I sat next to Kayla on the living room couch, watching her play. Seeing her imagination at work was utterly fascinating to me. I watched with wide, curious eyes, as if she were a modern marvel.
Louis walked over, wiping his eyes once again. This time, I assumed that he was more exhausted than distressed.
“Louis, when is the last time you got any sleep?” I asked, my eyes still locked on Kayla’s session. He blinked at me and went cross-eyed as he tried to think.
“Three....days, I think,” he mumbled, looking around at the windows. It appeared that the light was starting to irritate him. He looked down at me and his eyes focused on my hands. “Man, what happened to your fingers?” he asked, staring at the multiple needle-pricks on my fingertips that had bled and smeared. I looked down at my fingers, surprised myself.
“Um...I’m guessing that I shouldn’t try mending shirts anymore,” I smiled, showing him the sloppy stitches in my shirt. He nodded, backing away. I guess blood made him nauseous.
I stood up and moved to the boy, patting his back. I really did feel proud of him. He did exactly what he needed to in the proper amount of time. His responsible actions kept two young girls alive, one of them very sick. I was used to doing things like that, but I was much older than Louis.
“Look, man, do you mind if I take a quick nap?” he asked, painfully trying to keep his eyes open. I smiled at him and spun him around by his shoulders so that he was facing his bedroom door. He smiled in return and walked slowly to his bed. I could hear him muttering under his breath as he walked, but then I heard the bed springs squeak under the weight of a person and his voice was silent. I smiled to myself again and sat down next to Kayla.
She looked up at me with big blue eyes and turned her body around, facing me.
“Do you want to play ponies with me?” she asked, her eager little eyes glinting at me. I almost laughed and looked around.
“That’s not fair. You have Pinkie Pie, but what do I have? A bloody coffee mug?” I laughed. She looked down, not used to swearing. I patted her shoulder, chuckling awkwardly.
“Sorry, Kayla, didn’t mean it,” I spoke softly and calmly. She looked up at me again and grinned. She reached on the floor for a second before thrusting something into my lap, nearly knocking the wind out of my lungs.
“You can play with him!” she exclaimed, her voice getting loud from excitement. I looked down into my hands to see what she had given me.
A dirty rag. A dirty rag with googly eyes sewn onto it.
I wrapped the dirty rag around my hand like a makeshift sock puppet and made it speak to her. “Kayla! Why didn’t you want me, Kayla? Wasn’t I a good dirty wash rag?” I made it say. Kayla giggled and made Pinkie Pie respond.
“Oh, silly, of COURSE you were a good dirty wash rag. But even the best dirty wash rag still isn’t very good...” Pinkie spoke in a high, obnoxious voice. I laughed this time and responded.
We continued on like this for about an hour, Kayla getting progressively more sleepy. Finally, just around when the sun was completely gone from the sky, Kayla slumped over into the couch and was instantly sound asleep. I smiled at her and leaned forward, pulling the blanket up over her small body. She was the most peaceful and innocent while she slept. She was also not as loud...
I got up and stretched, hearing my bones crack once again. I walked over to the door lazily, taking advantage of being well-stocked and able to rest. I remembered that I needed to lock up the house for the night.
Walking towards the door, I grabbed the handle to the power circuit and flipped the switch. Instantly, gears began turning in the walls and heavy steel panels began lowering over all of the windows and doors. I stepped back and listened to the heavy metallic sound that the gears made. I felt especially proud of them, being the designer and builder. Many of the pieces were found during scavenges, from the remains of factories. The rest, such as the wires and circuit board, were found in some old computers. I smiled and turned around as the gears topped, signalling my cue to go to bed.
Dimming the lights, I looked around one more time and took a deep breath. It was good to be home. Home!
I looked over at the bag of new findings and picked it up, emptying the contents. I instantly saw the bottle of aspirin. Smiling, I picked it up and started walking towards Tiffany’s room. The floor creaked under my weight as I slowly entered the dark room. Inside, I could hear nothing. Walking forward, I moved to Tiffany’s bedside and reached down, patting her tiny shoulder.
“Hey, Tiffany, I got some aspirin. Want to try some?” I asked, opening the bottle and spilling out a few pills into my palm. I sat down and held my hand out, to see if she would take some. She remained still.
My eyes grew wide with fright and I shot my hand onto the girl’s small chest, trying to feel for a heartbeat. I could feel nothing but unnervingly cold skin.
"Oh god!!” I shouted, rushing over to turn the lights on. I spun around to face her and almost collapsed.Her face was blank and white, her eyes open and staring aimlessly. She was completely still. I stumbled forward just as Louis and Kayla ran to the door, trying to see what I shouted for. The sight of Tiffany’s stiff body hit Kayla like a ton of bricks and she started sobbing, latching to Louis’s side. Louis, crying as well, sat down against the wall, holding the distraught Kayla.
