Misha and his family had forgotten about the time as they talked with the teenager, only realizing it was getting late when the light in the room dimmed. The sun was setting, making Gulnas gasp in surprise.
"I'm sorry Gabriel, we have to leave!" she said apologetically. "I promise we'll come tomorrow too!"
"No problem. Be careful on the road."
"Can't we stay a little longer…?" Misha pouted. He gripped the teenager's bed, a strange feeling in his gut telling him to cling to Gabriel. "Just a few minutes?"
"Sweetie," Gulnas shook her head helplessly, "it's already getting late, and we have a long ride ahead of us."
"Ok…"
Though Misha didn't want to leave, he still had to. So, he took his sweet time dragging his feet to the door. He glanced back over his shoulder every two steps, looking like an abandoned puppy.
.
.
It was pitch-black when they arrived home, and Misha was so sleepy that he could barely walk straight.
"Come on, love! We're home."
Hearing his mother's voice, Misha absent-mindedly nodded and wobbled toward the house, then the stairs. For once, he didn't bicker and directly went to bed, dead tired. Although his father had taken a day off to visit Gabriel, and they went to the hospital by car instead of taking a bus, it still took over an hour each way.
The hospital was relatively far from their home, but Misha and Masha insisted on visiting Gabriel every day even if they had to go by bus, not minding the four-hour round-trip. They lost quite some time every day just going to the hospital, but they didn't care and simply took a nap on the bus to pass the time.
For the past two weeks, they had woken up early in the morning to catch the first bus of the day, then left at around 2 pm to arrive home not too late, just on time for their mother to prepare the supper.
Today, they went in the afternoon because Alexis proposed to drive them, and they were also planning to eat at a restaurant on their way back, meaning that Mrs. Brown didn't have to cook and that they could leave the hospital at a later hour. Besides, they had realized that Misha was exhausted—even if he was trying hard to hide it. The dark circles under his eyes couldn't lie.
With this in mind, they forced the boy to take the morning off and sleep, whether he liked it or not. But despite his good night's sleep, Misha was still drained at the end of the day, maybe because his state of mind had been on a roller coaster all day. The moment his head touched the pillow, he fell asleep, not waiting for his mother's bedtime story.
The next day, when he woke up and went downstairs, his family was already up and waiting for him in the living room.
"Eat something first," his mother said, "then come back and sit on the sofa. We want to talk."
A sense of foreboding rose in the pit of his stomach, but Misha didn't complain and did as told, wolfing his toasts before scramming back to the living room. He obediently sat next to his sister in the corner of the L-shaped sofa, and his parents took place on his left.
A heavy silence filled the room; no one dared to break it first.
Misha saw his mother open and close her mouth many times, chewing on her lower lip. It was as if she didn't know where to start, and the words she wanted to say always got stuck in her throat, unable to leave.
In the end, it was his sister who decided to get the ball rolling by softly asking, "Do you know why we want to talk?"
"No," Misha shook his head, even though he had a pretty good idea deep down.
"Well," Masha sighed, rubbing her neck as if to delay her following words. "Lately, you've been acting a little strange."
"Strange?" the boy repeated stiffly. "How strange…?"
Oh, crap, it was about his recent behavior, just as he had thought. Acting like his younger self was impossible, especially since he didn't even remember how he behaved at that age. He had always known this day would come, but he had hoped he wouldn't have to confront his family so soon—he wasn't ready yet!
Lying wasn't his forte, and Misha was all too aware of this shortcoming. So now, tell him, how was he supposed to respond to their questions? He couldn't exactly stay silent!
Misha had no idea what to do, and he dreaded hearing their next words. It made him want to bury his head in the sand and act like an ostrich.
Gulnas smiled wryly, and after taking a deep breath, she started, "How to say this? You seem a bit more mature…? Like that time when you fell down the slope with Gabriel. Your directives were very easy to understand and firm."
The incident happened two weeks ago, but her son's tone of voice at the time was still fresh in her memory. It had been so severe that it had left her at a loss for words. Although Mrs. Brown had noticed the small changes in her son's personality over the past two months, it wasn't until that particular day that she realized just how much Misha had changed.
It felt as if her son had grown up into a different yet familiar person.
After discussing it with her daughter and her husband, Gulnas realized that she wasn't the only one who felt that way. Their little Misha wasn't as silly as before. Conversing with him was easier, and they didn't have to watch over his every move to make sure he didn't do something foolish that would result in an injury. Of course, he still did stupid things like baking worms-flavored muffins, but it wasn't as worrisome.
Today, they had finally decided to hold a family meeting, now that Gabriel was awake and kicking. After talking with the teenager, the worry they held about his health quelled a little. Unconsciously or not, they now didn't feel guilty about shifting their attention to Misha's odd behavior, leading to the present questioning.
With a pout, the child avoided his mother's eyes. "I just saw a similar thing in a movie and did the same. Gabriel wasn't waking up, so I thought it was like the girl in the movie and that he needed to go to the hospital immediately, or he'd die."
No matter how much Misha racked his brain, he still had no imagination and used the same lie he had once told Gabriel. Kids did mimic what they saw on screen, so his explanation was somewhat plausible. Right…?
"A movie?" Masha repeated after a short silence.
"Yes, a movie!"
"And do you remember the name of that movie?" Masha asked with a gentle tone but mischievous eyes.
"…" Misha froze for a second before replying, "I don't remember! I saw too many movies!"
"I see. And what else happened in the movie? If you describe it to me, maybe I'll be able to figure out which movie you're talking about."
"I also don't remember," the boy cried out with a wronged expression on his face. "I don't know what I don't know, ok?!"
Feeling quite embarrassed by his lame lies and silly outburst, Misha leaped to his feet with flushed cheeks, fuming, "You're being super mean today, so I'm going to play in my room! Alone!"
He barely walked two steps before turning back and adding in a childish tone, "But call me when it's time to leave for the hospital! Don't you dare forget me!"
After saying his piece, the boy fled as if he had seen the devil in the flesh, escaping upstairs where there was no one else. His back was drenched in a cold sweat, and his heart was drumming at his temples. Was he in the clear now…?
It was dead silent for a long time in the living room until Masha sighed, throwing her head backward as she listlessly slumped on the sofa. Beside her, her mother appeared to have received a great shock, her gaze blank. Meanwhile, Alexis wore a dark expression, making his face look sterner.
The three of them simultaneously said, "A movie, huh?"
Because of his blurred memory, Misha had forgotten that he didn't particularly like watching movies as a child—he would rather play with his dinosaur toys or prank people with Dereck. And when he did feel like watching the television, he always asked to watch the same three movies about colorful dinosaurs and cartoon characters. Thanks to this, his family watched said movies so often that they knew all the lines by heart. And without much surprise, no scene involved a severely wounded girl, much less a follow-up with her going to the hospital.
"Couldn't he think of a better lie?" Masha let out a half-scoff, half-laugh. "He doesn't even watch movies!"
That kid was everything except cooperative. How many times will she have to question him before finally finding out the truth? Being left in the dark was nerve-wracking! And she wasn't sure her nerves could handle it much longer….
_______________________________
Chapter revised on 2022-05-18
Edited by Clozed! ♥
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