Boon: Book 7

Return of the Dead

"Something I always have to remind myself when faced with the ugliest side of humanity is that there is opposition in all things. It's one of the most basic laws of existence that has been proven true time and time again. Wherever there is light, there is darkness. Darkness is the lack of light. Light the lack of darkness. Thus, for all the rapists and drug dealers and murderers, there are those of angelic nature who would sacrifice their lives to save the least of the human race. For all the wars and calamities in the world, there has to be somewhere of equal peace and beauty to match. For all the pain, there is also joy and pleasure.

Which makes me all the more intolerant of those petty souls who chose to deal in filth and human suffering. With all the world at your disposal, all of that potential and beauty, what made them think it would bring them happiness to make others suffer? To gain at the expense of the innocent?

That right there is the most elementary definition of evil. The children's cartoon villain, cackling at the suffering of those beneath them, especially those who are weak."

-Oliver Davis in White, under a different name

When I passed out trying to get out of the bed, I ended up having Naru hovering outside the shower curtain, with my second addition to the boy collection snoozing in his plastic cradle in the doorway. Apparently, the sound of water did the trick for Eugene.

"If anyone needs a shower, it's you," I said, insisting on keeping myself covered up as I didn't want him to see my post-baby, flabby stomach. "I can smell you from in here. You could have called Takigawa and asked him to bring some clothes or something."

"I already did, but he's a bit preoccupied with picking up my parents and Lin from the airport."

"That was quick."

"Yeah, well, they were planning on coming soon anyways. They just didn't tell me, like always, because they knew I'd just to duck away or something."

From my place on the old person's seat, I could hear his wariness. Though he loved them, Naru's parents could be a bit overbearing at times. Having lost their other son could do that, but it also came from the fact that they had lived for so long without children that it pained them to be without them. That being said, I knew they had spent an awful lot of their fortune just traveling to Japan and back and couldn't help feeling sorry that we had insisted staying in Japan until the pregnancy played out. I had been sick and anxious, and so not really into the idea of jumping into a jet to live in a foreign country for the rest of my life. One big change (like having a baby) was enough, thank you.

Pink water ran down my leg, as it had been since I'd gotten in. When I had looked back at my bed, I noticed for the first time that I had been laid out on a pad of sorts, and despite the cotton underwear and pad they put on me, the bed pad had been scarlet. From how much blood I was losing, I wasn't surprised I was passing out, but then the nurses had told me that was normal. Something about creating a lot of extra blood when you're pregnant.

Thinking about it, I shuddered. At least I didn't have any stretch marks on my stomach. They were only on my thighs and hips, which now looked like ground beef...

"You doing okay?"

I broke out of my thoughts. "Yeah, I'm fine."

"If you feel like you're going to pass out, let me know."

"As you've told me twice already. Naru, please, try to relax. You're going to make yourself sick."

"Well, if you had been in my shoes you'd be rather traumatized too."

"Yeah right, you're face was gaping in wonder when you got to hold your son for the first time." I let out a little squeal-a soft one, so as to not wake the baby. "Adorable."