Chapter 35: Broken Reflections
'When you look in the mirror, what's the first thing you see? Your reflection right? What if you see through to your inner soul? The person you've become after the passing of the years? Would you say you still see your whole reflection or something else like the pain of your past? In Gideon's case, the pain of his past has tainted his soul as well as revealed his memories that are just mere broken reflections.'
~(Gideon's P.O.V.)~
"Loser!"
"No one likes you!"
"No wonder you don't have any friends!"
"You're weird!"
"Do you always talk to yourself?"
"I see why your cousin is your only friend because people think you're weird!"
It was terrible! Those names, those words, all of it were terrible! It's all I heard day in and day out in my old home town of Colorado Springs. With each passing day, it's all I my brain played back over and over and eventually, it's all began to believe were true about me. I was constantly made fun of because of who I was, I was constantly teased because of my weight, and I was constantly beat up because of how I looked. It wasn't fair! None of it was fair! All I wanted was to be accepted, but all I got was the opposite. No one should have had to live through the nightmare that I did back in those days as I still cringe at the thought of how each day when I entered that torture chamber, things got worse with each passing minute. No one but my cousin stood up for me and no one else bothered to intervene when I suffered drastically at the hands of my fellow students. Why? I have no idea and still wish I had the answer to this day. There were even days that I spent eating lunch in the boys bathroom because no one wanted to be seen with me.
As I sit on my bed and lean back on my hands, a specific memory comes back to me, one in particular that I would never forget when I was in grade three. It was horrible and while no one knows it, I sometimes cry myself to sleep when I think about it, my comfort being that I survived it all thanks to the only person I could turn to in times such as that.
Colorado Springs Elementary School (Grade Three)
A blue car now pulls up to the door of Colorado Springs Elementary school and comes to a complete stop. The door opens with a small and round chubby boy with flat white hair jumping out with his lunch box and back pack. With a smile on his face, the boy waves good bye to his dad, closes the door to the car, and begins making his way up to the building. Noticing some students on the lawn of the school, small whispers and giggles can be heard around him as he continues walking up to the building. Not bothering to pay those students any mind, the boy continues making his way up to the building, hoping to make it to his cubicle in the class so to put his things away before the teacher arrives.
Entering the building, Gideon sprints to his spot in the class room. Happy about being the first one to his cubicle, the boy spots a rather odd looking object sitting on the shelf. Taking a closer look, he finds it to be a moldy half eaten sandwich with a note attached. A frown forming, Gideon detaches the note and reads it, it saying: Just thought I'd leave you some lunch, considering how much you love to eat! Fatty!
-Johnny
Johnny, the same tormentor that Gideon has faced since the first grade. The boy has been relentless in his teasing of the young Gideon since the two met. Johnny has been constantly disciplined for his delinquent acts towards other students, but his teasing and pounding on the younger boy has gotten increasingly worse since the last time he was disciplined for picking on Gideon.
Crumbling up the note, Gideon removes the sandwich from his cubicle and tosses both in the garbage while placing his back pack and lunch box in his cubicle. Just as Gideon is turning around to take his seat, three boys now appear in front of him, those three being Johnny and his two flunkies.
"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" Johnny begins, the look of hysterics present in his eyes. "It looks as if little Giddy got new clothes. Did your mommy buy you some new clothes over the weekend at the bargain bins?"
"Johnny, just leave me alone." Gideon speaks in a small voice.
Hearing the small boy stand up to him, even remotely, has ticked off the taller boy! Considerably! Grabbing the small boy by the collar of his shirt, both boys' faces are just mere inches apart with Johnny snarling in Gideon's.
"I will do and say whatever I want to you!" Johnny hisses. "Just like I'm about to pound you into hash, no one will stop me! Not even you!"
Feeling a wave of fear rush over him, Gideon closes his eyes and prepares to take another beating from the boy for when Gideon's cousin, Cashmere, rushes in.
"Hey, take your hands off my cousin Johnny!" Cashmere demands as she strong arms the boy's grip on Gideon's shirt off. Having had a run in with Cashmere before, Johnny knows not to cross the girl in any way, shape, or form considering a bruise or two that he has already gotten from her in the past.
Turning from the girl, Johnny now turns back to Gideon, who is cowering in the corner of the cubicles.
