Chapter Fourteen – “Oh, the irony.”

Aaron was walking down a quiet, low lit corridor.

Was this a dream? It felt like a dream and at the same time, it felt real. It was like reality was shrouded in a cloud of surrealism, blurring the lines that separated it from fantasy. His legs seemed to have a mind of their own, leading him down the corridor, his hand trailing along the white painted walls. His steps soon led him to a vaguely familiar room. His breath hitched when he recognized the room as the one in the hospital when he’d last seen his body.

For a second he was filled with hope that this was real life and the hospital bed was empty but the deeper he walked into the room, the more he realized that that wasn’t the case at all.

His body was still in the bed, tubes attached to his arm, breathing steadily.

His heart began to race frantically and his chest felt so light it hurt, like he was struggling to breathe even though he was breathing quite fine. One hand rose up to grasp at his chest, as if to stop it from hurting.

His breath hitched when someone suddenly walked right through him and he blinked realizing that it was his mum and she was holding…Stacey? Curiously, he walked deeper into the room, watching as she took a seat beside his sleeping body on the bed. God, it was still incredibly weird seeing himself on that hospital, looking asleep.

He glanced at himself, touching his body as if to make sure that this was really happening and nothing changed. He was there and so was his body in the hospital bed and his mum who was…plucking on the strings of his guitar.

His eyes grew wide at that.

“I thought maybe something familiar might make you want to wake up,” she was whispering and Aaron felt something like a vice clenching around his heart.

She plucked at the strings again and it was obvious she didn’t know how to play it but she kept at it anyway, also obviously trying to find a rhythm and failing.

“I should have paid more attention,” she whispered, “I should have seen something was wrong. I mean, I know you’re not one for talking; you were always quiet since you were a kid,” she giggled a little, “but I should have noticed that you were even more quiet than usual. I…I’m not the best mum, I admit. Being a mother doesn’t come with a handbook but I try my best to be a good mum for you. I’m…sorry, Aaron. I know I’m overbearing and I sometimes force my beliefs on you but I’m doing what I believe is best for you. Surely, you know that right? I’m –” her voice broke on a soft sob.

Aaron literally fell apart at that. His own eyes got hot and he rushed forward, kneeling in front of his mother, “oh God, mum please don’t cry…”

Of course, she couldn’t hear or see him.

He watched helplessly as tears slid down from her eyes and over her cheeks while she sighed and plucked on the strings of the guitar, trying to find a tune. She raised a hand up to wipe at her cheeks and her eyes and Aaron only noticed then that her eyes were slightly swollen, showing that this wasn’t the first time she was crying.

“M-Mum,” he whispered, his voice coming out completely broken.

He felt like he was dying inside. He reached out as if to touch her but the scene suddenly faded and he sniffed, tears sliding down his cheeks, chest heaving with silent sobs.

When the vision finally cleared he found himself standing in front of his house. His father’s car was just coming in through the gates and his legs automatically moved after the man when he left the car, opening the door of the front door and heading inside the house.

There was immediately the sound of running footsteps as two small bodies crashed into his father’s legs.

“Daddy!”

The voices of his twin siblings only made it worse and he had to cup his face in his hands to keep the violent sobs from escaping his lips.

“Daddy, when are mummy and Aaron coming home?” Alexander asked immediately, looking up expectantly at his father.

Edward sighed at his children, patting them on their heads, “Your brother is very sick and might not be home for a while. Mummy is keeping him company so he won’t feel alone when he wakes up.”

“We want to see him too!” Elizabeth complained as Edward made his way to the sitting room, the five year olds fast on his heels, “I drew him a flower in my art class today.”

Alexander was nodding enthusiastically, “flowers are supposed to make him feel better. That’s what we did when grandma was sick. We got her flowers and she got better.”

“What do you say we see him tomorrow?” Edward said, crouching down on his knees so that he was vaguely the same height as the twins, “you just go watch some TV and he’ll be okay. Where’s Katherine?”

“I’m in the kitchen dad!”

Aaron watched his little brother and sister rush up the stairs. They were still innocent, they obviously thought the world was sunshine and rainbows and Aaron was going to wake up soon.

His legs carried him to the kitchen and he’d stopped sobbing grossly now, the occasional sniff escaping his lips.

The sight of his older sister made his breath hitch and he very nearly started crying again. He couldn’t remember when last he’d seen her. She’d been living away from home for almost three years now and only came home during the holidays. Aaron vaguely remembered his mother saying something about her introducing her boyfriend.

“How’s Aaron? And how’s mum doing?” she asked the minute she spotted Edward nearing the kitchen.

“There haven’t been any changes. Your mother refuses to leave his side except for the normal things like toilet breaks and when the doctor needs to perform check-ups.”

“What did the doctors say?” she asked, resting against the counter as Edward entered the kitchen, opening the fridge to bring out his dinner and at the same time loosening his tie, dropping his briefcase on the kitchen counter.

“Nothing,” he replied tiredly, “nothing’s wrong and nothing has changed. They said he’s just asleep but no matter what they do, he wouldn’t wake up so how does that explain that he’s just asleep?”

