My Spirit Love (phan)

二 - 𝓨𝓸𝓾𝓷𝓰 𝓢𝓸𝓾𝓵𝓼

Young Phil poked his nose up from under the covers, glancing at the moon smiling back at him as it began to sink behind the distant fields. He pushed his limbs outwards, letting the duvet flow off of his body onto the bed beneath him as he brushed his toes against his bedroom carpet. His eyes caught onto the clock placed against his bedside table, with the bigger hand against the two and the smaller one near the six. He furrowed his eyebrows, pointing his finger at the time's face as he figured out what the clock was telling him.

"Ten past six." he thought to himself, peering over at his sleeping brother who laid on his side, away from Phil. He looked away, taking himself to the window that would open out into their back garden. The moon's light sunk onto the grass, lighting each strand up with a highlight of blue, falling past the young spirit who laid with his back against the damp lawn, watching the stars begin to fade.

Phil chuckled, tiptoeing away from his shared bedroom and down the old staircase, rushing to shove his feet in his shoes and prance into the open space. He quietly called out into the shrubbery, "Daniel! What are you doing?"

The other boy stirred, sitting upright to face the breathing soul, watching his eyes inquisitively fall onto his restless self, "I was watching the sky." he giggled, pushing himself onto his feet, "Why are you awake?"

"I'm an early bird!" he exclaimed, repeating the words of his mother, "I'm allowed up after six o'clock!" he had rushed to Daniel to face him, their faces less than a meter away from each other, "Why are you up?"

Daniel laughed, taking his eyes away from the other seven-year-old and glancing around, "Dead people don't need sleep, Silly."

"So you just watch the stars? They're not very interesting. They don't do much." Phil pouted, his chin facing the faint clouds above them as his fingers twisted behind his back.

"I think they're very pretty." Daniel admitted. He threw himself back down onto the grass, patting the floor besides him, "Here." he asked, "Join me." Phil thought for a moment before taking a seat next to his new friend, spreading his legs outwards and flopping his back against the dirt. Daniel chuckled, lying back with the other child as he returned to gazing at the night sky. He hummed, "See, they're special. They're like little droplets of rain in darkness."

"They are." Phil agreed, tracing them with his finger pointing upwards.

Katherine stirred in her sleep, turning onto her side to see the early morning time reflect back at her. She sighed, rubbing her eyes as she restlessly sat up. The sounds of her boy echoed into her ears, peeling her body away from the warm sheets to peer into the garden. Once again, her son was talking into the emptiness.

She took her dressing gown that was rested against her dresser and swaddled it over her shoulders, making her way down the stairs with slippers under her feet. She opened the back door, peering into the night-swept scene that Phil was becoming so fond of. She watched her son playfully roll around, gesturing in front of himself in conversation and cackling at jokes he didn't speak. She sighed, "This isn't normal." she thought to herself, "This isn't right."

She took another moment before turning away, closing the door behind her and dialling her own mother on the 1990s landline phone. She laughed when her mum picked up, speaking fondly down the line, "In my thirty years of life, you've never woken up after seven. What is it with you and my son waking up so early?"

Her mother reflected the chuckle, her smile audible down the telephone line, "He might grow out of it yet, you don't know."

"I hope so." Katherine admitted.

"What is it, Kath? You never call this early." her mother's tone was riddled with concern.

"Phil's getting worse. I'm watching him now, out in the garden talking aloud to himself. He doesn't attend school anymore, I'm going to have to homeschool him. All it's doing is putting a strain on the rest of us. We're exhausted, Mum. I'm exhausted." her voice was defeated, but she still had hope.

"Have you considered play therapy? My friend's grandson went there for a while because he was struggling with tantrums. It was very effective, they learnt he was autistic and they're able to support him a lot better now."

Katherine was silent for a moment, turning her eyes away from her dancing child as she thought deeply, "You don't think he's autistic, do you?" she wondered.

"Oh!" her mum exclaimed, "I wasn't implying that-"

"I know you weren't." Kath reassured her, "But now I'm...I won't rule it out. You're right, I'll have a look into play therapy. I hadn't thought about it. Would you recommend the one your friend's grandchild went to?" the diminishing sense of hope was being reignited.

"I would, it's not too far from you. Maybe half an hour?"

"That's perfect. If you could email me the details, I'd be so thankful."

"Good luck Kath, I'm sure you'll all be fine." her mother bid her farewell.

"Thank you. Bye, Mum." she placed the telephone back on the side and ran her fingers through her hair as her mind gleefully raced. She looked up, seeing Nigel tread down the last of the steps as he walked towards her in the kitchen.

He smiled, peering at Phil in the garden as he spoke to his wife, "Who was that? You're looking better."

Kath snickered, "Thank you. It was Mum, she's going to send us details for play therapy for Phil."

He nodded, pursing his lips, "That doesn't sound like a bad idea."

"No, it doesn't." she agreed.

That afternoon, they booked Phil in for a session in a week's time, both with a sense of relief beginning to crawl over them. They hadn't exhausted every chance yet, and they wouldn't stop until they did.

Phil glanced at his parents standing in the kitchen, moving his eyes away once they walked into the lounge. He smiled back at Daniel with his legs crossed on the floor, but a part of him wasn't as joyful as he gave off.

Daniel twisted his head, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing." Phil lied, shaking his head automatically.

"Please tell me." Daniel pouted, his brown curls falling back over his eyes, so he swept them away with his fingertips.

"My parents are worried about me." he admitted guiltily.

"Why?"

"Because I get bullied at school, so I hate it there. But I get bullied no matter where I go. I don't like school." he dragged his hands against the uneven ground.

"I didn't like school either." Daniel confessed, "I got picked on and hit."

"Like me." Phil shrugged.

Daniel nodded, shuffling closer to Phil as he spoke, "Call me Dan." he said.

"Okay, Dan." he chuckled, "I'm Philip, but don't call me that it's too long." they laughed together, the brightness in their eyes returning. Phil showed his friend a ladybird that had flown onto him, before looking curiously at Dan, "Can I touch you?" he asked.

"You can try, but I don't think it will work." Dan admitted, putting his upwards palm out to Phil, who shuffled even closer. He nervously hovered his own hand above the other boy's, letting it sink on top before it continued moving through. They both felt slightly dissappointed, but still intrigued.

"What are you?" Phil asked Dan, although not exactly addressing the question towards him.

"Do you believe in souls?" Dan asked.

"What's a soul?"

"Well, my grandma always told me everyone has a soul. It's the special light inside someone that God creates, and when we die it's taken to heaven." he recollected from sixty years ago.

"I don't believe in God." Phil admitted, although his curiosity ever-grew.

"Oh." Dan thought, not encountering this before.

"Why haven't you gone to heaven, then?" Phil asked.

"Maybe I wasn't good enough." Dan sighed, looking away tearfully.

"I think you're wonderful!" Phil beamed, standing on his feet.

Dan joined him, "I think you are, too!"