Ilya huddled in his grungy jeans on the beach.
He finally made it after hitch hiking several days taking him further
and further away from home. He was starving, thirsty and didn't know what
to do about it but at least he wasn't home anymore. He wouldn't get hurt
over and over and feel helpless. He felt free but he knew it was going to
get desperate real fast. Last night he narrowly dodged prostituting
himself for money with the last guy who gave him a ride. He wasn't
interested in the man who must of only given him a ride with the hope of
something more. The driver had dead looking gray-blue eyes, just like his
father. He didn't want to be any closer to him for that reason alone.
He closed his eyes and inhaled the salty breeze
that seemed to go in rhythm of the ocean's waves when he saw some kids on the
beach. They looked close to his age, fifteen. They were happy and
enjoying their summer vacation at the beach. He saw an older pretty lady
calling to the boys. He bet those kids hated their mom despite how good
they had it.
Ilya rubbed his eyes since he didn't sleep well
the night before. And felt itchy from not bathing for a few days.
His left wrist ached and he was gently massaging it since the bones were
still mending together. He managed to rip off the cast a few days ago.
Looking at his wrist, he noticed a star shaped scar. Where did that
come from?
"Hey, kid” Ilya looked up to the stranger
that interrupted his thoughts. He stood in front of the sun, with a dark
profile surrounded by brilliant light.
"You look lost. Are your parents
coming along soon?"
Ilya covered his eyes to get a better look at
the guy. Older and tallish with fine lines along his mouth and eyes.
He had light hair but there definitely was some gray throughout.
"Not a kid actually. Just turned
eighteen, so parents are a non-issue. Plus it's none of your fucking
business” Ilya replied. Being polite was overrated.
"Uh huh. Right. Mind if I place
my stuff nearby to do my afternoon tai chi?" He dropped off his
shoulder bag. There was something poking out, several colorful items that
were thin, flat and squarish.
Ilya's face had a pinched look and looked at the
guy like he was crazy. What in the hell was tai chi?
"As long as you stay out of my way.
This beach isn't my private property" Ilya retorted. He wasn't
even sure if he should stick around any longer since he felt out of place.
Plus, he was starving.
"I sense a bit of hostility. But this
is a free country. My name's Dave and I'm going to leave my stuff here.
Cool with you?" He laid out an over-sized beach towel that had
sharks all over. He placed his shoulder bag on top of it. Ilya
stared at the bag more intently. What could he have in there? And
more importantly, should he take the risk and peek in the bag? This guy
could be a beach stoner dude and have snacks on him. Or cash. Cash
would be peachy.
Dave walked a ways onto the beach and then
stopped at a certain point where there wasn't anyone else around. He
stood very still and erect and Ilya decided to pay attention for a bit to get
an idea of whatever the hell was so important about tai chi.
Dave moved slowly and gently out of his stiff
and upright posture and then seemed to flow like water into the next movement.
Many times he looked like he was either dancing very strangely or
carrying some weird energy ball. Ilya chuckled to himself thinking about
an old anime that his elder brother Aaron used to love, Dragon Ball Z.
His smile quickly faded since his brother was gone. He still felt
the loss greatly even though it had been five years since he died.
Aaron was ten years older and had big plans for
himself. Though Ilya wished he chose anything else other than the Army.
They were dirt poor and he wanted to get his education paid for.
All his dreams wiped away clean during his first tour. Everything
else came crashing down after that. His mother never recovered from his
brother's death and drowned herself in alcohol everyday. His father hated
his life and took it out on everyone around him. It almost felt like Ilya
died too.
"You okay kid?" Dave asked and
pulled Ilya out of his brooding state. Ilya got angry and was about to
tell him where he could go mind his business once again, when he realized he
had tears streaming down his face. Goddamnit. Ilya swiped his hand
quickly to remove the evidence. The last thing he needed was to get
emotional with a perfect stranger.
"Guess not, Dave" Ilya said
dispassionately. Why lie? He looked down at his hands and wished he
was anywhere but here.
Dave stared a few more moments before shaking
his head and walking towards his towel. He grabbed his bag and pulled out
a bright orange, flat and squarish object.
"Do you want to talk about it?" he
asked nonchalantly, not looking at Ilya at all, but focusing his attention on
the orange object in his hand. He pulled it apart in such a way that it
turned into this large inflated looking blob.
"Just the usual teenage runaway bullshit.
What in the hell is that? You need weird balloons in tai chi
too?" Ilya asked, but truthfully he was barely interested. If
he had anywhere to go he would've left already.
"Runaway, eh? Funny, I might be able
to help you. Just this morning Ms. Kim was telling me she needed some
help in her restaurant." Dave turned towards Ilya and started
walking with the large orange balloon-like object in hand. He stopped a
short distance in front of him.
"This is a sky lantern. You light
them up during memorials and celebrations depending on the custom or culture.
I think maybe you should light this one. And you can write
something on it, anything at all that might make you feel better. In
celebration or to let go of something."
Dave held out the lantern to Ilya. Ilya
stared at the lantern; it was much bigger up close and started to bristle about
his suggestion. He looked up about to tell him off once and for all, but
was stopped short by Dave's eyes. They were a nondescript brown, but so
very sad.
"What do you write in yours?" Ilya
asked as he reluctantly took the sky lantern.
"It depends on what I'm feeling. But
it usually always has something to do with my son, Emmanuel. He died in a
car accident several years ago. This is how I celebrate his life, since
we used to light sky lanterns on the beach." Dave looked away for a
moment, staring into the sea.
Ilya felt guilty staring at Dave in his own
sadness and focused on the delicate papery feel of the sky lantern and wondered
what Aaron would think of it. Would he see it in heaven, if it existed?
"What is Ms. Kim hiring for?"
Ilya asked Dave and started to wonder if this guy was going to end up
being some sort of guardian angel of his.
"I am an old friend to the family and try
to visit their restaurant when in town. Sounded like she needed a
dishwasher or something. Beggars can't be choosers...what's your name
anyway?" Dave asked but turned around and started back towards his
towel and bag of sky lanterns. He pulled out a green one and started
puffing it up into it's natural airborne state. Once he was satisfied he
pulled out a sharpie and start to write on its side.
"Ilya. And a dishwasher sounds like
the worst job ever." A pause. "Doesn't seem like writing on sky
lanterns will do much" Ilya watched Dave write and ran through his mind
different ideas, despite his words.
"Well Ilya, scars on the heart don't always
mend with just time. Sometimes we have to honor those scars somehow and
this is how I deal with mine. You can try it out and never do it again if
that's what suits you. Besides, I hear you get free meals working in
restaurants." Dave handed him the sharpie he was using. Ilya
looked at Dave's green lantern, but couldn't read what he wrote since since it
was too small and sideways.
Ilya looked down at his orange sky lantern and
knew he was going to write Aaron a note that he hoped would reach him somehow.
Wait a minute, free food?
"When can I start?" Ilya asked with a
sideways grin. And then he started to write.
