Wei:
I don’t know why I still keep a journal. Honestly, now I have plenty of people to share my thoughts with. I suppose that I can keep on writing, and then give the journal to my son, when he grows up.
My entire courtship with Rodger is written down in these pristine white pages. Surely, Daniel will find it nice, that he gets to see the transition from us teasing each other about our age, to being best friends, and then lovers.
Yet, that won’t happen for many more years. Daniel is just a one-year-old. Sure, he can speak in simple sentences, but he is not ready to see this side of his parents. I want him to place us on a pedestal, for as long as possible. Maybe I will begin a new journal? One that talks about Daniel’s childhood?
I already have a baby album with all the small things. His tail tip print, made with blue glitter. His first finger painting. The acorns he collected on his birthday. Ones he shared with the guests. I have mine and Rodger’s. With a note explaining their significance. I hear slithering sounds, and turn around. My pen still held to the page.
“Tim finished creating the atmosphere,” Rodger says, as he places little Daniel on the ground. “I thought we might go out on a walk?”
“The place is still one big ball of radiation,” I argue. Rodger wilts at that. “But we can have a family get together. Go to the stadium, and watch a football game, maybe? The Phoenix Dru are going to face against the Olradus Penguins.”
Rodger hums, and looks at Daniel.
“Do you want to cheer the Dru’dru, Dany?” Rodger asks. Daniel, who loves everything about the Dru’dru, gives him a blinding smile.
“And say hi, after the game?” Daniel asks. His speech is clear, for a one-year-old. Then again, I did enroll him to kindergarten already. Him being around older kids, and the other two babies of our extended family, does wonders for his development.
“We will buy a ball, and you can have it signed,” I suggest. Daniel giggles at that, and bounces on his tail.
“And give fish to the Dru’dru?” Daniel asks. He might be young, but he knows that the way to the Dru’dru’s heart is through their stomachs.
“I don’t see why not. Let me just invite everyone else,” I say, and begin to type messages on screens. Soon, I get confirmations.
It takes us fifteen minutes, to get outside our house, and get in the car. Rod is driving, as usual. Ever since Daniel was born, he has stopped asking to go on Brain Scramblers. I am happy, that he values our son’s life more than that particular activity.
The football field is filling up, as we enter it. Mostly, Dru’dru have come to see the game. Yet, there are a couple of incubi in there as well. Ever since I made some fields in the crystal, they have been more than happy to produce food. The Dru’dru took up jobs as well. Even though I did promise that I will provide for them.
We sit down, and wait. After a while, our extended family comes to sit on our row. First come Daniel, Constantine, and their daughters. Sara looks like she wants to be somewhere else, but Samantha is all smiles and sunshine. When Daniel sees her, he blushes. He tugs my sleeve.
“Dad, can you make a daisy?” Daniel asks. I smile, at the obvious display of puppy love. I nod, and the boy is soon slithering down the row of seats towards the small human baby.
My son’s namesake picks him up, when he reaches them. Little Daniel protests, at being snuggled. I can hear Samantha’s giggles from here. Also, I can see my son’s head bowing at the way his uncle and godfather gush at him. Finally, Daniel the older shows some compassion to little Daniel’s plight, and sets him down.
The daisy exchanges hands, and little Daniel gets a kiss on the cheek. When my son comes back to us, he is still holding his cheek. His eyes are wide, and he has a face-splitting grin.
Rodger picks him up, and sets him on his lap. The next to arrive are Tim and Nathaniel. They come to sit closer to us. Alex smiles, when he sees Daniel. Rodger places Daniel next to Alex, who pats Daniel on the back. Tom takes out his phone, and takes a picture.
The two babies look at him with narrowed eyes.
“Big brother Tommy, why did you take a picture?” Alex asks. He is developing fast, just like Daniel.
“To get your measurements for your animal onesies,” Tom tells them with a shit-eating grin. Alex pokes out his tongue at his brother. Daniel looks ready to grumble.
Nathaniel stands up, and takes the phone from his eldest son.
“Keep on teasing them about animal onesies, and you will end up in one!” Nathaniel’s words sound like a promise. Tom wilts.
“Come now, he was just teasing,” Tim says, to which Nathaniel points at the two babies.
“Just look at them. They don’t seem to think he is just teasing,” which is true. Not that I blame the two little boys. Tom did buy them animal onesies once. He nearly put them in them, but then Sara tattled on him. Thus, saving the babies from eternal embarrassment.
“I am sorry, pipsqueaks,” Tom says. We hear a chuckle from behind us. The four elves come, together as a group. Ferenc gives Tom a sly smile, and then pulls him to the side. I don’t know what he tells the boy, but I don’t like the grin that spreads on Tom’s face. Neither do the babies.
They are perfectly disgruntled, but holding it together, one moment. The next, they are crying. I scoop them up, and hold them to my chest.
“No one is getting inside an animal onesie,” I promise them, but they keep on crying.
“Hey, why are my favorite kiddies crying?” Alfred is leaning on a chubby incubus. His tail is still not healed, but I like the way he found friends, instead of wallowing in self-pity.
“Tommy wants to put us in animal onesies,” Alex screams. A couple of Dru’dru who sit on the row beneath us, turn to stare. Their brows are furrowed, and I can see that we are making too much noise.
“Tommy, that is reprogramming offense,” Alfred jokes, and then sits next to Rodger. The incubus sits on his other side. “Everyone, meet Villus. My new roommate.”
“Hi, Villus,” we chorus, and the man grins and waves at all of us.
“Did the game begin?” I hear Gregor ask, from next to Daniel.
“They haven’t even sung the anthem yet,” Daniel, the human, not my baby, says. Gregor waves at us, and I finally see Basius there, coming down the stairs.
The entire family is together. It is a pity that Dave is still recovering, so he couldn’t come with us today. All the friends that I have made after my self-isolation time in the Scorpio Desert ended. There is not one cloud in the sky above us. As the two teams line up to listen to the anthem, we all stand to listen to the words that Dar’uni came up with, so we can never forget the planet we fled from.
By the time it is over, we are all hyped for the game. Dru’dru can really be original about piling up on each other. For birds that think that their mission in life is to be happy, they are truly vicious, when they chase after a ball.
I take one last look around. There is so much joy around me. Cheering fans, people speaking with one another. One of the teams must have scored because everyone is standing up to do a wave. I hurry to mirror them. Let it not be said that the Supreme Overlord ruined a wave.
To think, this all could have been lost. I make a vow then. No matter what happens, the citizens of Phoenix 1 won’t ever be displaced. We will be happy, even if we are faced with countless hurdles.