Together, they huddled and cried, while I managed to find my way to her bed again through a wall of tears. I reached down with trembling hands, picking up Tiffany’s small body. Her skin was cold and pale, her eyes were grey. I pulled her tightly against my chest and let out a cry of pure pain, my voice cracking as I continued to scream.
“Please! Please...please...please...” my voice lowered, but I still held the tiny girl. Tears were covering my face, and I was completely blind. My body shook violently as I cried, the room and its colours swirling around me. In my mind, there were only the two of us. Tiffany and I, locked in a grim dance. My eyes shut themselves tight, trying to regain my vision.
Finally, it was Louis who pulled me away from her. I tried to push myself back to Tiffany, trashing my arms and legs. Luckily for Louis, I had neither to energy nor the heart to fight back. He dragged me into the doorway, where he and Kayla latched themselves onto me. Continuing to scream, I began to yell out her name. I thought that maybe...if she were still here, she just needed to find her body again. I wanted to guide her back. So that we could be a family again. A Family...
The world eventually slipped into a dark mist as we cried ourselves to sleep. We sat in a huddled mess, dry tears staining our faces, our eyes red. Tiffany was gone.
And so was our family.
I was the first to wake up. The very first thing I did was to dig a grave for Tiffany. Using the shovel, I spent about two hours pulling the soil from the earth. When I finally dug a hole deep enough, I kept digging. Throughout the entire time I was working, I never made a sound. My eyes remained dry. My body didn’t shake or shiver. I was completely emotionless. I started thinking about leaving. I didn’t want to have to take care of anyone anymore. Why should it be my responsibility? I never even knew these kids before the missiles hit. I really didn’t have any reason to stay there, so why should I? I kept thinking about this while I dug, until the sunlight drained my mind of any thoughts at all.
Louis and Kayla walked out to join me an hour later. Louis had Tiffany’s tiny body wrapped in a blanket, her pale feet still exposed. I looked at Louis with a dead expression, nodding to the hole. He looked at me, frightened. His eyes were red again from crying, and he must have been scared from my lack of emotion. I turned my back to him as he lowered the blanket-covered body of Tiffany into the grave. When he was done, he crawled out of the hole and took the shovel, starting to refill the grave with soil. Suddenly, Kayla walked to the edge of the grave. I turned an watched her, the life in my eyes sparking for a second. What was she doing? As I watched, she took her Pinkie Pie doll and leaned down, placing it gently on top of Tiffany. Louis watched her proudly as I had to turn around again, the feeling of life returning to me. My eyes finally began to water as I thought about what Kayla had just done. Then it hit me.
I wasn’t the only one who loved Tiffany. She was all of our family. Kayla knew that. Louis knew that. Why had I been so stupid? I knew now that I was still looked up to. I needed to protect the family I had left, or we all would end up like Tiffany. Turning around, I wiped my eyes and looked at my two siblings. They were standing there, looking at me expectantly. I nodded and walked closer to the grave and helped Louis finish filling in the hole.
Together, we said some kind words about Tiffany before going back into the house. It was the very least she deserved.
I took a walk later on. The house was starting to get to me. Just the fact that Tiffany had been alive and well less than 24 hours ago just stunned me. Why had she died? Well, she was sick. Why now? Again, she was sick. Sick with something unknown. Nothing lasted forever. Why her? She was our family.
With Louis watching the house, I began my walk to the town I had visited days before. In all truth, I wanted to see the ponies again. What would Rarity say? Or Fluttershy? Why did I care so much about what these imaginary ponies thought anyway? I didn’t want to think about it, but I did want to talk. Knowing that Tiffany probably would have never gotten any better and would have lived her life in misery anymore sort of helped me cope with her death. Only a little, though.
I walked for a few hours, my goggled rested on my forehead. The weather was unusually calm today. The most that I could feel was the occasional breeze that blew through my hair. I didn’t even bother wearing my bandanna. It was as the universe was given me a day off from it kicking my ass.
When I finally arrived in the town, the first thing that I noticed was the shack where I had first seen the ponies. It was in the same exact condition as when I had left. Sometimes, I wished for someone to take the items inside. At least then I would know that my family wasn’t the only one out here. Loneliness began to eat away at me again, just like I wanted. The ponies only showed up when I was lonely. I decided to take a break and started walking toward the small shack when I heard the sound of hooves behind me. I smiled weakly, happy to be able to see my friends again, even if they weren’t really there.
I held the door for the ponies, watching them as they shuffled into the hut. But something struck me very quickly.
“Where’s Rarity?” I asked, noting the absence of the white and purple pony. The ponies looked at each other, not sure themselves.
“Ah think that she’s visiting her friend, sugar cube,” Applejack answered. I looked down sadly. Out of all the ponies, Rarity was the only one whom I had spoken to out Tiffany. She was also the one I wanted to talk to most.
“Which friend?” I asked, my throat starting to close from disappointment. Twilight looked up at me and tilted her head, thinking.
