******This has now been moved to it’s new site http://www.familysaga.wordpress.com*****************************
Xaiden stood at the end of pagoda beach and let his line sink into the clear water running beside the walls of downtown Pagoda Isle. They were so crystal clear that he could see the fish swimming along the sandy bottom.
The birds of the marshland were stirring and the air was filled with their small calls. Xaiden twitched his line, waiting for breakfast to bite, his camp from the night before still set up behind him.
After his recent graduation his father had given him an open ticket to fly anywhere in the world. His father had tried to do that for his older brother Jacob Dylan as well, when had graduated years earlier, but Jacob was too scared to travel in a foreign land alone. Xaiden though, he had been waiting with increasing impatience throughout his last year of his high school for it to be *his* turn for the gift. When it finally was he had chosen Asia as his destination and for the last year had happily backpacked around the cities and villages, finally settling in little Pagoda Isles, where he had lived for the last three months, working odd jobs, fishing for food, and setting up camp in any open private spot he could find.
He pulled his line in, giving up for the morning. He still had plenty of left over fish he could eat. He breathed deeply of the clean air and and stared out over the light blue water and differing greens of the marshland plants
He loved it there, he thought. He had loved Asia so much that he had gone beyond the time he was supposed to have spent there. The phone calls and Letters from home stopped being friendly curiosity about his travels, and had become more insistent and demanding on his return date. Xaiden had kept putting off his return, even starting to avoid his family calls and letters. A recent call though, was one he could not ignore. It had been from Jacob Dylan. To hear from Jacob at all was suprising, with how engrossed he was in his studies to become a doctor.
“Xaiden?” The uncertain voice had questioned when he answered.
“Jacob? Is everything okay?”
“No. I need to talk you. In person. Can you meet me somewhere in the town your at? I’m flying in tomorrow.”
Xaiden didn’t hesitate. For Jacob to make the effort to travel into a foreign town at all, let alone do so on his own, something had to be wrong.
He packed up his camp for the evening and cycled into town on the rusted bicycle he had bartered a child out of at an earlier village. He walked into the samll courtyard that he had given Jacob as the meeting place, hoping that it would be an obvious enough spot for Jacob not to get lost.
He didn’t have to worry. He spotted his brother as soon as he stepped through the thick ivy hedge. He looked fidgety and uncomfortably hot in the inland humid heat. He, like the rest of his family, was used to the cool breezes of crescent cove.
“Jake,” Xaiden greeted, walking over the clover strewn grass to his brother, “What’s happened?”
“Can we go sit at the chess tables?” Jacob asked.
Xaiden tensed. He knew Jacob lost himself in chess when he was scared or nervous. He just nodded though and followed his brother over to an empty chess table. Xaiden sat down, frowning in serious concentration over the chess pieces. The tense lines the creased his forehead worried Xaiden even more.
“Come on Jake, tell me what’s wrong.”
“You need to come home,” Jacob said, “It’s dad.”
“What about him?” Xaiden asked, feeling guilt at that fact that there was some sense of relief that it was his father and not mother in trouble. He absently moved a chess piece, the sun setting now and the board hard to see.
“What’s wrong wtih Dad?” He aske,d “He’s not….” He felt a lump start in his throat at the thought.
“No,” Jacob said, but it wasn’t said with that much conviction. “He’s sick Xaiden. Youwouldn’t even recognize him. His hair is all white now, and he’s lost so much weight. He tried to hide it for so long….and mom, mom’s taking it hard. Trying to look after Cloie and Arianna and now Caleb who is into everything.”
He was tryign to process what he was hearing. “So…is he.. dieing then?” He finally asked, wincing himself at how blunt it sounded.
“I don’t know. I’m not a full doctor yet. And he’s refusing to leave Crescent Cove to get medical treatment. You have to come home Xaiden. I’m not the one they need right now. I’m trying but…well I don’t think I have to tell you what I mean. I’ve never been the family guy. That was your job.”
“How are the girls doing?” Xaiden asked, thinking of little sisters who would now be teenagers.
“Cloie is horrid,” Jacob answered, not hiding his annoyance, “A punk brat. Arianna is hiding in art, quiet, kind of just…closing up. They all need you Xaiden, not me.”
Xiaden looked down at the chess board, thinking of his own situation he was in.
