There wasn't much of my 'life' in the box. There was a baseball trophy from when I was a kid, three t-shirts that had my sister's favorite sayings on them, a pair of slightly worn out jeans that I almost always wore when we went out, and half a dozen pictures that were still in the frames.
“Wow.” I said and stared at the contents, or lack of contents.
“I'm sorry, Damon.” Jenny said and I saw her regret. “I was only a kid...”
“I'm not blaming you, Jenny.” I said. “I'm just surprised that everything else in my life was just... discarded... as if it meant nothing.”
“That's not what happened.” My mother said and we both looked up from the box to see her standing in the doorway. Neither of us had heard the door opening. “It meant too much and I... I couldn't have it in the house. I just couldn't.”
I could see that she still didn't want to have the reminders in the house, namely me. “It's all right, Mom. I'll be going soon.”
“NO!” Jenny yelled. “You are NOT leaving me again!”
I chuckled. “I didn't say I was leaving, I said I was going.”
“What's the difference?” Jenny asked, suspiciously.
“I need to ask my dear little sister for some money and to help me go shopping.”
“I knew you wanted the money.” My father said from down the hallway.
“Yeah, Dad. I came back from the dead, just so I could borrow a few hundred bucks from my sister that I'll pay back as soon as I get my feet under me.”
“That's a likely story.” My dad scoffed.
“Fuck you, too.” I said.
“DAMON!” My mother yelled.
Jenny gasped, then she laughed. “I missed you so much.”
“You won't anymore.” I said and reached into my pocket and pulled out the solid gold coin. “You can hold onto this until I can pay you back.”
“Oh, my GOD!” Jenny exclaimed and accepted the coin. “Is... that really is...”
“...pretty much solid gold.” I said and Jenny turned it over and over as she tried to read what it said. “Good luck figuring that out.” I said with a smile.
“What does it say?” Jenny asked.
“In gold we trust.” I joked and she smacked my shoulder.
“No, really. What does it say?”
“One Crown, King Lashim's Kingdom, First Minting, Year 926.” I said, honestly.
Jenny gasped. “It... it's treasure? Like hidden or sunken treasure?”
“Something like that.”
“How many of these do you have?” Jenny asked, her eyes dancing.
“Oh? Now you're the one that wants my money?” I asked and she smacked me again.
“Can you even sell something like this?” Jenny asked. “How much gold is in this, anyway?”
“About two ounces.” I said.
Jenny's eyes almost popped out of her head. “That's over three thousand dollars worth!” She said loudly, my dad sputtered, and my mother gripped the doorway to stop from fainting.
“If you're reacting like that, I'm not going to tell you how many of them I have.” I said.
Jenny closed her hand over it and held it tightly to her chest. “Damon...”
“If I can figure out how to melt them down or figure out how to sell them as they are...”
“Don't you dare try to commit a crime.” My mother said. “If some government or business actually owns them, you should turn them over.”
“Mom!” Jenny gasped.
“I swear on my sister's life that there no person, place, government, or country on this planet, that can trace this coin to them or can claim ownership of it, except me.” I said and both my mother and Jenny gasped. I looked at my sister. “I said your life, because it means much more to me than my own.”
Jenny blushed and made a decision. “Wait right there.”
She put the gold coin in her jeans pocket and went to her closet. She used a little stepladder to get up to the top shelf and moved some things around to get at another box. It was of a similar size to the one with my things in it and she came over to the bed with it.
“This is everything you ever gave me.” Jenny said and pushed my box over and put hers down. She opened it and inside really was everything I had ever given her. Stuffed toys, fake jewellery, Christmas and birthday presents, and even the wrappers from the chocolate bars and candy we shared on our dates.
“Jenny, you...” I barely managed to stop myself from crying. “You're a pack rat.” I tried to joke and offset the emotions I was feeling, then I felt her hand touch the side of my face and I looked at her.
“Read my lips.” Jenny said and I looked at just her lips. “Elephant shoes.”
It was my turn to gasp, because the words triggered in my memory all of the times that she had said the same thing to me. I had thought it was just one of her favorite sayings or something, because she kept saying it to me at odd times. It was only now when she told me the secret that I understood. All those times she said it, she was actually mouthing the words 'I love you'.
“I told you that you were a big stupid idiot.” Jenny said, her own eyes looked to be on the verge of tears. “And clueless. Totally clueless.”