“I think her name was...Tiff...” she struggled to pronounce. My eyes grew wide.
“Tiffany?” I asked, my legs going weak. Twilight looked up at me, putting her hoof to her head.
“Yes! Oh course, how could I forget?” she said, looking embarrassed. She didn’t have the time, as I fell backwards into a rack of empty water bottles. I smacked my head on the metal beam holding the shack up, but didn’t feel it. So Tiffany was finally able to speak to Rarity...as sad as being reminded that Tiffany was gone, it was supporting to hear that Rarity was taking good care of her. I looked up, my vision swimming. I saw a blur of different colors, the ponies all gathered around me worriedly. Shaking my head, I regained my vision and took Rainbow Dash’s hoof in my hand. She looked surprised, looking at me. My eyes looked up at her, begging.
“Please, if it would be possible, could you please tell Rarity to bring Tiffany with her next time?” I asked softly, trying to keep myself from crying again. Rainbow gave me a supportive look and nodded.
“You can count on me,” she stated matter-of-factly. I nodded, sniffing.
“Of course I can. Thank you for being so loyal...” I whispered, my vision fading again. The surrounding ponies watched me lose consciousness, Fluttershy squeaking in fright. I felt my head lifted by a pair of hooves just as the world went black.
“Is he awake yet?” I heard a very familiar voice say. The sound of her made my eyes snap open. I sat up and looked around for her. I saw the ponies surrounding me, smiling.
“We have a surprise for you, darling,” I heard Rarity say from behind me. Rarity!
I spun around to face the white pony, throwing my arms around her immediately. She stumbled, not expecting such an immediate response. I let go, looking at her expectantly.
“I missed you, Rarity...” I said softly, wiping my eyes. She smiled at me and patted my messy black hair.
“And I you, dear,” she said, turning to the dark corner of the shack. “Come out darling, he’s really eager to see you.”
My heart skipped a beat and I swallowed, looking to where Rarity was talking. The moments went by like years while I waited. But nothing was coming out.
I was suddenly tackled from behind,a pair a tiny arms latching themselves around my waist. I coughed and started laughing, tears streaming down my face.
“Gotcha!” Tiffany’s voice said from above my head. I struggled to reach behind me and finally found her side, tickling her gently. She laughed uncontrollably and toppled off of me while I continued to tease her ribs.
The ponies stood around and smiled as they watched us, save for Rarity, who was trying her best not to cry. Trying to maintain her ladylike composure, she turned her head from the other ponies and just sniffed repeatedly. Applejack chuckled softly at her, causing Rarity to start giggling herself.
I got hold of Tiffany and just held her high above me, treasuring the sight of her liveliness. She wiped my eyes with her finger and looked at me curiously.
“Look, I’m not sick anymore!” she said happily, twisting my hair in her fingers. I smiled and pulled her into a tight hug.
“I’ve noticed, Tiff,” I said, laughing at myself. She smiled wider and wiggling out of my hug. Running to the door, she opened it and looked outside.
“It’s good to be able to walk,” she said, taking a deep breathe. I watched her in awe. She then turned to me, a devious grin on her face. “How ‘bout a quick race?”
I blinked but quickly smiled, looking over at Rainbow Dash. “How about it?” The multi-colored pegasus ruffled up her wings and charged forward. “You know it!” she shouted before taking off out the door. I smiled as Tiffany’s hair got blown around from Rainbow’s charge. She smiled at me and started running. I puffed and took off after the two, the other ponies following behind us. I didn’t care that I was chasing my own mind. It felt amazing.
“Hey, no fair!”
We chased each other to my heart’s content, screaming and sweating for what seemed like hours. Every so often I would stop only for a break, only to have either Tiffany or Rainbow Dash tackle me.
“Come on, lazy! Run!” one of the would should. I would respond like lying there like a slug. It was my only defense.
I hadn’t had so much fun in years. It was so perfect, if only the rest of my family could be there. Tiffany, the ponies and I running, screaming and playing. I nearly collapsed by the time the sun started to set. But I knew I needed to go home now, before the eerie creep of radiation set in for the night. The one thing was that I didn’t want to leave Tiffany so soon.
“Hey Tiffany?” I asked, looking over to see where she was
“Yes?” she answered from underneath a pile of ponies.
“Would you be able to walk back home with me? I’m not sure when I’ll be able to see you all again...” She smiled at me and squirmed out from the pony-pile.
“Of course,” she said cheerily. I smiled and walked to her, wrapped my hand with hers. The ponies following, we began our walk home. Skipping, Tiffany began to sing the My Little Pony theme song. Instinctively, the rest of us joined in.
Laughing, we all sang my heart out. Nothing would be able to break up the happiness of the singing group of friends. Everything was perfect.
I was so happy, in fact, that I barely cared when I saw a man staring directly at me as he stood next to his jeep. He was staring at me, just a boy alone in the desert, no weapons or friends to protect him. I was completely alone.