A Summer’s Tragedy

Callisto went home earlier than his parents thought. The sun was setting on the horizon when he arrived, and the smile on his parents’ faces gradually turned into a sad expression seeing him, who seemed to be carrying the whole world.

“We thought that you’d stay in your friend’s house forever, but why did you go home earlier?” Dorothy asked. “And what happened to your face?”

“Mom, please stop scolding me. I know it was my mistake, but I have nowhere to go this time but home,” Callisto replied.

“I’m not scolding you. We’re just worried. You have put your sister in danger, you have left home earlier, you didn’t listen to me, when you could have realized that family is more important than anything else, huh?”

“Sorry mother, if I’m being disrespectful, but my sister is alive, I’m still alive, and I’ve made some friends outside of what you’ve told me. I know that I’m a bit unlucky today, but I hope you won’t regret that I was born in this world,” Callisto replied.

“You!” Dorothy barked. “Why would you wait to be killed, huh? Where did you learn to talk to your mother like that? From your new friends?”

“Hey, hey,” Sebastian interrupted. “Relax. You can get nothing from fighting.”

Callisto continued walking towards his bedroom while his mother slightly shook her head. He noticed Ruth, who was sitting on the stairs. Perhaps she was listening to their conversation, he thought. Ruth’s knees are both inside her shirt and her head is perched on it. Something was pulling Callisto to get near to his sister. He sat down on the stairs beside Ruth, who seemed to be sullen.

“Sorry,” Callisto apologized. “I didn’t mean to do that.”

Ruth gradually stares at her brother. Tears were running down her face, but Callisto’s shirt wiped them away as she suddenly embraced him.

“Come on baby girl, don’t cry, that will just lose your cuteness.”

“Please brother, don’t leave us again,” Ruth begged.

“If that’s what you want, then I won’t leave again,” Callisto whispered.

The sad expression on Ruth’s face disappeared. She smiled and climbed on Callisto’s back, who also stood up and went towards the dining room. He hadn’t eaten yet since he left home, and he could eat cats and dogs right now.

“Brother, can you tell me what happened? Why are you sad?” Ruth asked.

“No, I’m not sad, baby girl. It was just because sometimes there are misunderstandings that grow between people,” Callisto replied.

“And did someone misunderstood you?” Ruth asked while looking at her brother’s face, which was sticking in and out as he chewed food.

“I will tell you what happened, but first you should be quiet because I’m eating.”

Callisto continued eating his food, and after some minutes (as it shows that he was so hungry because he finished his food quickly), Callisto washed their dishes, and after that, he dried his hands and went inside the living room where his sister was watching television alone.

“What are you watching?” Callisto asked.

“Brother look!” Ruth pointed an index to the television screen. “That man is so bad. Look at what he is doing to that woman. Brother, I’m afraid he’s going to kill her.” She got closer to her brother and embraced him while Callisto reached for the remote control and changed the channel.

The other one was worse than it was. The shows on television all need strong parental guidance, so even Callisto isn’t suitable to watch them because of his minor age. He knew that it was just a little time of waiting and he would be totally free from everything, and he didn’t need to follow his parents’ counsel.

Ruth suggested, “You gotta turn off that brother, and tell me a story instead.”

“So, you are demanding me now, huh?” Callisto asked. “You are younger than me, so you need to show respect. Always say the word “please” if you want me to do something. Don’t act like you’re the king.”

“Sorry brother, I will not be disrespectful again. So please turn off the TV and please tell a story instead.”

So, as the little girl demanded, Callisto turned off the television, stood up, and then attempted to get a book from the shelves.

“No, brother,” Ruth said. “I don’t want to listen to that repeated story. I want to hear your story today. Please tell me what happened with you and your friends.”

“Okay.” Callisto went back to the couch and laid down there beside Ruth.

Callisto started, “I am going to tell you a secret that nobody knows.” He continued, “There was an ugly girl who looked so interesting. Guess who? She’s my new friend named Stalin. Linley led me to her house, but she’s not as good as I thought. It seemed that she had lost her mind.”

“And how could you say that, brother?” Ruth asked.

“I must not tell you this, but Stalin drove me and Linley out of her house.”

“Is she crazy? How could she drive my handsome brother away?”

“No, that’s not what I mean. I didn’t…”

“You didn’t want to court her?” Ruth interrupted.

“You!” Callisto barked. “You must sleep now.”

“But brother, I’m not that sleepy yet,” Ruth complained.

“Just go to your room, lie there and wait for drowsiness to come.”

Ruth and Callisto both stood up and went inside their bedrooms, Ruth a little grumpily. But they both went into their bedroom, leaving the living room empty.

Someone opened the window inside Callisto’s bedroom. It was he who glimpsed and saw that the sun was already drowned on the horizon. It creates a stunning display of colors in the sky as it darkens. But it can’t be dark, he knew, because the moon will be there for him tonight.

Callisto turned his eyes elsewhere: to Mount Octover, where he could almost bury himself and Ruth in snow, and down to their open-air verandah. He suddenly slammed the window when he noticed two shadows of people who were sitting there. It was Sebastian and Dorothy who were having a good time on their verandah and enjoying the cold air that moved hither and thither.

“My love, don’t be so worried about our son. He knew what he was doing,” Sebastian said while going towards his wife from the other side of the porch. “We must be happy instead because Callisto is not acting like a child anymore.”

Dorothy sighed. “I know that, but it can’t be removed from a mother to worry about her son, and there are many dangers in this town. I can’t forgive myself if we lost our only child, Sebastian.”

“Relax, you must not say that. We can lose no one. Do you remember what you told me? Stop thinking about things that can only cause you to worry.” Sebastian sat down beside Dorothy. “We came here to relax. So, what if we go to the top of the mountain tomorrow?”

“But my love, nobody’s going in that place. It’s dangerous.”

“No, we can get there. Some people also get there. Our son insisted on getting there, and he even risked his sister’s life just for that. And I also want to know what makes that mountain wonderful.”

“What else can I do? I can’t contradict my husband’s plan, as that’s exactly the reason you chose this place for vacation. I know that we went here to relax, but it seemed that—”

“Stop that. You’ve said it already, so you don’t need to worry about anything.” Sebastian embraced his wife. “Relax,” he whispered and nibbled her ear.

Many things were coloring Dorothy’s mind as she felt her husband’s warm body, which caused an electric-like volt to flow in her veins. She thought he had never changed. She knew that he loved her more than anything else, as he could despise anyone who would stand in their way. And now, Dorothy still hopes that her husband will remember those good memories.

It seemed like it was just yesterday that they were both young when they met each other during cold, lovely nights like this: sneaking in and out of their houses, avoiding being caught by their strict parents. It seemed like only yesterday that they were fighting for their love, willing to give their lives for each other; when they weren’t thinking about themselves, not what they could get from each other, but what they could give.

But still, yesterday isn’t today and things can change every time, but those memories will stay the same. Although their minds faded, Dorothy and Sebastian knew, within their hearts, what really happened in the past.