Chapter 14 - Gen 1 - Lilly

~ Ironic ~


Waiting out front for Prelude to turn up, I started to get nervous again and wondered what he might surprise me with today.  A taxi pulled up and I watch Prelude getting out.   Last night after Prelude told me about his colourless son he just sat there and cried.  I've never seen Prelude cry before, my head was going, I didn't know how much more I could take in.  I told him to come after 4pm tomorrow and ran off to my room just leaving him sat there.

I never expected for one minute that he wouldn't be alone today.  He leaned into the taxi to pick something up, straight away I was shocked when I could see him holding the colourless child, he hadn't said last night that the boy was actually here in town with him.  I wasn't even 100% sure that Prelude was telling the truth until I saw the child - I still feel like Prelude is playing some kind of game with me.

"My punishment for everything I ever did to you - wouldn't you say!!"  he said as he strolled up to me  "The trouble is it's not me who is going to suffer for it, it's him."

I couldn't take my eyes off my little nephew, it is one thing seeing another colourless berry, but he is the first colourless child I have seen.  I am looking at the strangest scene, my evil brother, holding a colourless child like he is his most precious possession and smiling, something that just doesn't sit well with my memories.

"His name is Affair, Violet took Wisteria with her, she is purple, she didn't want Affair on account of him being colourless, which I suppose in a way is lucky for me because otherwise I would have lost them both."  he said

I swear I am hearing things - did he just say lucky??  Prelude even sounds like he is happy to have Affair, I expected him to be winging that Violet had dumped Affair on him and he didn't want him.  For one mad second when I first saw the child I even thought he might be wanting me to look after him after I graduate - he wouldn't would he????

"Lilly are you ok?" he asked me, I hadn't spoken I was still just staring at the child.  Affair seemed very quiet clinging to Prelude and looking at me warily, I bet the poor thing already knows what it's like to be colourless in this horrible world.

"Sorry .... I was just lost in my own thoughts for a second!!"  My heart was breaking looking at Affair knowing what he would have to go through because of his lack of colour.  I already felt like we were connected, we both would share a lot in common, especially knowing how it felt to be colourless when nobody else could fully understand it.

"And ....."

"I'm just a little surprised to see him, you never said last night he was here in town with you."

"I take him everywhere with me, I left him at the hotel with a friend I didn't want to shock you completely.   I can't trust anyone to look after him or not to hurt him when I'm not there, but I can trust Citrus, she is the only one I can trust - so she comes with me to look after Affair when I'm traveling, she has him too while I'm at work."

"Don't Mom and Dad have him for you?"  I asked more because I am curious to know if they treated Affair better than they have ever treated me.

"No way - after the way they handled things with you, they would probably only sit him in a corner and ignore him anyway, and they are still constantly screaming at each other, they are a nightmare  - I seriously don't want him in that atmosphere, not that Mulberry would beat up on him or anything, he wouldn't, he's really good with him.  I don't live with them anymore either, I have my own place."  I pinched my arm to make sure I am actually awake and not just dreaming all this - this isn't my brother, this is somebody else.

My mind went back to the cardboard monster arm, and the monster under my bed joke that he played on me for years - I half expected the real Prelude to come jumping out from behind a bush laughing any minute now.

"Who is Citrus?"  I thought maybe she might be his new girlfriend or something.

"Affair's Aunty. We call her Citrus, but her name is Elderberry.  She is Violets sister, I'm not sure you ever met her.  Besides Mulberry, El is the only one who doesn't treat him like he is some kind of horrible freak!!"  I had to laugh out loud, his face changed and he looked quite offended.

"I'm sorry but my mind is really struggling with all this - it wasn't so long ago that you were calling me those names and treating me like I was a horrible freak!!"

"I know and I meant what I said last night - I really am sorry for everything Lilly!!  I told you last night I have had a very big wake up call - and here he is."

"I'm confused - what do you want from me - I get the feeling if your son wasn't colourless you wouldn't be here - you would still be treating me like the colourless freak?"

