Hal meets Mr Fish
“Hal!”
Hal
groaned and turned over, covering his ear with a pillow. Now the voice was
filtered through the pillow’s fibers, reduced to a hum that caused him to dip
in and out of unconsciousness.
“Hal?”
The
voice neared. Then the pillow disappeared under his sleepy grip.
“Hal…”
Blue’s smile was evident in his voice. Growling, Hal lifted an eyelid to glare
at his friend. It was the first night since he moved out of his parents’ house,
and he actually had a peaceful slumber. It was as if the monsters inside his
head finally went to rest. He didn’t want to wake up from serenity – ever.
“I
want to take you to the waterfront, Hal. Get up!” Blue’s voice wasn’t angry or
even the slightest bit agitated. It was soft, kind and somewhat hyper.
He
got up, obediently, before Blue took his lethargy offensively. Once he washed
up and dressed himself, he found Blue downstairs, making cereal.
Hal
liked cereal… He even had an I
love Cereal T-shirt, although he barely wore it. His favourite was a button-shirt,
formal trousers and a red tie. Today was different, though. Today he felt less
formal than usual. Today he felt like a purple jean and skater-shoes. He
unbuttoned the top button of his white shirt and his red tie hung loosely
around his neck.
Underneath his shirt, Blue could see
Hal’s subtle muscles. They were much less than Blue’s, but they made him
swallow nonetheless. Going to the gym was a new hobby for Hal and it was
starting to show.
Hal was everything any boy wish they
could be. He had to be – it was what his parents wanted. However, he refused to
participate in sports. His power is used to release anger, he shrugged when
Blue asked him about it.
Hal’s cyan eyes met Blue’s.
“This doesn’t look right, does it?”
No matter what Blue said, Hal wouldn’t
believe him anyway, so he decided on the next best thing that popped into his
head.
“Since when do boys worry about their
appearance?”
Hal lowered his gaze to his shoes. He
hated being out of his comfort zone, but he was hungry for change.
Blue sat opposite Hal and passed him
his cereal. It was less than usual, but Hal didn’t seem to care.
“How did you sleep?” Blue asked, hating
the silence.
“Fine, thank you. How about you?”
“I had a dream.”
Hal lifted his eyes from the cereal to
his friend and back. He didn’t want to ask. Blue would tell him if it bothered
him, but he seemed happy.
The waterfront wasn’t busy yet. Hal
cringed at the thought of being around so many people. A hand rested on his
shoulder. It was warm; comforting.
“Come on, I want to show you
something,” Blue said enthusiastically, dragging him along by his sleeve.
The queue was short, because it was
still so early. In front of them was a short girl in a white dress. She wore a
broad, bright red belt around her small waist, a purple poncho was wrapped
around her shoulders and she topped her outfit off with a black artist’s cap.
Her ebony hair fell in gentle curls to her shoulders. Under her one arm she
held a huge blank canvas and a tin toolbox in the other.
Blue stepped between her and Hal. Hal
only smiled and blushed slightly at his jealousy.
“So, what do you think?”
Hal looked up at the enormous ride
above them. It was like a Ferris-wheel, but the carriages were large and
enclosed.
It was their turn. Blue handed the man
their tickets and they climbed aboard. The ride was slow, allowing the people
to relax and let every inch of the view engrave its way into their long-term
memory.
As they neared the top, the magic
began. The sun’s rays lit the sky, causing the world to transform into fresh
colours and drastic contrasts. Blue thought about the perky artist. He would
buy that painting from her to remind him of this dawn with Hal. He’s glad she
was here for business and nothing else.
Hal felt giddy with happiness as Blue
bubbled forth from one topic to another. He wasn’t really paying attention to
what he was saying, but Blue’s joyful chatter lightened his mood.
Suddenly he felt a cold hand lightly
brushing against his skin. He looked up at Blue. He was freezing. Only then he
noticed that the air was a bit chilly despite the shelter. Hal put an arm
around his shivering friend. Blue blushed and looked down.
“You know, we could have seen the same
view from a high building…”
Hal’s attempt to ease the tension was
in vain and the ride ended in silence.
Once they reached the earth again, Blue
had returned to his normal self.
“Come on!” he said perkily, as if he
was six years old. It brought an excited glow to his cheeks.
If only the innocence would return, Hall thought.
“Oh no…” Hal’s eyes grew with shock as
Blue strolled into a sea-food restaurant as if it was just another room.
“Oh, Doll, don’t worry about it,” he
smiled sweetly at him.
Hal could feel the heat rush to his
face at the mention of Blue’s nickname for him. It always had that type of
effect on him and Blue seemed to take advantage of it.
“Is that thingy edible?” Hal asked,
pointing a wavering finger at the piece of grilled hake in front of him.
Blue smiled at him, “Of course it is,
would I ever give you something to eat if it wasn’t?”
Hal shook his head, but obviously still
wasn’t convinced. He had never tried it in his life.
Blue picked up a fork-full of the stuff
and held it to Hal’s mouth for him to taste.
“Come on now, open up. You know, this thingy
has a lot of Omega oils in it that are good for your brain,” he smiled at
himself for sounding so smart.
“Oh, all right.”
Hal squinted his eyes and wrinkled his
nose. Then he took the piece into his mouth and rolled it around with his
tongue like you would do with a wine, assessing the taste.
“Hmm,” he mumbled with his mouth full,
“This is good.”
He swallowed.
Today was fun, Hal thought when
he opened the door to their apartment and stood aside so that Blue could go in
first. He disappeared. Hal was used to that by now.
The bedroom’s lights were out. When he
switched it on he found Blue sitting cross-legged on the bed, smiling excitedly
at him.
“I’ve got a present for you!” He held
out a purple-wrapped box sealed with a black ribbon.
“Don’t shake it,” he added quickly as
Hal brought the box to his ear. He set it down on the bed and unwrapped it
carefully.
“I thought, since you liked fish so
much…”
Hal lifted the lid. Inside was a small
goldfish in a glow-in-the-dark fish tank.
A wide smile spread across Hal’s face. Blue
had such an unintentional twisted sense of humour.
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