I couldn't do anything except nod in agreement.
“Elephants don't wear shoes.” Our mother said, not understanding even a little bit.
“That's the point.” Jenny said as she stared at me, then we both smiled.
I stood up and closed up the box. “Do you have any plans for the afternoon?”
“Yes, and my friends are going to be so jealous.” Jenny said and took out a cell phone that was unlike anything I had seen before. She did swipes and pokes with her thumbs, then the phone was constantly emitting low beeps as she sent and received messages. “Kathy said she'll pick us up in ten minutes and Susan's tagging along, now that she knows you're coming.”
I just stood there, a little dumbfounded. “But... aren't they...”
“Don't worry about them. I've been talking about you like you've been around all this time.” Jenny said. “They thought I was crazy for the first little while, then they accepted it as who I was.”
I smiled at her words. “Good friends, then.”
Jenny nodded and then shook her phone at me. “You've been without proper technology for ten years.” She said with a particular gleam in her eyes. “My friends and I are going to give you a crash course.”
“Oh, god.” I said with a sigh.
“I hope you don't mind wearing a girl's shirt.” Jenny said and went to her closet. “I can't be caught going outside with you looking like that.”
“I'm cosplaying for a Renaissance fair.” I said and she laughed.
“Did anyone actually believe that?” Jenny asked and shook her head when I nodded. “Adults!”
“Hey, you're an adult!” I said and she laughed again.
“Barely.” Jenny said and came over with a baby blue shirt. “Now strip and put this on.”
I looked at the shirt and then at her.
“Yes, I'll help you button it up, you wuss.” Jenny said. “Come on, come on. Kathy and Susan won't wait for us all day.”
“Some friends.” I said and unbuttoned the tunic I wore and tossed it on the bed, then popped the sleeve buttons on the undershirt and then unbuttoned the neck and the front. I pulled the shirt up and out of my trousers, shrugged it off of my arms and shoulders, then tossed it onto the bed.
“Jesus.” Jenny whispered, her face red.
“What is it?” I looked down at my abdomen. “I had the healer remove the scars years ago. I hope they didn't come back.” I said, because I hadn't checked in a while. I poked and prodded my slightly tanned and muscular abs and didn't see any of the old whitish scars. “Geez, Jenny. You scared me. I thought I wasted my money.” I said and reached for the baby blue shirt and put it on. I tried to button it and my fingers couldn't quite get it to work, because the buttons buttoned in the other direction.
Jenny's hands moved mine out of the way and she buttoned each one slowly. Her face stayed red, even when she was done, then she smoothed her hands down my chest and my abs. After that, she folded up the sleeves instead of buttoning them.
“Don't tuck the shirt in.” Jenny said and took my hand. “Mom, we'll be back tonight.”
Mom just nodded as we walked by her and her face was red as well.
I was going to ask her what was wrong, then saw my father's stern expression. I don't need to know that badly. I thought and we left the house. It was just in time, because a red convertible pulled over to the curb.
“Jenster! Hurry up! The stores are closing!” The blonde girl on the passenger side said loudly as she jumped up and sat up on the top of the seat to wave.
“Get your fat ass back in the seat, Suzie! I can't see!” Kathy said and grabbed the top of Susan's pants and pulled.
“OOOP!” Susan yelped and flopped down into the seat. “Hey! My ass is just fine!”
“It's going to be red if you don't stop standing on my nice leather... hellllooooo, handsome!” Kathy said and stared at me. Her brown hair was tied up in almost a bow, with a ribbon and everything, and she wore a nice skirt and a red blouse.
“That's my brother.” Jenny said with a frown.
“You mean your long dead brother that just miraculously came back to life?” Kathy asked with a grin.
“You look fantastic for being dead all these years.” Susan said as her eyes looked me over.
“I wasn't dead.” I said. “I was kidnapped and...”
“Not now!” Jenny said and pushed me over the side of the car and into the back seat. I caught myself and pulled my legs in, then sat up as Jenny hopped over the side and sat down next to me.
“Seatbelts.” Kathy said and slipped on a pair of sunglasses. We all buckled up and she stepped on the gas a second later with a squeal of tires.
“I need to stop at the bank first.” Jenny said.
“Not a problem. It's on the way.” Kathy waved over her shoulder, then she drove us back towards the city that I had spent several hours walking away from.