Katherine could hear her dad’s voice rising and she sighed a bit tiredly, “dad, just…calm down, okay? He’ll be fine.”

“He won’t be fine when those silly doctors that obviously don’t deserve a degree don’t know what in the devil they’re doing,” Edward replied furiously, stabbing at the foil covering his food as he collapsed into a kitchen stool, “I should have them all fired, that’s what I should do. The boy hasn’t moved, hasn’t even flinched for nearly a week now and they tell me nothing’s wrong?”

“Dad –”

“I don’t think we should talk anymore about this.”

Katherine sighed, “I’m going to head to bed now, okay?”

“How about Steven?”

“I sent him home. I don’t know how long this is going to take and…I want to be there if…”

“You should go to bed.”

“Dad, we need to consider every possible angle. We need to at least be prepared for the worst.”

“And what exactly is the worst?” Edward taunted, looking up to give Katherine a look that dared her to say something. Katherine only swallowed and shook her head lightly. Aaron could make out that she hadn’t had much sleep either, her movements were sluggish and she looked completely exhausted.

“Go to bed,” Edward practically growled at her and Katherine immediately left the kitchen. Aaron could feel his heart pounding in his chest because he knew what she’d been about to say.

I want to be there if he never wakes up again.

Aaron knew it in his gut that that’s what she was about to say and the tears immediately came rushing back, the vice in his chest was painfully crushing, making him gasp desperately. His father looked exhausted and had dark circles under his eyes like he hadn’t slept in ages.

For a second, Aaron saw the dad façade break through to the vulnerable man underneath. Edward shivered on a dry sob, cupping his hands over his mouth before furiously shaking his head, the dad mask back in place as he focused on his food, the only proof of his distress the harsh way he stabbed at the contents in his plate.

Aaron suddenly woke up with a loud gasp, back in the room Kelechi had assigned to him and Nicholas. He stared disbelievingly at the ceiling, the soft sound of sobbing reaching his ears. It was only when he felt wetness sliding down from the corner his eyes and across his temples that he realized the sobbing sounds were coming from him.

He sniffed, rubbing a hand across his nose as he turned around to see if Nicholas was in the room and if he’d woken the Fay up with his gross sobbing. He nearly had a heart attack at the sight of Kelechi sitting on Nicholas’s empty bed, watching him creepily.

He sat up a bit, wiping at his eyes while she continued watching him silently, making him shift uncomfortably, pushing back to rest against the headboard of the bed.

“I…was that a dream?” he suddenly asked and then felt stupid. How on earth was Kelechi going to know that? It wasn’t like she was even there.

But like he knew she would, she still answered him, “In some ways it was but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t real.”

Aaron snorted through his tears, rolling his eyes at the ceiling, “so what now? I’m dreaming of home?”

Kelechi shrugged a bit, “yes, you could say the situations have reversed now. You used to dream of Aethereus, not knowing that you were visiting it unconsciously. And now you’re dreaming of earth, visiting it subconsciously.”

“Oh, the irony,” Aaron snorted sarcastically, wiping at his eyes to stop his tears but he just couldn’t stop crying because…his mum. There was just something so absolutely gut wrenching about seeing your mother cry. He felt like a part of his soul was being ripped to shreds. This was his fault. He caused this.

Was it really worth it? Staying here to be haunted all his life or being with a family that obviously loved him? How could he have been so ridiculously selfish? Of course his mother was trying, of course she was only looking out for him – his dad did nothing but work hard to pay for his school fees and put food in his mouth and what did he do? He spat in the man’s face. His younger siblings tried to get him into their activities but he pushed them away, seeing himself as above their level.

“Oh God,” he whispered, realizing that he’d started crying again. The thought that right now, somewhere in a hospital in Florida, Macy had stopped breathing seemed to hit him hard in the chest and he gripped his chest, holding back his sobs as hard as he could.

He didn’t want to cry in front of Kelechi. He turned away from her, desperately wishing that she would leave the room so that he could cry alone in piece. The satyr did the exact opposite of leaving the room though; she got off of Nicholas’s bed and walked over to Aaron’s bed.

He didn’t expect her to wrap her arms around him in a soft hug. It was all he needed and the little reserve he’d been holding onto was gone with the wind as he lost himself in her embrace, burying his face in her chest as he cried his heart out.

*

He’d fallen asleep but it was a dreamless sleep, thank God. This time when he woke up, he was still in Kelechi’s embrace and that weirdly made him think of his mum. He remembered when he and Katherine were still children; they would always give Edward and Charlotte a hug and air kisses on both their cheeks before going to bed. It was their every night ritual. He couldn’t remember when that had suddenly stopped and he could be seventeen now but he missed it.

Kelechi pulled away when she realized he was awake and he sat up, giving her a little space. They were silent for a few minutes until Aaron turned to face her, his expression desperate, “how do I go back home? I want to go back home.”

The desire was strong. He wanted to just wake up at home now like none of this had happened. He wanted this to be a dream.

“Life is a dream,” Kelechi said suddenly and randomly and Aaron had to give her an incredulous look, like was that supposed to help him somehow?