"This isn't over boy!" Johnny threatens. "Your cousin isn't always watching your back and when you least suspect it, I'm coming for you!"
"Touch him Johnny and you'll have to deal with me again!" Cashmere threatens. "Or did you suddenly forget about the 'accident' that you had just recently with a mop and a certain janitor's closet?"
With no words spoken to either person, Johnny and his two flunkies now exit the room. Turning from the door, Cashmere rushes to Gideon's side and begins comforting the boy.
"Don't listen to him Gideon." Cashmere says to him. "As long as I'm around, he won't lay a finger on you."
Already frustrated from being picked on daily by Johnny, Gideon feels something in him snap as he jumps to his feet, his anger filled eyes catching with his cousin's vision. Hot tears are spilling out of the boy's eyes.
"That's the problem!" Gideon snaps. "You're always looking out for me because you think I can't look after myself and that's why Johnny picks on me so much! I can stand up for myself! Just stay away from me Cashmere!"
"Gideon.." Cashmere replies in a squeak, shocked that her cousin is speaking to her so harshly as he has never done this before. "Gideon, I would never…."
Wiping his tears, Gideon now runs out of the classroom with Cashmere calling after the smaller boy. With Gideon out in the hall, he now runs into Johnny and his three friends with Johnny making good on his threat. A teacher from a nearby classroom now passes the four boys in the hall while not bothering to question or even intervene in the beating that Johnny and his friends are now giving Gideon.
End of flashback
I was a fool to snap at my cousin the way I did because all she was doing was looking out for me. I couldn't defend myself or even fight. I upset her badly to the point she wouldn't even speak to me, not even after my parents saw my face from the last beating Johnny gave me for the last time.
Flashback
Having endured another day at school with being picked on and teased, Gideon now drags himself through the door with his lunch box wide open and his back pack torn with a few stray papers hanging down in the bottom of the sack. His left eye is swollen shut, his bottom lip is busted with the blood having dripped down onto his shirt and is dried there and his pants around the bottom area of his legs are badly ripped with his skin badly scraped in those areas. Mrs. Gleeful now rushes into the living room and is devastated by the appearance of her son.
"Bud! Bud! Come here quick!" Sheila, Gideon's mother, calls out to her husband, who rushes into the living room and spots the condition his son is in.
"Dad, I don't want to go back!" Gideon begins, tears spilling out of his eyes. "I can't go back! It's the same thing every day! I get hit, kicked, and beat up! I don't want to go back!"
"Bud, we can't keep letting this happen to him." Sheila speaks to her husband. "That little Johnny boy has officially crossed the line with putting his hands on my little boy! Gideon is traumatized and will never be able to fit in with the other kids now."
Pulling little Gideon into a hug, Gideon cries on his mother's shoulder with his father fuming! They couldn't keep letting Gideon get injured at his current school and now, it was time to do something about it. Just seeing Gideon in the condition he is in right now broke his heart.
End of Flashback
My parents finally decided it was time to move me from that school and put me in another one in the same town. But even after a new school in the same town, I still didn't fit in and was constantly picked on, but all of that ended when the good news came that my dad's car company was being moved to Oregon, Gravity Falls Oregon. I feared that even in a new town, things wouldn't change. How wrong I was when I found that one thing that would end my suffering. I was no longer going to be anyone's punching bag or even their scape goat. No, all of that was going to end!
As I hold my jade amulet in my hands and see my reflection on the surface, I notice a grin appear on my face as a memory suddenly comes back to me, one that I am particularly happy with. I will never forget it as that was the one day that truly changed my life. While I couldn't control what was happening to me, I surely did enjoy the feeling of the new power that I held in the palm of my hands.
Gravity Falls, Oregon (Summer before the Fourth Grade)
Having moved to a new town to have a fresh start, the young Gideon is slipping on his new shoes that his mother bought for him shortly after moving to the town a month ago. Grabbing his new back pack, Gideon sprints down stairs to meet with his new friend Pacifica Northwest. The two met and instantly became friends after Pacifica's mother came by the house to welcome the family to the neighborhood.
"Hey Gideon." A cheery Pacifica greeted to Gideon. "I just love your shoes."
"Thanks." Gideon replies to her. "My mom bought them for me. Mom, I'm going out with Pacifica."
"Ok honey." Sheila replies from the kitchen. "Remember, when the streetlights come on, you find your way back."