There wasn't much of my 'life' in the box. There was a baseball trophy from when I was a kid, three t-shirts that had my sister's favorite sayings on them, a pair of slightly worn out jeans that I almost always wore when we went out, and half a dozen pictures that were still in the frames.
“Wow.” I said and stared at the contents, or lack of contents.
“I'm sorry, Damon.” Jenny said and I saw her regret. “I was only a kid...”
“I'm not blaming you, Jenny.” I said. “I'm just surprised that everything else in my life was just... discarded... as if it meant nothing.”
“That's not what happened.” My mother said and we both looked up from the box to see her standing in the doorway. Neither of us had heard the door opening. “It meant too much and I... I couldn't have it in the house. I just couldn't.”
I could see that she still didn't want to have the reminders in the house, namely me. “It's all right, Mom. I'll be going soon.”
“NO!” Jenny yelled. “You are NOT leaving me again!”
I chuckled. “I didn't say I was leaving, I said I was going.”
“What's the difference?” Jenny asked, suspiciously.
“I need to ask my dear little sister for some money and to help me go shopping.”
“I knew you wanted the money.” My father said from down the hallway.
“Yeah, Dad. I came back from the dead, just so I could borrow a few hundred bucks from my sister that I'll pay back as soon as I get my feet under me.”
“That's a likely story.” My dad scoffed.
“Fuck you, too.” I said.
“DAMON!” My mother yelled.
Jenny gasped, then she laughed. “I missed you so much.”
“You won't anymore.” I said and reached into my pocket and pulled out the solid gold coin. “You can hold onto this until I can pay you back.”
“Oh, my GOD!” Jenny exclaimed and accepted the coin. “Is... that really is...”
“...pretty much solid gold.” I said and Jenny turned it over and over as she tried to read what it said. “Good luck figuring that out.” I said with a smile.
“What does it say?” Jenny asked.
“In gold we trust.” I joked and she smacked my shoulder.
“No, really. What does it say?”
“One Crown, King Lashim's Kingdom, First Minting, Year 926.” I said, honestly.
Jenny gasped. “It... it's treasure? Like hidden or sunken treasure?”
“Something like that.”
“How many of these do you have?” Jenny asked, her eyes dancing.
“Oh? Now you're the one that wants my money?” I asked and she smacked me again.
“Can you even sell something like this?” Jenny asked. “How much gold is in this, anyway?”
“About two ounces.” I said.
Jenny's eyes almost popped out of her head. “That's over three thousand dollars worth!” She said loudly, my dad sputtered, and my mother gripped the doorway to stop from fainting.
“If you're reacting like that, I'm not going to tell you how many of them I have.” I said.
Jenny closed her hand over it and held it tightly to her chest. “Damon...”
“If I can figure out how to melt them down or figure out how to sell them as they are...”
“Don't you dare try to commit a crime.” My mother said. “If some government or business actually owns them, you should turn them over.”
“Mom!” Jenny gasped.
“I swear on my sister's life that there no person, place, government, or country on this planet, that can trace this coin to them or can claim ownership of it, except me.” I said and both my mother and Jenny gasped. I looked at my sister. “I said your life, because it means much more to me than my own.”
Jenny blushed and made a decision. “Wait right there.”
She put the gold coin in her jeans pocket and went to her closet. She used a little stepladder to get up to the top shelf and moved some things around to get at another box. It was of a similar size to the one with my things in it and she came over to the bed with it.
“This is everything you ever gave me.” Jenny said and pushed my box over and put hers down. She opened it and inside really was everything I had ever given her. Stuffed toys, fake jewellery, Christmas and birthday presents, and even the wrappers from the chocolate bars and candy we shared on our dates.
“Jenny, you...” I barely managed to stop myself from crying. “You're a pack rat.” I tried to joke and offset the emotions I was feeling, then I felt her hand touch the side of my face and I looked at her.
“Read my lips.” Jenny said and I looked at just her lips. “Elephant shoes.”
It was my turn to gasp, because the words triggered in my memory all of the times that she had said the same thing to me. I had thought it was just one of her favorite sayings or something, because she kept saying it to me at odd times. It was only now when she told me the secret that I understood. All those times she said it, she was actually mouthing the words 'I love you'.
“I told you that you were a big stupid idiot.” Jenny said, her own eyes looked to be on the verge of tears. “And clueless. Totally clueless.”
