so happy for that. Well, the technician said, "You got more than two." Oh no, I said. I wonder if I have much money, because you can see, my job is pitching cartoons and cartoonists never got much money. Your mother's also. Your mother's been struggling a lot, and it did not help that our lifestyle is on the unhealthy side. We often eat fried food and very little veggies. Our house is not clean, as you can see... and we are quite workaholic, so we are fundamentally unprepared. Your mom did change her diet to something more balanced, but as for our obsession with work, we are too late for that. We have been too late to change. Your mom, when she wanted to give birth to you, two of you needs a caesaran. She's been there far longer than others - she's there earliest and she's leaving the latest. In the end, the physician said "You had to do labor early. Very early, in fact. It's not a good case." You are born so small, and so weak, that you need to be put in the intensive care for several months. Your mother - your mother went coma right after the labor, and the bills are outside my savings... ... ... I'm gradually chewing the bill through my cartooning. You want to visit your mother? She's in my room."
Prof. Peter said, "Kids, you want to?"
Feldt said, "Yes."
Mir said, "Me too."
Jasmine said, "Me too!"
Craig said, "Alright, let's go."
So they are beside Craig's wife.
Feldt held her hand. The hand felt wilted.
Feldt said, "Mum, Blossom here. Don't worry about us. We promise to you we will stay strong. We hope we can take care of you here. Stay strong, mum."
Feldt kisses her mum. Mir and Jasmine did the same.
They exited. Now they are in the living room.
Prof. Peter asked, "Craig, the brain scans of these girls - what really happened to them?"
Craig said, "Ah, this one. It's pretty cartoony, but I really did it and thought to myself "This is the most sci-fi thing I've ever done.""
Prof. Peter said, "What?"
Craig said, "Right after they had been born, I just expose everything 2000s to these kids. TVs, games, design, my cartooning. Yeah, I just fed snacks to them. These kids watch TV like there is no tomorrow. Ultraman, Godzilla, whatever anime, they watch. They binge-watch, in fact. They're playing games like they got all the time in the world. They see my art and they draw like crazy. My walls have been drawn by these kids. They see my workaholic, playboy, party hard side... and they go haywire, not caring much about sleep, night and morning is nothing to them, everything is just fun and games... that's where I draw the line. I just cannot take care of these kids. They need a better parent. So I decided to literally 'brainwash' them..."
Prof. Peter said, "That's grim. I'm very sorry."
Feldt said, "Wha-what? You brainwash us?"
Craig said, "...Yes."
Jasmine said, "Don't you have no money?"
Craig said, "The situation is too bad. If you are still in here, my house will be destroyed, and I will have to take the blame for you rascals. You all are like have gone over the edge on the side of irresponsibility that time. Trust me, it's like your former selves and me are about to go DEFCON that time. So, the time has come to send them to a mental hospital to 'brainwash' them. It's the first proper one of its kind. They used to just test these brainwashing techniques on little animals. Now they have succeeded. After that, you are unconscious for some hours, to let you recover from that sudden loss of memory. That gives me some time to drive them all the way to New New Frankfurt Orphanage, with their birth certs, their brain scans. So, a lady shows up at the counter and I said, "Lady, my name is Craig. Can you put these kids up for adoption? I'm no good at being a parent, and these kids needs a better one. I am sorry and I hope you can take care of these kids." So they all transport them to their just assigned beds while I'm still at the counter, sorting out files, and write three letters at that spot, one each, and tell the staff to always keep these files securely until they are adopted, and keep quiet around my kids and say 'someone found you in an alley' or something like that if the kids ask why they are here. So, that's the story. I would have not expect in a million years that someone adopted them all three, and a disciplined one at that! Thank you for helping me, Peter!"
Prof. Peter said, "Relax, relax, Craig, it's nothing to be proud of!"
Craig said, "So, how's the story, kids?"
Feldt said, "I... just want to... I can't-"
Mir said, "I don't remember what happened, so it's fine by me. It's a really dark story though."
Jasmine said, "I... cannot say much about my past, Dad."
Craig said, "I'm sorry kids. As an apology, I've made for you a special gift I've done when you are already at the orphanage. Come to my study room."
So, Craig lead them to his study room. His room is full of cartoons, of all shapes and sizes, from stray papers to posters.
Craig gives them his intepretation of them, in his style.
Craig said, "When I made this, I remember all your savage doings around this house, so that's when I thought, "You really are superhero kids", so I need to do superhero, but I look at you all and you're just not that kind of man-child who likes big things, though you act big. Then I've come across some Margaret Keane drawings, and was attracted to their eyes. I thought it was interesting so I doodled them, and by doing that, I noticed that I can see what they have gone through by just looking at their eyes so I thought, I can do the same to my three kids. I draw you from your photos, just enlarge the eyes, so that I can see what you see, and I see that you just don't really care about the world, and really you thought the world is nothing but fun and games, when I enlarge your eyes. Okay, so I've got superhero and large eyes, but what kind of body, and I thought all that you see on TV. All those Ultraman, those anime... it really struck me that you like stylish, albeit overly so, and I then look at the cute portion of anime that you watch all the time here and I thought, "Okay, so they really like being cute and soft", so I thought, wait, a plushie? Yeah, I thought those kids are pretty and really, I hug you all the time if you aren't so savage, so I decided to have a look at toy shop... er... Toys R' Us and look at the plushie section, and I thought... yeah, you need to be a plushie, and the body is complete, I doodled a few to see what suits your personality best, and that's the final version. You like it?"
