Haunting Dorian

13 - The next life-time's mights

Dorian stood on the doorway nervously. His mother heard him coming and looked up from her book with a look of surprise. "Dorian. Dinner will be ready in an hour."

In the blink of an eye, Melinda stood behind Doris' armchair. Keeping his eyes on her, he stepped forward and sank down heavily on the sofa. Doris had squared her shoulders defensively and it pained Dorian to see that. But contrary to first looks, she was protecting him not herself.

"Is something wrong? You look pale. Are you sick again?" Doris leaned forward and touched his forehead with the back of her hand.

"Mom, I need to talk to you." Doris leaned back again with furrowed eyebrows. Cautiously she set her book down, but she remained silent. And that was when Dorian felt the block he always did when talking to his parents.

"Hey," Melinda called softly from across the room and sat down on the floor next to his mother. "Talk to me."

You already know, he bitterly thought.

Doris waited patiently.

"It must be hard having a son like me," Dorian began talking. Doris continued to listen attentively. She had no plans of interrupting him before he was done. It was a rare and precious moment for her when he opened up.

"Keep going. She's listening to you."

"I'm..." I'm not interested in girls. Neither am I interested in guys. I'm not interested in love, repulsed by sex. He frowned. "I'm asexual."

Doris' mouth dropped open slightly and her eyes grew wider. Melinda and Dorian both watched her freeze with horror on their faces. Dorian's mind was racing with regretful thoughts. He wanted to get up and just walk out of the house. Keep walking until he reached a place where he could live in solitude for the rest of his life.

Melinda quickly grew anxious of Dorian shutting down from his mother's initial reaction. She pressed her lips together and with major effort the book Doris has disregarded carefully slid onto the carpeted floor with a dull thud. Doris winced at the sound but it brought life back to her face and she stretched out her fingers.

"Like... Morrisey?" Doris traced the pattern on the armrest with her nail. There was a look of curiosity and confusion in her eyes. They were identical to Dorian's in color but right then and there they were the same in everything. "I... Never got over my obsession with The Smiths. There were... Articles. Online. You know?"

"I didn't even know you liked The Smiths," Dorian admitted. Melinda sighed in relief and allowed herself a small smile.

"Oh, I was such a fan. I had all their albums, posters. I even sent them love letters." She smiled and crossed one leg over the other. "How... How long have you known?"

"Couple years."

As if on the snap of her fingers, Doris' eyes filled with tears. "And you kept this to yourself the entire time?"

"I wasn't... Ready."

Doris shifted closer to the edge of her chair so that when she reached over, she could grab his hand. "What do you need? We will get you everything you want and nothing you don't. Let's compromise."

"Dorian, be sensitive. Offer her a tissue or something." Melinda's words jerked his hand in the direction of the coffee table. He pulled a tissue from the box and held it out for his mother.

"Compromise for what?"

Sniffling, Doris dabbed at the corners of her eyes with the tissue. "We need you around here, Dorian. We're... Expecting addition to this family."

Without saying another word Melinda stood up from where she sat and walked out of the room, giving Dorian and his mother some much needed time to talk. Moments later she found herself standing in the middle of his room, staring around herself. For the first time since she returned here, did she look past all of Dorian's things. She found the old personality of her room, her small bed and her mountains of books. She didn't even get to read all of them.

It was hard to grasp time when she zoned out like that. In no time, she heard Dorian's voice behind her. "I'm going to be a brother."

"I knew it," she replied with a sheepish grin. "I heard your parents talking."

Dorian trudged forward until he stood in front of her. He looked more relaxed somehow as if he'd crossed a hurdle he'd never imagined crossing. Melinda expected him to say something, but instead he hesitantly touched her cheek. Melinda sadly thought what it would be like if the figurative distance between them wasn't so grand.

"I'm... Ready to let you go."

"I'll wait for you, Dorian. So that in the next life-time we might meet."

Dorian smiled sadly. "I will miss you so much." Dorian hid his tears in her hair by wrapping his arms around her shoulders. She responded to the hug immediately.

"Keep your chin high. You'll be a wonderful big brother."

"Thank you for everything."

"Thank you for my redemption." With a grateful smile Melinda allowed the light to claim her once and for all. She detached from that world in what looked like wisps of silvery snow dancing across fields. They tangled around Dorian in a final embrace before pooling around his feet and disappear.