"Ok Mom, I will." Gideon replies as he and Pacifica slip out the door.
"I want to show you something." Pacifica says to Gideon. "It's in the forest. I saw it the other day, but didn't want to go near it, but maybe you would."
"What is it?" Gideon asks, a little leery at what Pacifica is talking about.
"It's a surprise."Pacifica smiles, grabbing the boy's hand. "Come on!"
With a tight grip on the boy's hand, Pacifica practically drags Gideon to the forest. Now passing the large oak tree, the two now enter the forest as Pacifica stops running while still holding onto Gideon's hand. The two now stop at a leaf pile with Pacifica releasing Gideon's hand.
"Here it is." Pacifica quietly speaks. "This is what I wanted to show you."
"A pile of leaves Pacifica?" Gideon asks as he raises an eyebrow at her.
"No silly, but what is under the leaves." Pacifica replies with a giggle.
Bending down on one knee, Gideon dusts the pile of leaves away to uncover a trap door. Turning to Pacifica, Gideon notices the girl nod to him. Turning back to the door, Gideon opens it to see a maroon book with a tattered cover and a six fingered hand on the front with a black two in the middle.
"Isn't that cool?" Pacifica adds in as Gideon lifts the book up from its hiding spot. "I saw it yesterday and thought it was some kind of magic book that someone left behind and didn't want anyone else to find."
Opening the book, Gideon begins looking through it and with each page turned, the boy is becoming more and more fascinated with the inscriptions, symbols, and pictures. Now turning to page 76, a jade amulet falls out onto the ground in front of Gideon with Pacifica snatching it off the ground.
"Oh this is so cool!" Pacifica beams as she inspects the amulet. "I say we split this up. I get this and you get the book."
Taking the amulet from her, Gideon places it back in the book and closes it.
"I don't think we should be touching this." Gideon calmly replies to Pacifica. "This could contain things far beyond our control."
"But that's the best part of finding things like this." Pacifica cheerily speaks. "It's mysterious and fun!"
"I don't know Pacifica, I'm not getting a good feeling about this." Gideon says shaking his head. "Something about this feels sinister and evil."
"Oh you're no fun Gideon." Pacifica playfully pouts as she flings her long blonde hair behind her. "Well, I'm going to head back home now. I don't want my mom knowing I was out here in the forest as she forbids me to be out here for some reason. Plus I have to get ready for an event my family is hosting in town. So I'll see ya later."
"Yea, see ya." Gideon speaks as the petite blonde girl begins making her way back towards the city. With her out of sight, Gideon takes a look back at the tattered maroon book in his hands with curiosity.
"Maybe if I took a look and brought it back when I'm done." Gideon says to himself as he places the book in his back pack and closes it. Looking around at his surroundings, Gideon quickly makes his way home. Sprinting through the front door, the boy runs up to his room and closes the door behind him. Opening his backpack and removing the book, Gideon leaps onto his bed as he begins reading the journal. Not counting the pages he is reading in the journal, the jade amulet falls out onto the boy's lap with him picking it up and inspecting it.
"What is this thing?" Gideon asks in a whisper as he begins looking the piece over. Continuing to stare at the jade piece, a bright minty jade light emerges from the amulet and slaps Gideon dead in the face causing him to drop the amulet and the book on the floor. The amulet then lifts off the ground and floats over to Gideon, landing snuggly into his open right hand.
Feeling something sitting in the palm of his hand, Gideon sits up while rubbing his forehead and notices the amulet sitting in his open hand. Confused as to how it got there, Gideon's look of confusion quickly turns to dark excitement, a devious grin crossing his face as he watches the amulet pulsate with a minty aura in his hand.
End of Flashback
It's almost as if this amulet was meant for me and I was meant to find it. The power I held in my hands was unimaginable and I couldn't control it. I changed, I changed in ways even I couldn't explain, but the change made me who I couldn't even recognize. It felt good and I knew from that point on, no one would ever torment, or lay a hand to me again. It was over and I made sure it was!
Sure, I scared those around me, including the first friend I made when I moved to this town, but you can't have it all and she came to learn that. Sometimes you have to make such sacrifices for the exchange of such great power.
