*************
Monica finally found her way out the font door after restling with the hesitant demons within herself. She paused atop the threshold and peeked around the corner. As she had expected, David was already seated in the vehicle, his seat belt donned and Teddy in his lap; they both sat quietly, unknowing of her presence and looking around at the still and seemingly unmoving envrionment around them through the window - so pleased, so easily amused, so....
"If it's reasonable to assume he can love, then it's ALSO reasonable to assume he can hate."
Henry's words reverberated in her brain and made themselves noticed, almost as if he had sensed her hesitation from wherever he be at the moment. Monica closed her eyes in submission, wishing ever so much that a black hole would open beneath her feet and swallow her whole, disappearing from this cruel assignment forever. Scratching a tiny itch that had developed on the back of her neck, she took another step forward, and came around the corner, making a beeline right for the driver's seat. David smiled in his perpetually loving manner as he saw her near the car, and anxiously leaned over iin his seat to open the doorlock for her. He popped the mechanism with his forefinger, and glanced up to Monica as she ducked in and settled herself in the seat.
"Are we ready to go, Mommy?"
Both boy and bear looked up to Monica with admiring eyes, then turning their heads in tandem, fixed their gaze at the environment outside the window in prearation for the drive. Monica stared at them both, all the while wishing she could simply tear her heair out by the roots. But she responded advertently with a smile, albeit a fake one, and nodded, hardly able to hold back the tears.
"Yes, David. We're ready. "
Taking a deep sigh that seemed to fill the entire chamber of the vehicle, Monica started it up, and pulled out of the driveway. For all of her sadness, all of her guilt, she still couldn't bring herself to not check the messagebox on the way out.
************
They had been on the road for less than one quarter of an hour before they reached the cityline - the city streets lined in holographic splendor seemed to vanish and give way to the massive emerald branches of oak and pine trees almost instantly, as if each separate environment had been chopped definitively at their boundary. Their vehicle cruised down the mossy pavement, the asphalt still soaked and steaming from the early morning rain, and the sun peered through the thick branches like the fluid tentacles of some eery sungod. Both David and Teddy were taken away by the sun's magnificence, and both questioned to themselves just what it was that spread itself across the forest floor like a lucid blanket. They both stared out the window for quite a while before a clearing of the throat from Monica dragged David's attention away. He turned his head and looked at her, the light in his eyes dancing about like the flame of a candle.
"Where are we going?"
Monica said nothing, but stared straight ahead at the road before them, trying to squeeze his voice out of her head. David, however, was undaunted.
"Why are you crying? ....................... Are those happy tears?"
Her eyes widened momentarily - she hadn't even realized she was still crying. She damned herself for such peccant disregard and carelessness. Yet, she could not reach to wipe herself dry; had lost all control of her extremities and was frozen solid, seized by her emotional distress. Her eyes gripped the road as tightly as her nails dug into the steering wheel's leather flesh, and she wondered, almost feared, whether or not she might ever be able to move again. She did not answer him.
"What's for dinner tonight?"
For some reason, perhaps it was the short tolerance of her fear, but this statement irked her severely. Her brow furrowed, and she hissed at David between clenched teeth after a long pause, never once removing her eyes from the road to so much as even glance at him.
"You KNOW you don't EAT."
The severity of her voice bit into each word like the teeth of a sullen dragon, but David's eternally naive and childish nature would never be the wiser. He just continued to stare out his window, believing all to be right with the world...
"I know. But I enjoy sitting at the table."
Forget it, Monica thought, Why bother with this argument at all? I may as well argue with a brick wall. She fell silent, occassionally biting her lip. She couldn't think of anything to say. The silence slowly, gradually, began to consume her and become overwhelming. She took a deep breath, and opened her mouth to speak....
"Mommy, I had a dream last night."
Monica's whole world stopped on a dime. Out of all the things to to be interrupted with, she was definitely NOT expecting this. All of her sadness and regret faded for a long moment, as she treid to make sense out of the words David had just spoken to her. With a brow furrowed in confusion, she turned and gave David a split second glance.
"A.. A dream..? But..."
She returned her eyes to the road, her body now completely gripped by the clammy coldness of fear... fear and the unkowing. Her breathing gained slightly.
"But... How can you..."
This was too much. She simply could not beleive what she had just heard. Slamming on the brakes, their vehicle took a fishtail zig-zag across the two lane road and off onto the right shoulder, dipping slightly into a shallow ditch. Once they had come to a full and complete stop, Monica finally regained the control in her hands to release the steering wheel. She turned and looked to David, who was now staring right at her, her own face full of fury.
"You can't dream, David! You're not..."
Her mouth clamped shut in an almost instinctive way, anything to prevent an uncontrollable outburst that would do David only harm. Clenching her eyes shut, she looked down, took a deep breath, then returned her glare to David. As she stared into his blue eyes, she found a solitude, a comforting peace within them, and her emotion softened along with the tone of her voice.
"What... did you dream about?"
