11 KiB
The Final Chapter
The wind was calm. A soothing cool but moist feeling that rolled along the grass and trees of the mountainside. Abraham stood on the hillside with the wind rolling off his back. He was wearing a hoodie to keep the wind from chilling him, and in his hands he held a small arrangement of flowers. The manor that he and the club had come to occupy was far behind him, just barely noticeable among the trees. Before him was a single stone. Abraham knelt down and carefully placed the flowers in front of the stone before speaking. “Hey Grandpa…” Abraham whispered, “gosh that feels weird to call you that…so I’ll just call you Solomon, if that’s okay.” There was no answer; not like he expected one. “Do you remember when we met? Did you know who I was when I showed up? If you did…why didn’t you say anything?” Still no answer, and Abraham honestly began to feel stupid doing this. He stopped asking questions to the air and instead let out a long sigh. “You’d be really proud…things are going well here. We found a home.” Abraham muttered. “There’s a ghost here too. She’s sticking around while we renovate and furnish the manor, but she’ll leave once she’s sure the house is taken care of. There’s a lot of room…and Tamil hates it because its hard for him to figure out. Someone has to guide him every where. You’d have laughed when it took him 30 minutes just to find the dining room. By that point he yelled he wasn’t hungry anymore and stormed off…then bumped into a chair. We all laughed…even he did…we haven’t laughed like that since…well…” Abraham’s voice trailed off as he spoke, thinking of the last time he’d spoken to Solomon. “Michelle is doing better too. We think she’s starting to get a little bit of control during her changes. In her last transformation, she actually hesitated to attack Asher…but she soon gave in and the fight started, but it’s a good sign right? Maybe Michelle can beat this thing, in time? And speaking of Asher, he and Calypso are officially dating now! Took them long enough, right?” Abraham stopped when he realized he was starting to talk like Solomon was really there and then second guessed himself. He nodded to the flowers and grumbled to himself. “The club put that together for you…with a little help from Christina. Oh, right…the farm group. We found another family of monsters. They live on a farm several miles from here, but they’re good people. They helped us save Asher and Michelle and…we…” Abraham cursed under his breath. “What am I even doing? You’re gone…you can’t hear me.” Abraham stared at the stone a long time as a wave of various feelings washed over him like fevers. He was furious…furious at Solomon for leaving him and the club to fend for themselves. Miserable that Solomon had died and they hadn’t been able to stop it. Glad that thanks to Solomon, they had a club in the first place. And then frustrated that he hadn’t known who Solomon really was.
“What am I supposed to say to you?” Abraham asked. “This isn’t even a real grave, just a stone we put here for you. I don’t know how to be the kind of person you were. Everyone keeps saying that I’m special and that I’m an important part of the family. I believe them. I know I am. But…how? What can I do for them? The only answer I can come up with is…do what you did. Runs in the family, I guess. But how? Do I need to be a ghost too? Do I need years of experience? I know that I belong here, but I want to know how I can keep the family alive when I’m still just…human.” “It’s not about what you are.” Abraham spun around to see Sarah, her long spiny legs balancing her on the hill as she climbed up to him. Her red eyes were sad, despite her sweet smile. “Sarah, you scared me.” “I saw you out here while I was leading Tamil to the greenhouse. It’s going to rain soon, so let’s head back inside.” Abraham glanced up to see that clouds were indeed rolling in, but he didn’t move from where he stood. “You heard what I said, right?” “Most of it.” Sarah answered. “I think Solomon would be exceedingly proud of you, and all of us.” “Did he know?” Abraham asked. “Know who I was?” Sarah frowned and closed her eyes, hugging herself lightly. “…Probably.” She shrugged. “Solomon always had a way of figuring things out…and if you’re his relative, he probably had a sixth sense about it. But even if he didn’t, would it have mattered?” “Kind of.” Abraham replied. “Why? What difference does it make?” Sarah asked, curiously. “You said ‘it isn’t about what I am,’ right? I know the follow up: ‘It’s about who you are.’” “Hehe, yeah, kind of cliché, isn’t it?” “But it’s true. It is about who I am.” Abraham agreed. “I’m Solomon’s grandson. I’m carrying on his legacy, right? So doesn’t that mean he should have told me more about myself? More about what I’m supposed to do now? Why did he start caring about monsters? How did he die? Did he know the Dawn Bringers were after him from the start? Why didn’t he…” “…If he’d told you everything, would it have been easier to love us?” Sarah asked. Abraham’s eyes snapped to focus on Sarah as she had that same sad smile on her face. “If you felt it was a family obligation…would you have loved us for us…or for your grandpa?” “That’s…I mean…I don’t know how to even begin to answer that!” Abraham confessed. “I think of it as if I had a pet.” Sarah giggled. “If I had a pet dog and I died, so my child adopted the pet from me just because it was my pet, did she adopt the dog because she loves the dog, or because she loves me? And if she did it because she loves me…does that mean she loves the dog too?” Abraham felt floored by the logic and, as rain drops began to lazily drip down from the clouds, he felt himself sneer at the grass. “Still…would it have hurt to say something? Anything?” He asked. Sarah sighed and folded her arms in front of her.
