...there was a little boy who was scared. Scared of the night, scared of the day. Scared of dogs, of cats, of mice and men, of cars of bikes of turning 10. So scared in fact, he would not laugh or pray, his mouth remained closed, afraid of what he might say. Anything and everything gave this boy such a fright, his name was Sebastian...Sebastian Goodnight.He was only turning 10, but already his hair was turning grey. His skin, drawn and in the right light, translucent. Thin, and jumpy he was, and so slow from lack of slumber, by the time he nodded yes to the question "are you hungry?", his food was cold and had been eaten by his older sister. Everyday, his huge emerald eyes sank deeper and deeper inside but still from left to right they darted. And his hands, his small childish hands, how they would shake as he held them firm on his lap, holding tight, they still trembled and produced a loud and rhythmous tap. Against his legs, his hands would move, creating a large and terrible bruise, constant movement like a crazed athlete, keeping time and pace with his erratic heartbeat. No rest, no comfort, no peace dark or light, no happy moments for Sebastian...Sebastian Goodnight.
"What is wrong with you, Sebastian?" Everyone would ask, but no one knew the answer. His doctor thought a pill might help, but which one? So many. Let's try them all. The pink one made Sebastian sick, the blue one made Sebastian more sleepy and the green one made Sebastian very very angry. After extinguishing a rainbow of choices, they settled on the yellow pill. It made Sebastian do nothing, nothing at all, he just sat quietly in his chair, he didn't move or cry or do anything unpleasant, so as far as everyone was concerned, they had found a winner, that is until the yellow pill was found to be extremely dangerous for children under the age of 13. The words psychotic and suicide were casually thrown about, "Let's just see what happens," the doctor said, and Sebastian stayed on the yellow pill up till the day the government mandated they be taken off the market. So back to the questions, "What is wrong with you, Sebastian?"
Sebastian's sister thought he was crazy, just "no good," she would say, but that wasn't true. He was a good boy and if his parents were ever around, they would see that. The nanny tried her best to make him feel better, but in the end, Sebastian spent all his time alone. He would sit in his room in front of the window and stare outside at the other little boys throwing the football in the street. They stopped, years ago, asking Sebastian to come out and play, knowing the answer and tired of asking the question. In the winter, Sebastian would open the window, letting the cold air in. Too chilly for the neighborhood kids to play, Sebastian would stare down the road. Waiting. Hoping. He would go to his secret draw and quietly pull out an old grey blanket no one knew he had. If his parents found out, it would be in the trash, along with everything else that used to belong to his older brother JoJo. Good at everything, scared of nothing, JoJo was 16, but looked 25. Big as a bear but gentle as bunny...until someone messed with him or with someone he loved. He always protected Sebastian, from the bullys at school, from the lighting and thunder at night, and even from their sister. When he ran away from home 2 years ago, Sebastian was crushed, but he understood and was happy JoJo got out. He knew someday they would be together again, but until then, Sebastian held tight to that grey blanket. JoJo's name was hardly ever mentioned by anyone else in the house, so it appeared he was not missed...not true. Sebastian's parents said they didn't care JoJo was gone, and sometimes, Sebastian believed them.
Of all the things Sebastian feared, one stood out above the rest. Her name was Evelone, and she was Sebastian's older sister. The first born and as far as she was concerned, the only one that mattered. As most brothers and sisters, Sebastian and Evelone looked alike, a fact Evelone hated. To rectify this horrible situation, Evelone took every opportunity to change Sebastian's appearance. So proud of her long, black, straight hair, and wanting hers alone to be the longest and straightest in the house, one night, perm kit in hand, she snuck into Sebastian's room and gave him what should have been the curls of Shirley Temple. Maybe she didn't read the directions correctly, maybe she didn't know how long to keep in the chemicals, or maybe she wanted all of Sebastian's hair to fall out, regaurdless, Sebastian and Evelone looked different now. She swore it was an accident, but her laughs when retelling this story is in itself, quite telling. She tortured Sebastian in all sorts of ways, mentally, physically, emotionally, with her fanged teeth, sitting quietly on the edge of his bed during a thunderstorm, saying not a word, or throwing on him a pot of fresh and very hot coffee, still saying not a word. Evelone was evil and the scariest thing about it was, she knew it...and she liked it.
In Sebastian's house, the parents were always gone, JoJo was gone, the nanny was gone at night, so it was just him, all his fears plus Evelone.
No wonder he was always so scared.
Wrapped in his grey blanket, he sits in front of the window, waiting, hoping to be saved, but no one ever comes. Sebastian thinks to himself, "I wish I could save myself." Covered and warm in his blanket, he closes his eyes, but sleep never comes.
No comments:
Post a Comment