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Fly Again My Bird (Part II: If You Have Ghosts...)

By: Dingir Xul

........................

John carried Alex to the couch. He cradled her in his arms however, he sat her down in an upright position. She was still damp with water.

"Sorry, all I have are men's clothing. I hope you don't mind." He said with clothes in hand.

For the first time that day he saw her laugh, however it was weak and tired, more like a quick huff with a smile, but a laugh none the less.

"I don't mind." She responded.

John slowly unwrapped the towel from her and helped her get on the Shirt. Her shoulders ached and it was a slow process but eventually they got the shirt on. Next were the boxers. She managed to get them on with less trouble than the shirt. John then helped her lay back onto the couch and put a blanket around her before collapsing in his arm chair and sighing. There was a strange silence in the air. For a minute, he felt that their problems were over. He could hear the poor skunk wheeze softly as she laid on the couch wrapped in clean clothes and blankets. He finally broke the silence after a few minutes.

"I have some tea brewing, it should be done soon." John said.

"Thank you, I really appreciate everything."

"No need to thank me. However, I would like to ask you a few things now."

"Ask away."

"Alex, how old are you?"

"I'm 19."

John's heart sank and he looked at the floor. Just to think someone did this to a 19-year-old made him sick. However, he was done crying, he's cried enough today. Still, the thought made his soul weep.

"Jesus..." He said sighing.

"It's okay. just continue." She responded in a reassuring voice.

"Alex, we have to get you to a hospital. I can call someone..."

"No, no hospitals. Please."

"Alex, I can't just let you stay here with your injuries. You could have internal damage, broken ribs or something! Speaking of which..." He paused and looked up at her.

She sighed and looked out the window that was above the couch. Rain poured from the grey sky.

"You want to know how this happened right? Well it's a long story." Just then the tea kettle began to whistle. John walked over to the stove and turned it off. He opened the cabinet and took out two brown mugs and poured the hot tea into the cups. The steam looked heavenly to Alex and she sat up-right and pulled the coffee table closer to the couch as John walked over and placed her cup on the table.

"Thank you." she said softly.

"You're welcome. Just take it easy and tell me how this happened."

"How old are you John?" The skunk asked quickly.

"I am 31, why do you ask?"

"So, you can say you've experienced life a good amount yes?"

"I guess so...where is this going Alex?" He asked puzzled.

"I'm 19, and I've already had enough of this shit called life."

There was a sudden pause.

"Please explain, Alex." John said softly

"Other than the fact I was raped and left in shit, hmmmm let me think to the time I was born."

Her voice had a sarcastic undertone. Clearly, she was becoming angry. John let out a sigh at the sudden hint of hostility.

"Just, tell me everything Alex, I'm listening."

She sighed and picked her tea up and blew the steam away, cooling the surface just enough for her to take a sip. The natural taste of the green tea with the sweet taste of the honey warmed her to the core and she sighed in sweet relief.

"I was born pretty messed up honestly." She said calmer.

"When I was born... my mother had HIV and had heroine in her system. As a result, I suffered seizures at an early age, and had to be kept in a hospital for a few months until they could confirm whether I had AIDS or not."

John's heart sank once again but he picked it up again and respond after taking a sip of his tea.

"Was it...positive?" He asked hesitantly.

"Negative. Luckily...however if it were positive maybe I could have something to smile about after those men raped me." She said in a calm tone with hint of anger.

"Is your mother still..."

"I don't know. I've never seen what she looks like. I was put into an orphanage care soon after birth. However, she had late stage HIV so she's probably dead by now."

"I see. What about a father?"

She took another sip of her tea.

"My father is what's known as a 'John Doe'. I mean, my mom didn't even know his name. She just fucked a guy, probably for drug money. Honestly, I don't care if she's alive or dead, or what my father looked like or who he was. I let that go a long time ago. I don't care anymore."

John sighed.

"Alex, I just hope someone was there for you through all of this."

"Heh, if you expected a happy story here then you should have left me in the mud out there because you're not going to get it hon."

"You had no positive role models or idols in your life, is that what you're telling me? I find that hard to believe."

"Well I'd be lying if I said no. I've had a few people in my life that have been there for me, but they're nothing but Ghosts now."

"You know what they say though: If you have Ghosts, you have everything." John said smiling but it soon faded, and she grew quiet and looked down at the cup of tea. She watched the steam float into the air and stared at the individual particles of steam that seem to move like a flock of birds together forming a quick moving ghost like entity.