Monica finally found her way out the font door after restling with the hesitant demons within herself. She paused atop the threshold and peeked around the corner. As she had expected, David was already seated in the vehicle, his seat belt donned and Teddy in his lap; they both sat quietly, unknowing of her presence and looking around at the still and seemingly unmoving envrionment around them through the window - so pleased, so easily amused, so....
"If it's reasonable to assume he can love, then it's ALSO reasonable to assume he can hate."
Henry's words reverberated in her brain and made themselves noticed, almost as if he had sensed her hesitation from wherever he be at the moment. Monica closed her eyes in submission, wishing ever so much that a black hole would open beneath her feet and swallow her whole, disappearing from this cruel assignment forever. Scratching a tiny itch that had developed on the back of her neck, she took another step forward, and came around the corner, making a beeline right for the driver's seat. David smiled in his perpetually loving manner as he saw her near the car, and anxiously leaned over iin his seat to open the doorlock for her. He popped the mechanism with his forefinger, and glanced up to Monica as she ducked in and settled herself in the seat.
"Are we ready to go, Mommy?"
Both boy and bear looked up to Monica with admiring eyes, then turning their heads in tandem, fixed their gaze at the environment outside the window in prearation for the drive. Monica stared at them both, all the while wishing she could simply tear her heair out by the roots. But she responded advertently with a smile, albeit a fake one, and nodded, hardly able to hold back the tears.
"Yes, David. We're ready. "
Taking a deep sigh that seemed to fill the entire chamber of the vehicle, Monica started it up, and pulled out of the driveway. For all of her sadness, all of her guilt, she still couldn't bring herself to not check the messagebox on the way out.
************
They had been on the road for less than one quarter of an hour before they reached the cityline - the city streets lined in holographic splendor seemed to vanish and give way to the massive emerald branches of oak and pine trees almost instantly, as if each separate environment had been chopped definitively at their boundary. Their vehicle cruised down the mossy pavement, the asphalt still soaked and steaming from the early morning rain, and the sun peered through the thick branches like the fluid tentacles of some eery sungod. Both David and Teddy were taken away by the sun's magnificence, and both questioned to themselves just what it was that spread itself across the forest floor like a lucid blanket. They both stared out the window for quite a while before a clearing of the throat from Monica dragged David's attention away. He turned his head and looked at her, the light in his eyes dancing about like the flame of a candle.
"Where are we going?"
Monica said nothing, but stared straight ahead at the road before them, trying to squeeze his voice out of her head. David, however, was undaunted.
"Why are you crying? ....................... Are those happy tears?"
Her eyes widened momentarily - she hadn't even realized she was still crying. She damned herself for such peccant disregard and carelessness. Yet, she could not reach to wipe herself dry; had lost all control of her extremities and was frozen solid, seized by her emotional distress. Her eyes gripped the road as tightly as her nails dug into the steering wheel's leather flesh, and she wondered, almost feared, whether or not she might ever be able to move again. She did not answer him.
"What's for dinner tonight?"
For some reason, perhaps it was the short tolerance of her fear, but this statement irked her severely. Her brow furrowed, and she hissed at David between clenched teeth after a long pause, never once removing her eyes from the road to so much as even glance at him.
"You KNOW you don't EAT."
The severity of her voice bit into each word like the teeth of a sullen dragon, but David's eternally naive and childish nature would never be the wiser. He just continued to stare out his window, believing all to be right with the world...
"I know. But I enjoy sitting at the table."
Forget it, Monica thought, Why bother with this argument at all? I may as well argue with a brick wall. She fell silent, occassionally biting her lip. She couldn't think of anything to say. The silence slowly, gradually, began to consume her and become overwhelming. She took a deep breath, and opened her mouth to speak....
"Mommy, I had a dream last night."
Monica's whole world stopped on a dime. Out of all the things to to be interrupted with, she was definitely NOT expecting this. All of her sadness and regret faded for a long moment, as she treid to make sense out of the words David had just spoken to her. With a brow furrowed in confusion, she turned and gave David a split second glance.
"A.. A dream..? But..."
She returned her eyes to the road, her body now completely gripped by the clammy coldness of fear... fear and the unkowing. Her breathing gained slightly.
"But... How can you..."
This was too much. She simply could not beleive what she had just heard. Slamming on the brakes, their vehicle took a fishtail zig-zag across the two lane road and off onto the right shoulder, dipping slightly into a shallow ditch. Once they had come to a full and complete stop, Monica finally regained the control in her hands to release the steering wheel. She turned and looked to David, who was now staring right at her, her own face full of fury.
"You can't dream, David! You're not..."
Her mouth clamped shut in an almost instinctive way, anything to prevent an uncontrollable outburst that would do David only harm. Clenching her eyes shut, she looked down, took a deep breath, then returned her glare to David. As she stared into his blue eyes, she found a solitude, a comforting peace within them, and her emotion softened along with the tone of her voice.
"What... did you dream about?"