“Life is but a dream,” she repeated, “so go on and dream your dream.”

“W-What? If you’re speaking in metaphors you’ll have to stop because I’m a little desperate right now.”

“Come with me, I think another visit to my special room is in order.”

Aaron groaned but he got up anyway because he knew that he could do with some magic. The house was silent when he left his room and when he glanced at the tiny window at the end of the corridor; he saw that it was still dark outside. Everyone else was probably still asleep. Aaron wondered where on earth Nicholas had gone and he hoped that his weird real-life dream hadn’t driven the man away. Kelechi led him to the room with the encrypted door and waited while she spoke some words underneath her breath so that the door came off the wall and slid open.

They entered the room, the door closing silently behind them, plunging them in total darkness.

Kelechi waved her hands in the air and the room was suddenly illuminated by a light source that wasn’t visible. It was like the room was glowing on its own. Aaron could make out that the room was empty except for a mirror resting against the opposite wall.

“I told you about the five passions of the mind and fear,” Kelechi began softly, “and well, as the balance of life and death goes, there has to be a way to overcome these passions right? So, we all know the one for fear is not bravery but courage – going on despite your fear.”

She waved her hands in the air and the five passions appeared in the air in their own colours – lust in bright pink, greed in yellow, attachment in bright blue, anger in blazing red, pride in dark green and fear completely black.

“To overcome lust, one must know continence or chastity. To overcome greed, one must know contentment. To overcome anger, one must know tolerance and forgiveness. To overcome pride one must know humility. Neither of these is easy to learn but the most difficult one to learn is to overcome attachment with detachment,” Kelechi whispered.

As she spoke, the words in the air shifted and morphed into their positive forms until the six good words remained in the air, all of them dazzling white.

“It’s not too hard to practice chastity, to be content with what you have, to tolerate and forgive, to be humble…but detachment. Detachment means caring not too much but just enough. For example, if the queen of England died, you would be sad right? But it wouldn’t really affect your everyday life. You would care, but not too much. That is because you are detached. If someone from your family or maybe even a close friend passed away,” as she was speaking, she was leading Aaron towards the mirror at the opposite end of the room, “you would surely be devastated. Maybe even sad for weeks. Now that, that is attachment. Your love, your need, your want for something determines how attached you are. I’m attached to my magic. People from your world are attached to petty things like phones and laptops. Take it away and it’s like the world has ended. That is the height of attachment.”

They were now standing in front of the mirror and Aaron’s lips parted because what was standing in front of him, his reflection in the mirror was him in spirit form. It was a golden silhouette of him enveloped completely in the white glow that was his aura. There was a big blue hole in his aura and out of it; several small blue threads were poking out, attached to the floor. Some threads were glowing more brightly than the others, showing that his attachment to some were stronger than the rest.

Kelechi's expression turned stern, still holding onto his shoulders, “I told you earlier that your attachment was what was keeping you here and I know you know exactly what I mean. Each thread represents something you’ve grown attached to on Aethereus. If you want to leave, you have to learn detach yourself. I’m afraid it’s the only way. I have no say nor do I have control over it.”

Aaron stared at the blue threads and he could feel his heart pounding because he knew that the thread that glowed the brightest belonged to his growing feelings for Jamie.

As if the thread could sense his thoughts, it instantly glared brighter, making his heart skip.

Kelechi gently led him out of the room while he remained deep in thought. He didn’t hear a word she said when they exited the room to the corridor and his legs just carried him back to his assigned bedroom.

How on earth was he going to learn to detach himself when detachment basically – to his understanding – meant stop caring so much? How could he not care? Kelechi used maybe a close friend of his dying and he was supposed to treat it like just another occurrence of everyday life, like it didn’t affect him?

That was practically impossible.

It was also probably why detachment was the hardest thing to learn. He sank down on his bed feeling scared, guilty, ashamed and helpless because he got himself into this mess and now he was going to have to get himself out of it but it was obvious that he was royally screwed.

*

The Umbra was constrained inside the pot. There was no way out to the underworld so they couldn’t get the boy as they wished even though they had succeeded in finding him. The evil entity could tell that the stupid naïve Fay had probably placed them in a place far away from the floor so they couldn’t travel so now they were stuck until she was done making the potion for them to break the satyr’s shields.

They were greedy and they didn’t want to wait. They also didn’t want to share. Unknown to Ma, they were conversing silently between themselves in the pot, like telepathy.

We should take more than half of the boy. We deserve it after all.

I agree – the girl was delicious and could you see the brightness of the boy’s soul? I’m sure he will be exquisite.

So how do we break the contract? We signed it fair and square and the deal cannot be broken.

No, it can’t…not unless –

Not unless one half of the deal ceases to exist.

Exactly. If we can eliminate the Fays, the contract’s seal will be broken.

How about the satyr’s shields? We still need the Fay to make the spell.

That was a lie I told her to get us some time. We will get rid of them both and then give the boy a little teaser of what’s to come.

And how about dessert? The Fays didn’t tell us there would be a little snack.

They obviously wanted to keep more to themselves but not to worry, we shall have our meal with dessert all in due time.