"I can't answer that truthfully because I don't know, although I did know what I put you through was wrong before Affair was born, and I am not lying when I say we all miss you, because we do - absence makes the heart grow fonder I suppose."  I didn't say anything to him, I couldn't my head is already swimming  "I need for myself to put things right between us because I can't live with myself until I know you have forgiven me - but Affair needs you more - he needs to be around you so he knows he is not the only colourless berry like we thought you were, only you can understand what he'll go through and I don't want him having the life you had."

Affair started to get a little grizzly he needed feeding and changing so I took Prelude up to my room.  Cosmic is busy talking to Sunny so I left him to it and for some reason today I didn't feel so uncomfortable being around Prelude, probably because he has Affair with him.  Just watching him with his son makes me to start believing that he has changed and that he really does mean everything he is saying to me, but I'm really struggling to take it all in.

"He is very quiet."  I said to Prelude, other than the little grizzle downstairs I had not heard him make another sound since they arrived.

"He's very shy and very wary of people until he gets to know them, I think he already knows how people look at him and he understands what they are saying about him."

Affair is actually a pretty cute kid to say he is Preludes son!!!  "You know I think he is going to look a lot like you when he grows up - I got out your baby pictures and you were a lot like him at that age and I'm not on about his lack of colour."  he paused for a minute, he shocked me telling me they even had baby photo's of me, I didn't know any even existed - there were pictures of Prelude scattered around the  house in picture frames but there were never any of me on display.  "You both take after Mom, don't you think that's strange when me and Mulberry take after Dad."  I'm not sure if the point he was trying to make, is that the colourless thing was all Mom's fault?!

I picked Affair up off the carpet, I wandered if he realizes I am the same as him.  I started playing with Affair and I noticed Prelude was watching me closely, then I noticed his eyes following my hand.

"That ring, you weren't wearing that yesterday - is that what I think it is?"   I just nodded.

"He seems a nice enough boy but aren't you still a little too young to be getting engaged?"  he looked at me with a puzzled look on his face.

"Eerm you and Violet, I seem to remember you two getting engaged pretty early!!!!"

"Yes and look how that's turned out, that's why I know you are too young to be making decisions about the rest of your life already!!"  Oh Berry I hope he is not going to start acting like my Dad now!!!!!

"You didn't tell me what happened - did Violet leave you because you were mean or was it because of Affair?"

"A bit of both but Affair put the lid on it - she was totally devastated, I can't say I was too impressed either at first, it was a one in sixty million chance of us having a colourless child - seems I inherited the regressive gene and ended up with someone who also had it - how ironic is that!!?? "

"Is there no chance of you and Violet getting back together?"

"No, there is no point anyway, I am not planning on stopping in that town and she wouldn't leave her family or let me see Wisteria, besides she doesn't want anything to do with Affair.  I've been doing a lot of traveling around lately, trying to find a town where we can settle down where they will accept him better than where we are now, but everywhere seems the same, that's why he needs you in his life." 

Fudge - now what do I do.  Yesterday I had no intention of telling him what we planned on doing or where we are going - I wanted to disappear to a place where they would never find me.  Affair changes everything and even if I didn't want Prelude in my life, I could never live with myself letting Affair rot away in that town having an awful life when he could have a much better one in Sugar Valley.  I had to give Prelude his dues, he is trying to do something to make the childs life better, he could have been like Mom and Dad, he is trying which is more than they ever did for me.   It's quite comical really he is trying to protect his son from a person like himself.  I put Affair down and he instantly picked him up.

"Prelude, I lied to you yesterday, I wasn't going to tell you, I was just going to do a disappearing act on you."  I saw his face drop and that evil glint of his flashed across his eyes, but quickly went again.

"What??"

"See I didn't trust you, I still don't know if I can, but he changes everything."  I pointed at Affair "We aren't staying in this town, we are going to Sugar Valley with Mango and another couple from here, a mixed berry couple."