Flashback
The jeans, the flat hair, the gym shoes, and the timid demeanor of the boy that everyone had come to know in the white and blue house at the end of Gopher avenue was now different. They couldn't quite place how he became different, but he was. He now wore a powder blue suit, a white tie, black shirt, and brown shoes. His snow white hair was now mounted on the top of his head, sitting as if a cloud settled on the boy's crown. The signature of his new look, the bolo tie that houses his new jade amulet that hangs eloquently around his neck. Even his demeanor changed, something about it darker and sinister than before, it being the first thing that you sensed when you walked past him. When walking out of his house to greet the new day, his neighbors suddenly cringed as they ran into their homes to avoid him. This Gideon was definitely different and everyone knew it.
Standing on his front porch, Gideon notices his best friend making her way towards him with a big smile on her face. The girl suddenly stops short when noticing her friend's new look.
"Whoa Gideon, what happened to you?"Pacifica asks as she gives Gideon the once over. "You look different."
"Why hello there Pacifica." Gideon greets to the girl in his southern accent, much deeper and thicker than before as a grin spreads across his chubby face. "Thanks for the compliment."
Opening her mouth to reply to him, Pacifica's eyes immediately fall on the boy's new bolo tie and notice the jade amulet that she and Gideon found not too long ago hanging around his neck. Catching back with the boy's vision, Pacifica notices something dark emanating from the boy's eyes and in the back of her mind, a voice is telling her not to trust him.
"Oh Pacifica, I can't thank you enough for taking me to the forest that one day." Gideon continues as he begins approaching the girl. "It was truly a life changer for me."
Frozen from fear at seeing her transformed friend, Pacifica doesn't utter a word to him.
"It was truly a life changer." Gideon speaks, now standing just mere inches from her. "Would you like to go into town with me?"
"You know what Gideon, I have to go now." Pacifica chokes as she steps back from him.
As if a hungry mountain lion was after her, Pacifica breaks into a run to get as far away from Gideon as she could. Un-phased by girl's sudden fear of him, Gideon begins making his way down the street. Walking along, a group of teens now pass the boy while keeping their vision on him. An eruption of snickers can be heard coming from them, which causes Gideon to stop in his tracks.
"Are you seeing this kid right now?" One of the teens laughs. "Where does he think he is? Vegas and what is up with that suit?"
Slanting his eyes in anger, Gideon now turns towards the boys while gripping his bolo tie.
"Oh look, you made the little guy mad." The other teen begins teasing. "What are you going to do? Run and tell your mommy on us?"
Snarling at the teens while gripping his tie, Gideon raises his right hand and closes it, the first boy that began teasing him now gripping his throat and gasping desperately for air. As the teen continues gasping for the air that is being pulled out of him, a blue hue coats the teen's face with him falling to the ground unconscious with a sickening thud. The boy's friend, unsure of what just happened to him, begins calling out to him while shaking his lifeless body, clearly panicking. Seeing that the boy isn't responding, the attention is back on Gideon who has lowered his hand and is smiling mischievously at him.
Having handled that problem, Gideon continues on his way down the street where he soon rounds a corner and disappears from sight.
End of Flashback
I knew the moment I held this amulet in my hands, I had the power to do whatever I wanted whenever I wanted and no one could ever tell me what to do or tease me ever again! All of that stopped the moment I wielded this great power.
Setting my amulet on my bed, I walk over to my desk where the mirror that my mother gave me as a young boy sits, the one she always told me to look into to see that I'm not the person everyone had every mean spirited thing to say about. When I looked in this mirror, I was to see the kind and gentle boy that only wanted to be accepted in this cruel world and know that one day, I would be. Too bad she was wrong, so wrong. In order to make it in this world, you have to play the game everyone else is playing, but just playing it better than them. You have to show them you're no push over or even a doormat that someone can walk on. No, if you want to get to the top, sometimes you have to step on someone just to get there and that's exactly what I did, not regretting the actions I took just to get here.
Now when I look in this mirror, not only do I see my reflection staring back at me, but I see those painful memories that shaped me to be the person I am today. They are the reflections of me, but most importantly, they are the shards of the broken reflections of me.
*If parts of this chapter seems rushed, that's not the case as with Gideon only being 9 years old, he doesn't have much of a life span to follow so…lol and Cashmere is the OC of Lil Ol Gravity Falls. :)
Also, Chapter 6 to Nightmare in Gravity Falls will be posted next week! :)
Review Please!