Chapter 17: The Last Day of Summer
A bright flash of light engulfed him in an instant. Ally gasped, holding her husband tight. Their son was barely visible now but they did their best to put on a brave face. Stan could vaguely see parts of him changing. His heart pounded in his chest as the process unfolded before his eyes. He made a vow that day, no matter what came out on the other side, that was still his brother. He would love him as he always had. Gradually the light faded, as the family waited in anticipation to see his new form. Three void like eyes opened to greet them. The differences were noticed first, no matter how small. His ears were pointed upwards, fangs had grown in between his otherwise straight teeth, but perhaps the most noticeable difference was the glowing freckles scattered across his body. With a faint but warm golden glow they created constellations on his skin. They were especially visible in the cool summer dusk.
They shone through his messy brown hair and spandex suit.
Stan was the first to approach.
He looked lost. Face vacant of any real expression.
“I feel… good!” He smiled.
Stan instantly wrapped him in a hug, failing at holding back the tears welling in his eyes.
“That’s awesome, Jack! I- I just can’t believe it!”
He felt a pat on the back, probably signaling the end of the hug.
“I’m glad to hear it, dude. But who’s Jack?”
The family went silent, hearts sinking into their chests.
“Dude this is not the time for games!”
Jack didn’t speak. Blankly he stared at nothing in particular, completely dazed.
“Speaking of, I should probably find something first!” He dashed into the house at inhuman speeds.
“Go check on him, Stanley.” His dad ordered.
Hesitantly he entered the dimly lit house and made his way up the stairs. His little brother couldn’t be gone. He simply refused to believe it. Sung was rummaging through a dresser. The room looked like a tornado came through it. Cautiously Stan knocked on the doorframe.
“Your costume is right there, dude.”
“First of all it’s not a costume,” He placed the tall conical helmet on his head as if it were a crown. “And third, that isn’t what I’m looking for.”
‘How in the last five minutes did he forget numbers??’ Stan thought.
“What is it then?” He took a sharp inhale to keep the tears at bay.
“Yes, obviously! I have to show them to my crew at once!”
Ah yes, the crew. The group of strange aliens that would soon replace his family. ‘OK don’t think like that’ Stan reprimanded.
“We would bike across town, loiter the fuck out of that place, spend like 10 bucks on the most shit cards.” Sung said in a distinctly un-Sung tone.
“You… remember when we used to bike to the comic store when we were kids?”
“Of course I do! One time I told the guy who worked there my cool big brother had every card ever and he fucking laughed at me.” He had moved to the closet now, digging through old posters and VHS tapes of cheesy action movies.
“And you know who your brother is, right?”
Sung instantly stopped looking to turn towards Stan.
“Look, I just wanna know if you still know who I am! That ‘who’s Jack’ thing back there scared me.”
Sung slowly stood, almost as if he were floating. “Plainly put, Stone, the knowledge of my own name is nothing compared to the memories of everything you mean to me.”
Finally letting the tears pass Stan hugged his brother tightly. There was no push back either, Sung simply reciprocated. Jack may have been lost, but his brother is definitely still in there.