It's Definitely Not All Mary Poppins

Illusions May Shatter, But Memories Stay (2)

"What a question," Yang said, his words flat.

He glared. Matthew waited for a response.

Yang clenched his jaw. "Sometimes, I wish they would outright say they did not."

"And your sister, the golden child?"

"We were both golden children to them," he whispered.

Matthew glanced down. "...but?"

He sighed. "They were...upset, when she married John. Lin loved him, and they...didn't."

Rubbing his hands together, Matthew turned to his employer. "No child should be told that they're a nuisance to the person they trust and rely on."

"They're just words, Matthew."

"Physical wounds heal, Jun. Words are awful things. They stick to your soul."

"How poetic." Yang ran hands over his face, groaning.

"Let me ask you this, then. Would you want Lilly or Eli to have the upbringing you had? Not parts of it. All of it."

The question struck a chord with the older man. He looked at Matthew with wide, sunken eyes, surprised, even disgusted at the thought. "No," he finally said. "I don't."

Matthew pursed his lips. He shifted from one foot to the other in the cold air before whispering, "A child who is lonely is one thing. A child who's alone is another." He sighed, glancing into the living room. "You invited them to stay with you. Eli's family. Why?"

"Because it was the right thing to do," Yang whispered. "Because I loved them."

"Loved."

Yang said nothing.

"You'll be here when dinner comes, regardless of what it is." Matthew warned, though his words were quiet. "You won't complain, you won't object. You will be there. That's the least you can do." He didn't wait for Yang to reply. He moved back side, leaving the front door wide open.

Lilliana stared, empty, into the piece of cheese pizza she gnawed. The color from her face was drained, and her hair was too manicured and kept for Matthew to recognize her as the child he was taking care of. He undid the clips and tried to fluff out her hair, but she winced at his touches. It wasn't a motion of fear, but of surprise, exhaustion. Matthew left her alone.

The music he picked was vintage, so saccharine and upbeat it made the tone unmistakably, and unintentionally, comical. He wiggled in his seat at the breakfast table as he told them all about the museums their grandparents took them to, the junk foods they ate, the countless movies they watched. "I-I drew, in the notebook," he said, "but they said I could just tell you about it later."

Matthew glanced to the empty space beside Lilliana, a plate of cold pizza where Yang was supposed to be. "I'm sorry," he whispered. "They shouldn't have done that. You wanted to bring it along, and that's all that should've mattered."

"That's what I said," he said.

Humming, Matthew nodded his head and glanced down at the pizza in front of him. It sat, untouched, on his plate. He marveled at how quickly his appetite vanished. He glanced at Lilly. "Lilly? You okay?"

She mumbled her response.

"She used her powers too much," Eli said, now picking at his food. "It wore her out." He looked at her. "With great power comes great responsibility."

Lilly glanced at him. "Sorry," she murmured.

"Don't be," Matthew said, reaching over the table towards her. "You did your best."

That elicited another big frown from the five-year-old. "I, just...feel like I failed."

He shook his head. "No one should soak up what you've done. No one."

"I just wanted them to be happy – "

"That's not your responsibility, Lilly," he whispered. "I don't doubt you looked out for Eli. You didn't even have to do that, and you did. That's as much as I could ask for." Yet when Lilly met his eyes, Matthew's stomach churned with such pity for the child. He sighed and continued, "Take your time recharging. Do you want to be off school the next couple days?"

She shrugged.

"If you're not ready – "

"I don't wanna make Daddy mad, though," she said.

"Leave it with me," Matt said. "I'll deal with him."

She nodded.

Silence fell over the table, suffocating and dreadful, until Matthew pulled out his phone and checked the time. "Do you want to talk about what happened yet, or nah?"

Lilly shrugged again. Eli glanced down.

"Is this how all your visits end?"

She shook her head. "Not always," she said, clearly trying to put some kind of emphasis on her words. "It's just...sometimes, we come back tired like this. It happens to everyone, right?"

"It was fun, in the beginning. They took me to this occult bookstore in Allisport, and they let me buy these old talismans. I-I got one for you," Eli said, hand diving into his pocket. "Damn. I think it's in my bag."

"Language, Eli."

"But it's this great talisman. It's this ring – I think it's either bronze or just regular metal – and it has this Red Jasper stone in it, and it looks like blood."

This, inexplicably, made Lilly perk up. "I thought you were going to get that pretty turquoise one!"

Eli guffawed at that. "Turquoise? Turquoise? What kind of weak peasant do you think I am? I already have turquoise things!"

"Matt doesn't!"

"Calm down," Matthew sighed, clapping to catch their attention. "You both know any talismans, regardless of stones, I would appreciate. Just as long as they do not bring me any kind of malice." He eyed Eli and smirked.

"That was one time!" the boy insisted.

"Being cursed counts?"

The color in his face fell.

"Eli, did you curse me again?"

"I didn't mean to!" he shouted. "I just don't know how to undo it!"

"I told you to ask that lady, the witch behind the counter," Lilly told him, hitting Eli's arm. "She would've known."

"Okay," Matthew interrupted, relieved and defeated. He stood from his spot at the table, the chair groaning over the floor. "Bicker amongst yourselves for a moment. I need to go talk to your uncle."

"Is it anything bad?" Eli asked.

"No," he said. "Just...something overdue, I guess."