After my father went to work, I went back into my room to think about everything that there was to think about.
I wasn't so worried about my brother coming anymore. In fact, I looked forward to it. When I thought bout it, I realized that there was so much that I would be able to teach him. I could teach him, despite how my father felt, how to take care of himself. Hopefully the values that I had would rub off on him in some positive way.
I also tried to imagine what he would look like. I hadn't been in the incubation room, just because I hadn't felt like going in there. Now I was curious. I left my room for the incubation room.
The hallways were empty. In fact, it seemed that they were always empty. At least, it felt that way whenever I walked them. The castle was so big, and it was easy to get lost.
I always found it funny that people called it a castle. Whenever I heard the word "castle," I thought of medieval castles, made of stone, and very cold. But Yomi's castle was different. The temperature was the same throughout the castle, no matter where one went. It was comfortable. The floors were not made of stone, nor were the floors. The floors were metallic, depending on where one was in the castle.
I will admit that I've been lost in the castle. This was, of course, when I was a young child. It wasn't very long that I was lost, thanks to my fathers' extraordinary senses. All I had to do was cry. Even now, I remember it so clearly.
I wasn't really supposed to leave my room, but my father had taken me to his office, and his room from my room so many times, I thought that I knew the castle. He had just left me to go to his office and work. But I didn't want him to leave me.
So instead of simply following him, I waited a few minutes. It took me another few minutes to open my door because of my small stature. I looked out my door to make sure that no one was watching, and, like usual, the halls were empty. I ventured forward.
At that point, everything looked normal. But as I went on, it seemed like everything was becoming malicious. It frightened me. I began running. Everything was so big, and I was so small. My father always carried me from place to pace, and he was quite tall, so normally the statues and paintings didn't seem so menacing. I was higher up than they were, but not this time.
I turned a corner. Then another, and another only to come to another and another still. It felt like I was in a maze. I was hopelessly lost in a maze and no one would ever see me alive again. I'd never see my Daddy again.
I wasn't even paying attention to my shoelaces. At that time, I hadn't yet learned how to tie them myself, so I didn't really know to worry. I tripped as I turned another corner.
But I didn't get up. If I got up, I knew that the shadows would try to eat me alive. My heart was pounding. I didn't want to be eaten. I wanted to safely be in my room. I wanted... I wanted...
I wanted my Daddy.
I started to cry. I felt so alone, like I was the only one that existed. I felt like I'd been transported to another world and I was the only one that was there. I didn't like that feeling at all. And almost immediately after I started crying, my father picked me up. He cradled me in his arms and wiped away my tears. I clung to his suit. He wasn't mad, and I was happy for that. I think that he thought that how I'd felt was punishment enough for my actions.
"Sweetheart," his voice calmed me. "Why did you leave your room?"
"I wanted to be with you Daddy! I didn't want you to go!"
"Well, why didn't you just say so?" He took me to my room, and stayed with me for the rest of the day, that is, until I went to bed. We played every game we could think of. Before I went to sleep, he cradled me in his arms again, rocking me gently. He explained that he couldn't do that every day, but he'd do his best to set off one day every now and again to spend with me, and me only. The only condition for was that I was not to leave my room unless I was with him. I agreed.
With that, I fell asleep and dreamt of the next day he would spend with me.
I realized later, that I had been extremely clingy when I was younger. I wonder if that was a problem. Even if it was, I was sure that he wouldn't complain, or tell me that it was a problem. That didn't bother me. I felt a little better not knowing, anyways.
I rounded a corner. The door to the incubation chamber was at the end of the hall. I again started to wonder what my baby brother would look like. Would he look exactly like my father? If so, would he also be blind? I didn't think he'd be blind, but if he wasn't, what color would his eyes be? I'd never seen my father's eyes, and he says that I got my eyes from my mother, so I never knew his eye color.
I put my hand on the handle and pushed the door open. The room was dark, except for the chamber that held my brother. It illuminated the room with a pale blue light. I walked closer to where my brother was. He looked like any other baby, except he was floating in some type of liquid. A tube was connected to his stomach, and a machine was his placenta. My brother was beautiful, other than the machinery. His hair was as dark as my father's, it seemed, and just as fine.
But one thing caught my eye. His eyes. They were open.
He was looking at me.
