Writer’s Note: Sorry for not writing, I had to spend some time on major school projects and recently spent the Thanksgiving holiday on helping cook and spend time with family. Back onto the writing!
It’s been two months since Neo was welcomed into the home of his new Pop-Pop and Maw-Maw, including Matilda as well. All has been going well and Neo has been self-adjusting to this new life style of his.
Neo has also been trying to help around the house so he does every chore necessary to help them out. Internally, Neo had been doing chores before as a form of showing the family that he was worth keeping, but after a while, he realized that they didn’t care and loved him just as if he was their own, with or without doing chores.
“Would you like anything Pop-Pop before I go to bed?” Neo asked the old man. It seemed to be getting late and Neo felt a bit tired.
“Oh nothing from me Neo. You’ve been a great help and I just wanted to thank you!” Neo fell silent. Ever since he moved in, Neo had been thanked a lot, but it never made sense to him. Wasn’t he the one who moved in here without a purpose? Why was he being thanked? Neo just put on a faint smile and started to walk off.
“Is everything alright Neo?” It seemed as though the old man knew something was wrong.
“Nothing’s wrong! Goodnight…” Neo then walked off and entered his room. Since he moved in, him and Matilda had been sharing a bedroom as there weren’t many rooms in the home. When he first arrived he had been using Matilda’s bed to sleep in. When he had gotten better, he decided to sleep on the floor instead as there was no extra beds and the current bed couldn’t fit the both of them.
Matilda seemed to already be sound asleep, cozy with her little white teddy bear. Neo became calmed at the sight as she seemed to be dreaming of something that made her happy. That was the beauty of dreaming, any scenario could be created to build a false reality that for a time makes you joyous. Those were the only times in Neo’s life where he was happy, that was until he came into his new home.
Neo went down to his bed sheets folded in a corner of the room. He first placed down one blanket next to the unlit fireplace and patted the sheet down. Next, he placed a fluffy pillow onto the top of the sheet. Afterwards, he laid the final sheet almost directly similar to the first sheet. With the second sheet, he laid on one side and put the cover around him so when he rolled down the sheet he would seem like a cozy, soft, blanket caterpillar. Neo slowly closed his eyes and started breathing very softly as he drifted into a deep slumber.
When Neo opened his eyes, he appeared to be on a rough sailing boat. Aggressive waves rocked the boat back and forth as the wind seemed to blow heavily outside. From a window, he could see the dark clouds infesting the sky and lightning striking down onto the ocean surface in the distance. Where was he at?
From above on the deck of the ship, heavy footsteps clamping down one by one gradually got louder. These footsteps were menacing as in each step Neo would slowly remember where he was located. From the staircase, Neo could see a drunken man stumbling down the stairs. Laughs of men could be heard above, accompanied by the sound of bottles clashing with the floor.
As Neo stood still in disbelief, the drunken man approached him while still swaying from side to side. The man stopped and glared Neo right in the eyes. After a few seconds, the drunk man continued to walk further. Soon, the man stumbled on a table and the sound of the glass bottle echoed throughout Neo’s ears.
“YOu, clEaN thIS MesS up!!!” The man screamed. Neo quickly gathered a towel and started wiping down the spilled alcohol. As Neo was picking up the glass, he reached out for a shattered piece and the man decided to kick it across the room.
“GO FetCh!” Neo then looked back at the piece and went up to get it.
“Yes father…” Neo said solemnly.
“HEY!!! doNt yOu Go AroUNd cAllin me FatHER! NoBoDY WoUlD WaNT tO clAim a mUTT lIke yOu!” From behind, Neo felt a kick on his back and stumbled across the ground, the glass tearing his right cheek on his face. Neo looked back and started trying to back up before having objects being flown at him.
“WAKE UP NEO, WAKE UP!!!” The man screamed. This all didn’t make sense to him. He did everything right, so why was he treated so wrong. The water from the sea then burst into the room and water poured inside of the lower deck. The ship then started to sink below as he felt himself drowning.
Over and over again, the drunken man repeated his words even when drowning with Neo. “WAKE UP NEO, WAKE UP!” Neo tried swimming upwards, but felt an arm grab onto his leg. He looked down and it was none other than his father holding him down. Neo began to run out of air and waved his arms wildly wishing to escape.
Neo wanted to be free, but all he could feel was the weight of the person he despised the most. Even when wiggling his legs, the man still held on. Neo began to lose consciousness and as he drifted down below the sea with the ship, the drunken man still repeated his words to wake up.
When Neo woke up, he saw Matilda over him pushing him around frantically. “Wake up Neo, wake up! Please!” Matilda had bursts of tears in her eyes as her white teddy bear laid next to her.
“What’s the matter Matilda, what’s wrong?” Neo felt his forehead with sweat dripping down all over him.
“The village is under attack and the house in on fire!” Neo was in disbelief. He looked outside the window of the bedroom and fire was infested out all across the island. Neo then realized that Pop-Pop and Maw-Maw were in the other room and must need saving. When Neo opened the door, a burst of flames entered into the room. Neo looked around for an escape and noticed the window could be used as a way of exiting.
“Matilda, step back!” Neo then threw a log from the fireplace and the window and successfully broke it. Neo first let Matilda out with her stuffed animal and quickly grabbed a couple of materials and put it in a spare bag. After exiting the room, Matilda and Neo ran to the front of the home to try and discover a way to get Pop-Pop and Maw-Maw out. They were nowhere in sight.
The home quickly exploded as Matilda and Neo began to blow away from the blast. The home was in total flames and there was no hope in attempting to save them. Matilda and Neo laid there and watched the flames eat up the home. Though the heat from the fire was high, the warmth that Neo had felt from the past two months quickly diminished.