Coming Back to Life
Iorek rolled the pin around in his palm as he stared out onto the yard. Fall was swiftly approaching. The crisp air had already begun to settle, and beautiful shades of yellow, red, and orange had eaten away at the leaves green hues. Time was swiftly moving, so why did he feel like he was stuck? All around him lives were changing and just like a statue he stood rigid and unable to be swept away by the current.
His vibrant green eyes fell to look at the words placed upon the speckled badge that read ‘superhero’. A long nail ran across the plastic plating, the smooth texture giving his mind something to focus on for a brief moment. A few scratches rested here and there along its ridges from use. It was a small trinket given to him by Rivener but he prized it and took it with him when the family traveled. Sitting upon the shelf, or tucked away in his backpack, the words etched across the front were a reminder of a dream. He may have been idle these past few months but the desire to protect the downtrodden and strike back upon oppressors still fueled his heart.
Iorek tilted his head to the side in an attempt to get stretch out the ache that had taken to sitting in his neck. He heaved a great sigh and closed his eyes before reopening them and placing the worn pin down on his bedside table.
Goodness how long had it been since he’d seen the others? Many months but the exact amount well…it was too great he’d lost track. All of the raevans and their guardians must have been changing while he was absent. They weren’t the only ones. Over the past few months a lot had occurred under the Maevin roof.
Lillian had gotten a job working at a cabaret during the nights while she attended the local community college during the day. Although she had yet to decide what she was going to do, she was going to clear something known as “liberal art credits”…whatever that meant. A few times Iorek caught the words “Criminal Justice” as a possible major, and anything where bringing down the bad guys seemed like a logical job for Lil. She may have been growing mentally but boy was she still on the bossy side. Yet as the days wore by the prickle bush was transforming into something elegant.
Speaking of growing Tyson was growing like a weed. Iorek hadn’t been doing much with his time other than training and sculpting so he had taken to doing the grocery shopping while the kids were at school. Now that Tyson had reached the beginning of his teenage years food was flying off the shelves. Every week the raevan found himself going to the grocery store and trying to buy enough food to keep them satisfied and the shelves restocked at least for a few days. The lad was now at middle school, a seventh grader and a brilliant student. He even joined the sports teams and had been playing soccer up until this point. Going to the games as always an adrenaline rush. It was fantastic to see how much the boy had grown from a little tyke he’d read bedtime stories to and into this.
But what of himself? A twinge of regret echoed in his chest. He had stayed still…Traveling was the most exciting thing he had done. Yet the trip was not a happy one. The Maevins had boarded a plane and took off to Europe in search of finding something about their parents. They spoke to several people but no one could give them clues or aid them in their quest. It was as if Mr. and Mrs. Maevin had vanished into thin air. Even if the children had come a long way in their development all on their own…Iorek knew they missed them. Children needed parents, and even if he had matured and no longer acted immature, he knew he could not give them that role. Rather they had become his parents. Lillian taught him how to write, the two of them joined up to teach him how to read, and overall they were the ones who guided him.
Even so, why did he still feel so lost?
Iorek gulped and looked around his room that was cluttered with comic books and superhero posters. He had been trying so hard to become something spectacular but now look at him. It probably didn’t make sense for someone of a few years to be worried about not doing anything with their lives but he was. That had to change. He needed to stop sitting and waiting for life to come to him. The spark he once possessed had to be recaptured.
His wings creaked as he floated over to the door. For others today was just a regular day but for him…it was going to be a fresh start. He was going to keep moving forward. Dreams still had to be achieved and new goals made. There was too much to do!
With a smile Iorek stretched his wings and gave them a grand flap as his spirits were lifted. What was he doing sitting around the room? There were people to see, crimes to be stopped, books that needed reading. Those thoughts sitting in his mind powered Iorek out the door and racing down the stairs to continue where he left off. The story was not complete yet.