"WHAT!!???  Mixed Berries - Lilly please tell me you haven't gotten yourself into some sort of trouble!!!"

"No, in Sugar Valley there is no colour code - they don't care about colour and they definitely don't care about the lack of it either - they allow mixing, I've been there with Mango that is where he comes from, his mother is a mixed berry and I've met a colourless boy who lives there - and nobody cares - I can live there and be just a normal person and so could Affair - and he is the only reason I'm telling you about this."

"Its not possible!! - No colour code?"  he looked at me like he didn't believe a word I was saying to him.

"It's true I went there for one of the holidays - I've seen it with my own eyes, nobody gave me funny looks, there was no whispering, pointing or nasty comments, they spoke to me and treated me like I am completely normal, not one single person commented on me not having any colour."

Like magic, Mango always seems to sense when I need him, he came wandering through the door.  I asked Mango to explain to Prelude about his town, which he did in Mango style - in full detail.

I think  Prelude is struggling to take in what we have told him, he stood there for ages just staring into space and thinking.

"Sugar Valley you say?  I need to check that place out, it sounds too good to be true!!!" 

 
"Can I call you?" he asked suddenly "If I email you, are you going to read them and reply or just delete them??"  he asked with a smirk on his face. 

I suppose I had no choice now, if he moved to Sugar Valley which no doubt he will, I am never getting away from him.   He needed to start heading off back home, he has a long drive ahead of him and he had to pick Citrus us from the hotel.  I think I nearly passed out when he hugged me and kissed my forehead.

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I saw the purple guying coming out of the freaks room, at first I though I would just ignore him, but then I got a little curious of what he is carrying.  Another freak brat!!!  I stepped out in front of him and gave him no option but to stop.

"Cute kid!"  Like fudge is he, but you wouldn't talk to me if you really knew I thought your kid is another repulsive freak!!!  "He is yours I take it, what's his name?"

He just gave me the evilest of looks, I wander what his problem is?  "His name is Affair."

"You a friend of Lilly's?"  I asked him, but I suspect he must be a relative of her's being purple and having a freak brat with him - what is her family doing - breeding them?!

"Nosy aren't you!!  I'm her brother, not that it's any of your business" 

"So which one are you Prelude or Mulberry?"  Not that I've ever heard her talk about her brothers, I only know their names from her emails that I've been sneaking a look at.  Well she is stupid enough to leave her hotmail account permanently logged in - she's asking for it in my opinion.

"Prelude, and you are?."

Fudge, I can't tell him my real name just in case the freak has filled him in on earlier.  "Fudge, my name is, Caramel Fudge, Lilly never said she had such a cute brother." I said the first thing I could think of that might distract him away from the name I'd just given him, hopefully he won't remember it.


"Cute?!  Who are you trying to kid, you silly little girl!!!"  he snapped, and narrowed his eyes at me, oh the look, this one is mean spirited - most guys would like a comment like that!!!  "Drop the act kid, I'm not stupid, what do you want?"

"What act?"  Now he's got me floored - I'm definitely losing my touch.

"Your mouth is saying one thing but your face is saying something totally different, I can tell  you are both evil and mean spirited,  but you are not very good at it yet are you!!"  How does he know that I'm evil and mean spirited??  "And my Kid, he's not a freak and neither is my sister!!"  Fudge, can he read my mind??

"So is that it - have you finished with your interrogation?"  I just stood looking at him, wandering how hard he would be to crack, he's quite mean and frosty!!

He looked at his watch, like he can't wait to get away.  "I thought so, now I need to shoot, so if you don't mind" he said and started to walk away.

"Hopefully I'll see you again sometime."

"Highly unlikely" he snapped and started laughing, not just any laugh, an evil laugh

I can not help but smile as I am watching him walk away.

I am going to make them pay for what they did to me earlier -
and I think I know exactly how!!.

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Song:  Ironic - Alanis Morrisette