“It’s not so simple to just up and come home,” He said, “There’s something I did…kind of spur of the moment, without really thinking. I haven’t told you guys yet. I’m engaged Jacob.”
Jacob looked up at him. Then he shoved back his chair and stood up. “I should have expected as much from you.”
“I never said I wasn’t coming back!” Xaiden snapped back at him, “I just said it was complicated. I don’t know if she’ll want to come or not. We had plans…to live free, backpack around the world, no worries, you know? Going home to look after a sick father in law might not be her idea of a good time.”
Jacob stood over the chess table, looking down at his little brother.
He hated having to beg him to come home, hated having to ask anything from him. After all *he* was the oldest, *he* should have been looking after his family. But he couldn’t. They didn’t need him. They needed Xaiden. They had fallen apart without Xaiden, and nothing *he* could do would bring them together.
“I’ll call her tonight,” He said to Jacob, “And tell her the situation.”
“If she doesn’t want to come?”
“Then…I guess I go alone Jacob. I’m not as irresponsible as you might think Jake. Mom, dad, the girls, you always come first. *Family* comes first. Grandpa taught me that.”
Jacob looked quickly away at the mention of their deceased Grandfather, not wanting to remember that horrible trip to France where he had passed away. He still remembered the night clearly when he had yelled at his little eight year old brother that their grandfather’s death was *his* fault. He had never apologized to Xaiden for that, and had never told anyone the guilt he had carried with him since then. It was part of what caused the distance between himself and the rest of his family, knowing how quickly he could attack and hurt one of them.
Xaiden stood up from the chess tables. “It’s getting dark. I should phone Rose and meet her. Where are you staying?”
“I’m leaving this morning,” Jacob said, “2am to be precise. I just flew in to get you. I’ll stay here and wait for you.”
“Thanks for giving me so much time,” Xaiden said with sacrasm and walked away. He phoned Rose to meet him at the local cafe and then found himself running through the darkened downtown streets, feeling the power of his legs carry him, as he burned through all the frustraton, desperation, anger, and fear.
Rose had already ordered when he finished running and made his way to the cafe. She looked up, concerned. “Xaiden?”
“I’m going to order.” He went inside trying to compose what he was going to say.
He came out and sat down next to his fiancee.
“What’s wrong Xaiden?” Rose asked. “You sounded so serious on the phone. I’ve never heard you sound serious.”
Xaiden looked at Rosen in the light of the small table lamp; noticed the way the light played on her olive skin and made her blue eyes sparkle.
He loved her, didn’t he? It was a question he had kept asking himself since he proposed. If he did, why was he ready to take off and leave her? He was just so young. *They* were so young and the engagment was such a spur of the moment event, without any real thought. They hadn’t even talked of a wedding date, hadn’t really acknowledged the engagment at all.
“Xaiden!” Rose said, trying to get his attention.
“Sorry. Look, Rose there’s a problem. I have to go home. My dad, he’s sick. My family needs me. I just saw my brother today. He’s leaving at 2 am. I’m going with him…and…”
“And am I coming? Is your question,” Rose said, blunt. She was always blunt, to the point.
“Yes.”
Rose looked down, a look of disappointment on her face.
“When I thought of marrying you…I…I didn’t think of ever leaving here Xaiden. I thought of backpacking, fun, freedom. I didn’t think….well I didn’t really think of anything. Maybe we got engaged to soon. Maybe we should just make it an amicable split, okay? I mean, I can’t go home to your family. I don’t *know* your family. I barely know *you*. Let’ s just call it a mistake and move on?”
Xiaden stared at her, a mix of sadness and relief. “Okay,” he said finally, “I should meet Jacob.” He stood up from the table, looking down at his now ex fiance
“If you ever…” he started, but she interupted.
“You guy your way Xaiden, and I go mine. An amicable split. Blame in on the ideals of youth.”
Xaiden hesitated, wanting to say more, wanting to make things right, but he knew he couldn’t. Everyone had to go through this, he thought, everyone had to go through a first heartbreak. He turned away and walked back into the darkened city streets to meet his brother.
His brother was still standing in the courtyard of Peace.
“Good, you’re back!” He said, “I hate how dark it is here! So? One ticket or two for home?”
“Just one.”