“Remember when you came to the club and everyone was deciding if you should stay?” “Yeah, of course.” “Do you remember what Solomon said?” “…I don’t think he said anything.” Abraham answered. “Exactly. He left it up to us whether you stayed or left. Because, and this is just my opinion, but I think Solomon wanted you to do what you felt was best…what you wanted with your life. If you knew who he was, you’d only stay out of obligation and family bonds that you didn’t really have or understand…but if you chose to stay out of your own free will…if we chose to keep you out of ours, then it made US your family. Him telling you was the difference between making HIM your family…and making US your family.” She then smiled again. “Of course, this is all assuming he knew you were his grandson in the first place.” Abraham barely heard her snide joke, as he was overcome with an emotional episode of grief. Tears began to roll into his eyes as rain started to trickle a little harder. “Abraham?” “Nothing…nothing I just…I never thought of it like that. Even after I found out who he was, I never thought about how he might’ve done all this for me.” Abraham cried. Sarah moved closer and wrapped her arms around Abraham in a warm hug that Abraham felt himself sink into. “Do you remember when we met?” She asked. “You slipped on my webs and got tangled. From the moment I saw you…I knew you’d be one of us. I knew you were a good person, Abraham. We all know it…and that’s why we all love you…though maybe some more than most.” She winked. Abraham nodded as he finally pulled free, the rain matting his hair to his head. “She’s right.” Sarah turned, as Abraham looked over her shoulder to see Katie and Asher walking towards them, Asher holding an umbrella over Katie and himself. “Asher?” Sarah called. “I thought you were with Calypso.” “She’s taking a nap. She swam in the pool for too long and got tuckered out. Michelle told me there was a little powwow going on out here.” Asher answered. “Didn’t expect to find this, though.” “Abraham’s just having himself a moment.” Another voice giggled as Michelle stepped out from behind a tree. “And how long were YOU there?” Abraham blushed, seeing her sneaky grin. “I was here a while ago before everyone else…but then I had to run inside and get the gang together, including Annie.” As she spoke, Annie stepped out from behind the tree too. With Tamil and in the greenhouse and Calypso napping, it seemed that everyone else was in attendance. Abraham sighed and rubbed rain from his forehead and tears from his eyes. “Sorry guys…didn’t mean to cause all this-” “Oh just shut up, already.” Katie laughed. “There’s nothing to be sorry about.” “Whether or not Solomon was your grandpa or not isn’t important.” Michelle agreed. “And you ARE our family.” “If you need more than our word…” Katie smiled, slithering close, and suddenly planting a gentle kiss on Abrahams lips, causing Abraham to jump in surprise. Katie was flushing as well, but she looked more relieved than anything else. Before Abraham could wrap his mind around Katie’s sudden show of affection, Michelle and Sarah both moved to either side of him and planted kisses on his cheek. Abraham blushed deeper and looked at the three girls who were all now giggling and smiling stupidly. He looked to Asher who was just smirking. “Well I sure ain’t gonna kiss you.” He retorted, sparking a laugh from the rest. Annie ran forward and hugged Abraham around the waist, beaming up at him. Her smile seemed to slow the rain on their heads. Was it magic, or all just because of how happy Abraham was feeling? He didn’t know…and it really didn’t matter. He was happy. As the rain fell upon the stone that acted as Solomon Singers grave, and the flowers the club had picked were drenched, Abraham had no trouble believing that his grandpa was smiling down at his family, wishing them well.
The folks who lived in the town below the mountain told their children not to go to the mansion further into the mountainside. They say it’s haunted by monsters and ghouls. Of course, the children never listen to this and try to go there anyway on dares or just to prove how brave they are. Usually they don’t see anything…but the last few weeks strange sounds have been heard up the mountain, and a few swear they see lights in the windows on some nights. The new superstitions come back to life as the howls of a wolf might be heard on a full moon night, and bats could be flying to and from the mansion. No one was certain of what lay within the mansion now, but there was one thing many of them took note of: A young man had started frequenting the town. No one knew where he lived, but he said he lived close by. Whenever the topic of the mansion came up in conversation, he would be the first to smile and laugh about it. He never denied the superstitions…and he never explained why he laughed, but he always had a knowing look in his eye. But if the folks around knew what Abraham knew, they might just feel jealous of him and his family. A family of monsters.