I couldn't do anything except nod in agreement.
“Elephants don't wear shoes.” Our mother said, not understanding even a little bit.
“That's the point.” Jenny said as she stared at me, then we both smiled.
I stood up and closed up the box. “Do you have any plans for the afternoon?”
“Yes, and my friends are going to be so jealous.” Jenny said and took out a cell phone that was unlike anything I had seen before. She did swipes and pokes with her thumbs, then the phone was constantly emitting low beeps as she sent and received messages. “Kathy said she'll pick us up in ten minutes and Susan's tagging along, now that she knows you're coming.”
I just stood there, a little dumbfounded. “But... aren't they...”
“Don't worry about them. I've been talking about you like you've been around all this time.” Jenny said. “They thought I was crazy for the first little while, then they accepted it as who I was.”
I smiled at her words. “Good friends, then.”
Jenny nodded and then shook her phone at me. “You've been without proper technology for ten years.” She said with a particular gleam in her eyes. “My friends and I are going to give you a crash course.”
“Oh, god.” I said with a sigh.
“I hope you don't mind wearing a girl's shirt.” Jenny said and went to her closet. “I can't be caught going outside with you looking like that.”
“I'm cosplaying for a Renaissance fair.” I said and she laughed.
“Did anyone actually believe that?” Jenny asked and shook her head when I nodded. “Adults!”
“Hey, you're an adult!” I said and she laughed again.
“Barely.” Jenny said and came over with a baby blue shirt. “Now strip and put this on.”
I looked at the shirt and then at her.
“Yes, I'll help you button it up, you wuss.” Jenny said. “Come on, come on. Kathy and Susan won't wait for us all day.”
“Some friends.” I said and unbuttoned the tunic I wore and tossed it on the bed, then popped the sleeve buttons on the undershirt and then unbuttoned the neck and the front. I pulled the shirt up and out of my trousers, shrugged it off of my arms and shoulders, then tossed it onto the bed.
“Jesus.” Jenny whispered, her face red.
“What is it?” I looked down at my abdomen. “I had the healer remove the scars years ago. I hope they didn't come back.” I said, because I hadn't checked in a while. I poked and prodded my slightly tanned and muscular abs and didn't see any of the old whitish scars. “Geez, Jenny. You scared me. I thought I wasted my money.” I said and reached for the baby blue shirt and put it on. I tried to button it and my fingers couldn't quite get it to work, because the buttons buttoned in the other direction.
Jenny's hands moved mine out of the way and she buttoned each one slowly. Her face stayed red, even when she was done, then she smoothed her hands down my chest and my abs. After that, she folded up the sleeves instead of buttoning them.
“Don't tuck the shirt in.” Jenny said and took my hand. “Mom, we'll be back tonight.”
Mom just nodded as we walked by her and her face was red as well.
I was going to ask her what was wrong, then saw my father's stern expression. I don't need to know that badly. I thought and we left the house. It was just in time, because a red convertible pulled over to the curb.
“Jenster! Hurry up! The stores are closing!” The blonde girl on the passenger side said loudly as she jumped up and sat up on the top of the seat to wave.
“Get your fat ass back in the seat, Suzie! I can't see!” Kathy said and grabbed the top of Susan's pants and pulled.
“OOOP!” Susan yelped and flopped down into the seat. “Hey! My ass is just fine!”
“It's going to be red if you don't stop standing on my nice leather... hellllooooo, handsome!” Kathy said and stared at me. Her brown hair was tied up in almost a bow, with a ribbon and everything, and she wore a nice skirt and a red blouse.
“That's my brother.” Jenny said with a frown.
“You mean your long dead brother that just miraculously came back to life?” Kathy asked with a grin.
“You look fantastic for being dead all these years.” Susan said as her eyes looked me over.
“I wasn't dead.” I said. “I was kidnapped and...”
“Not now!” Jenny said and pushed me over the side of the car and into the back seat. I caught myself and pulled my legs in, then sat up as Jenny hopped over the side and sat down next to me.
“Seatbelts.” Kathy said and slipped on a pair of sunglasses. We all buckled up and she stepped on the gas a second later with a squeal of tires.
“I need to stop at the bank first.” Jenny said.
“Not a problem. It's on the way.” Kathy waved over her shoulder, then she drove us back towards the city that I had spent several hours walking away from.