"One of those Ghosts was Emanuel..."

"Tell me about him, if you don't mind."

Thunder trembled in the distance and the muffled sound of slow wind could be heard in the distance.

"After I was born I was put into an orphanage and stayed there until I was 13. It was rough, but I had a few friends. Emanuel was one of them. He was a brown bear who came to the orphanage at age 6. I was also 6 when he came so it was only natural that we became friends. I don't remember much from my early childhood but I do remember him as one the few friends I had."

She took a deep breath and took a sip of her tea before continuing.

"I was um...." Her voice shook and suddenly became emotional. John knew this was going to go somewhere dark again. He put his tea down moved his armchair right next to her gently stroked her shoulder.

"Alex, if telling me these things makes you uncomfortable then..."

"N-no. It's fine" she said interrupting him. "It's just.... I just realized, I've never told anybody about this before."

"Just take your time."

"I remember one summer when I was playing in the playground and I saw him sitting alone. Despite me being only 10, I knew something was wrong. Being the friend I was, I went to go see what was up with him. He was sitting with his face in his knees..."

[Past] ............................................................................

The young skunk ran around the playground without a care in the world with all the other orphan children. She was happy, and had a bright smile on her face despite her current situation. Nearby, a slightly chubby cream-colored tabby cat sat and monitored the children playing in the orphanage playground. Her name was Miss Watson. She was one of the employees at the orphanage and mainly worked with the smaller children.

As the children played, Alex wandered the wooden play structures looking for her friend Emanuel. She wore denim overalls, a purple shirt and a pair of abused canvas shoes with their shoelaces dirty and untied. As she climbed the wooden playgrounds tallest structure, she looked out across the play yard and saw her friend Emanuel sitting alone with his face in his knees. She smiled and climbed down the maze of platforms and bridges and ran to her friend.

"Hey, what are you doing here alone!" She said, barely out of breath being the young energetic child she was. He didn't look up at her though, which was unlike him. He simply kept looking down into the dirt, occasionally moving dust around with his feet, making long streaks in the ground. Alex sat next to him and looked at him, leaning in close.

"What's wrong... why are you not talking to me?"

He then sighed and looked up at her. She gasped and noticed his right eye was swollen and black.

"Oh my gosh... who did this to you Emanuel?" she asked in a sweet concerned tone. He waited for a minute then responded to her.

"Alex... Can you keep a secret?" He said in a emotionless tone.

"Of course, you're my best friend."

"You swear you won't tell anyone!" A serious tone escaped his mouth has his voice jumped in volume.

"I promise!"

He sighed and nodded.

"You know Mr. Zike?"

Mr. Zike was a polar bear and the orphanage's P.E. teacher. He was a little mean and grumpy to the kid, but everyone just treated it as a typical attitude of a P.E. teacher.

"Yeah, what about him?" Alex responded.

"Well, I walked into the P.E. room and saw him watching a weird video on the room's VCR. He got really scared and quickly reached for the remote and stopped the tape. I looked at him and told him that I just wanted to get a ball to play with. He glared at me and asked me if I was alone, and I said yes...."

He sighed but Alex didn't say a word.

"H-he told me to lock the door and come to his desk. I was so scared and I didn't know what he was watching. I did as he told me to. He said that I was failing the health portion of P.E., and that I should make it up somehow. I didn't know what to do so I just went along with it. He told me he didn't want to see me fail, and that he'd give me a football if I passed a quick extra-credit quiz. He sounded serious, and I forgot all about the weird tape that he was watching. I told him I didn't study for this quiz but he simply said it would be fine, as this was a test that didn't require studying."

He stopped and looked at Alex who was transfixed on the story.

"T-then he began taking off my clothes...."

He started to cry lightly. Alex sat frozen, unknowing of what to say.

"He told me to... sit on his lap. I-I don't know why I did, and I felt something touch me."

He began sobbing Alex still silent rubbed his back comfortingly.

"H-hey played the video again and... oh god Alex. I can't!" He said sobbing. She then knew what he meant however did not know how to react.

"He... he put his privates inside of me Alex! He started to choke me. I panicked..."

Alex then stopped him. It all began to sink in. They may have been 10 but they knew something like this wasn't what an adult was supposed to do to a child. She hugged him tightly as he sobbed into her shirt.