Jasmine said, "Yeah, I like it. It's... too cute for us!"
Mir said, "It's too saccharine, but I wouldn't have it any other way."
Feldt said, "Wow, did I wear bunnies THAT big?"
Craig said, "Well, there's a rule we have in cartooning called 'exaggeration', so that everything stands out."
Jasmine said, "...but Dad, if everything stands out, then nobody stands out!"
Craig said, "What?"
Jasmine said, "If everything stands out, then nobody stands out because nobody wants to NOT stand out!"
Craig said, "Uh... yeah... you're right. Anyhow, that's my gift, and I hope you like it."
Feldt said, "Thanks Craig!"
Craig said, "You're welcome."
Prof. Peter looked at the time. It's 12.50 am.
Prof. Peter said, "I'm very sorry we occupy your time for so long. Have you got any other work to do?"
Craig said, "Uh... I'm alright... Yes, I've got work, but it's not like I can remove work away just like that just to receive my visitors."
Prof. Peter said, "Anyways, we would like to visit you, you know, just to keep your spirits up. They are, after all, your kids."
Craig said, "No, no. Just this once is enough."
Prof. Peter said, "Well, you obviously need the benefit of your well-being assured. We will do our best to give you some support, either moral or financial. We will try to visit you, or give you a call. Really, it doesn't matter. As long as you can still go on with your life."
Craig said, "Oh, Peter, how I wanted that. Thank you."
Craig and Prof. Peter hug.
Prof. Peter said, "Well, anything else, kids?"
Feldt said, "Thank you, Dad."
Mir said, "Thank you, Dad."
Jasmine said, "Thank you, Dad."
Craig said, "Thank you to you all."
Craig and his kids hug.
Prof. Peter said, "Alright, if The Perfect wills, see you again soon!"
Craig said, "Me too!"
So, Prof. Peter and kids walk out of Craig's house, and Craig almost shuts the door, then shuts after a few moments of pause.
So Prof. Peter said, "Alright, we'll set our hearts straight, then we sleep for a while, then we check out."
Prof. Peter checked the time. It's 1.20 pm.
So, they set their hearts straight for 10 minutes in the hotel room.
They sleep a while until 4.00 pm.
They wake up, and set their hearts straight again for 10 minutes.
They packed up their bags, checked out, and get into the car, and drove straight back home.
Once home, they unpacked, and relax.
The time is now 6.00 pm.
They still relax, looking at Craig's drawing meekly while Prof. Peter looks at the shopping list.
Today: Saturday, 28/10/17
-prepare for classes
-prepare for extra classes
(addresses and phone numbers of all vendors they visited)
Questions to Craig:
- what's with the brain scans?
- what's with the birth photos?
Mention to him that, we don't bring them. Next time, if The Perfect wills.
Before visiting Craig:
- what route should I take?
- is Craig available tomorrow?
He looks at his bag...
Peter's bag:
One egg carton
Pencil box
Summons receipt
School enrollment forms
Clothes
He puts the egg carton in the fridge, then put the summons receipt in Prof. Peter's diary, keeps the school forms inside, and dealing with his clothes.
He ironed them, put into his cupboard, then read the previous chapters of his Agricultural Science lecture notes to get a better idea what he wanted to do in his class next.
The time is now 7.00 pm.
They set their hearts straight again for 10 minutes.
Prof. Peter still looks at his lecture notes.
Feldt said, "Dad, what are you looking at?"
Prof. Peter said, "I'm looking at my lecture notes."
Feldt said, "It looks interesting, I wanted to read that after the class, can I?"
Prof. Peter said, "Well, you may, but I don't know if you can understand that."
Feldt said, "Oh Dad, I really don't know if I can read that if you don't give to us that!"
Prof. Peter said, "Alright. Deal. If the Perfect wills."
Feldt said, "Deal. The Perfect knows."
The time is now 8.00 pm.
They set their hearts straight again.
Prof. Peter is still busy.
Mir ask, "Dad, what can we help you?"
Prof. Peter said, "I... don't know yet. Just stay away from me."
Mir said, "Okay, Dad."
Prof. Peter said, "Well, you should sleep. Wish that you sleep well and relieved, and you sleep. Okay?"
Mir said, "Alright, Dad."
So they wish that they sleep well and relieved, and they sleep.
Prof. Peter stopped his reading at 11.00 pm, turned off lights, wished that he can sleep well and relieved, and sleep.
The End.