"He... he said if I ever told anyone, he'd hurt me and would hurt everyone I told! He said he'd tell them that I wanted his cock and begged for it! He began swearing and yelling! He was doing stuff that our teachers said to never do!"

He continued to sob and soon the bell rang and all the kids ran back to the classrooms. However, Alex and Emanuel stayed behind. Miss Watson scanned the play yard and saw the two cubs sitting together. She saw Emanuel crying and walked over to them with a worried expression.

"Hey... Emanuel you never cry! What's wrong honey!" The motherly cat said in a concerned voice, crouching down next to him and Alex. He looked up at Miss Watson and she put her hands over her mouth as soon as she saw his blackened eye.

"What happened! How did you get this?!" She said putting her hand under his chin and lifting the crying bear cubs face up gently. Alex looked at him then at Miss Watson.

"He was going to Mister Zike's room and...!" Blurted out Alex but mid-sentence, Emanuel stood up quickly, interrupting Alex.

"I fell... I just... fell." He said looking at Miss Watson.

"Alex found me and walked me over here." The cub said in a calmer tone.

"Why didn't you come to me sweetheart!" That cat said rubbing his head gently.

"I-I was afraid that the other kids might bully me for falling!"

"Honey, don't be silly! There's nothing wrong with coming to me or another teacher for help, that's what we're here for!" She said with a bright sympathetic smile on her face. However, Emanuel began to sob and he wrapped his arms around Miss Watson and the cub's tears began soaking into her bright yellow dress. She then had a suspicion something more happened. She looked over to Alex, who responded by shaking her head, pretending as though she knew nothing. Miss Watson nodded back at the young skunk before looking down at the bear with a smile.

"Alright, let's go to the nurse. You too Alex, I think you deserve a sucker for being such a caring friend!" The cat said smiling. Alex forced a smile on her face and took the cats hand as she led them to the nurse.

[Present] ............................................................................

Alex took one last sip of her tea and set it on the coffee table.

"Jesus. So, Miss Watson knew there was something more to this than, for a lack of a better word, meets the eye?" Asked John.

"Yes. When we got to the nurse's office I remember the nurse giving me a sucker and sending me back to class, however Miss Watson was waiting for me in the hallway. She told me she knew that there was something that Emanuel wasn't telling her."

"Did you tell her?"

"No. I just couldn't. I promised him. For the first time, I saw Miss Watson with a frustrated look on her face. I swore to her that all I knew is that he fell while heading to Mister Zike's room. She turned around and went back into the nurse's office. I heard whispering through the door, and then I suddenly heard the nurse ask Emanuel if he could take off his clothes. Almost instantly he started sobbing and I heard both the nurse and Miss Watson sigh simultaneously, as if they knew the full story already. The nurse said that she needed to check to see if he was hurt anywhere else but he cried and refused to take his clothes off. Then I jumped when I heard the door knob twist open and Miss Watson came out and looked at me shaking her head. She walked to the office desk and picked up the phone and dialed three numbers."

John looked down into his tea cup, however not taking a drink from it.

"Those teachers. They deal with orphan children all the time, some of which are already victims of sex abuse. That's why they asked him to remove his clothes, as they knew he would be scared to." John said quietly.

"Yes. There's no I way I could've hid the truth. At least, that's what I tell myself. I never ate that sucker by the way. After that, I just couldn't." Alex looked down at her wrapped up legs under the white blanket.

"So... what happened then."

"Well, the police came, took Emanuel with them, and an officer in a black coat along with Miss Watson took me into a small room with a table and a few chairs and a box of tissues and began asking me questions. I remember crying my eyes out and I told them everything."

"Was Miss Watson mad?"

"No! She could never be mad at me. In fact, she held my hand during the whole thing and after I told the officer what Emanuel told me, she herself began to cry and hugged me tightly." Alex began tearing up.

"I'm sorry that you had to go through that. What happened to Mister Zike then?" John asked putting his half empty cup of tea on the table, no longer in the mood to finish it.

"They arrested him after his class. From what I heard they caught him with his pants down, literally."

John smirked at the tasteless joke as did Alex. There was a sudden silence that followed soon after though.

"I never saw Emanuel again. I sat with Miss Watson every day at recess for the rest of the year. We played games on playground table together and she taught me how to play go-fish and war. It really took my mind off Emanuel, but soon, she too would just be another Ghost."

End of Part 2