Generation 1, Chapter 11: A little bit of childishness never hurt anyone - but in this case, it might

All around the house, outside on the beautiful lot we live on, people are having fun. Keegan is having the time of his life on a Seahorse-themed rider, juggling about while riding on it and giggling until he has stomach cramps. Luckily, Alex doesn't mind to take him outside to play - he loves his "golden boy" far too much to be irritated. 

Kaylin has finally re-cooperated from heartache, after she found out that her friend Keegan left the school. Most afternoons, she can be found hanging out with Odyssey, he new best buddy.

And me? Where am I in this harmonious environment?

Well, I'm a day pregnant, and already cranky as hell.

All day long, I've been on my feet, cooking and doing chores while I'm still able to. I'm doing my best not to bother Alex or the kids for help, and trying to conquer the pregnancy hormones (i.e, bossiness, impatience, etc.). But it's HARD, unfortunately. Rather than be a burden on my family, I just curl up on my bed, with the fireplace burning, and rest. But I can't for long - the kids' birthdays are coming up.

After a few hours of luxurious napping, I sneak into Keegan's room to supervise him. Watching him play music brings a smile to my face. I stand there for a few minutes, and later sense when Alex comes into the room, trying his best to be quiet.

"We have a really great boy, don't we," Alex murmurs to me, taking my hand softly into his. "Do you think there's a chance that the new critter will also be a boy? I rather dislike being outnumbered, you know."

"Alex, there's always a chance. But I don't control Mother Nature. We just have to be happy that we will be having another healthy baby."

"I know," Alex sighs. "But it's nice to have boys around, and talk about cars and stuff. You girls just go on about your hair. Or clothes. Or getting a credit card to buy clothes."

All of us don't get much sleep that night, as Kaylin is TOO excited to be aging up, and woke us up at 5:00 AM. The last time I was up that early was when she was a baby! I get the cake set up, while Alex readies his camera to take snapshots of the kid. Kaylin, being the eldest, steps up to her cake first. 

Outside, I am the perfect example of a happy mother, celebrating her daughter's birthday. Huge smile, eyes shining brightly, with no worry appearing on my face whatsoever. But on the inside? The tears are fighting to claw their way out of my eyes, and I have to control my vocal cords, otherwise I might scream; seeing my baby girl age up so quickly frightens me.

"Happy birthday, Kaylin!" I cheer, but as I clap alongside her, I'm secretly thinking differently. Please don't be a rebel teenager.

After a cute ballerina twirl and a reassuring smile full of confidence, my little girl turns into a beautiful teenager. With her mesmerizing eyes and dazzling smile, she is sure to catch the eye of many of her classmates. Kaylin has a peculiar fashion sense, which will definitely make her popular under her group of friends.

"So who will do the honor of blowing out the candles for Keegan?" I ask my husband, who was resisting the temptation to dive into a cake.

"I will," Kaylin unexpectedly chirps in. "So I can tease Keegan when he gets older than I actually held him when he was a toddler!"

Kaylin lowers Keegan close to the cake, where he huffs and puffs to blow out the candle with no success. Subtly, Kaylin blows it out for him, and it results in great cheers from all of us.

Keegan is definitely a quiet and reserved person (his sister describes him as being a "loner"), choosing to rarely speak to voice his opinion on anything. But he does have his social moments, and loves to dance. Most of all, he LOVES his older sister to bits, and she loves him just the same.

The new baby's room

Seeing as Alex and I decided not to find out the baby's gender, we decorated the nursery to be suitable for either gender, and it turns out looking really cute.

Keegan's re-decorated room


Even though Keegan isn't as social as anyone would have liked, he does share Alex's love of cars, and has a very black styled room, filled with racing car themed items and other miscellaneous sport items. 

Out of boredom, I put on "Party Rock Anthem" by LMFAO, purely because it's one of the kids' favorite songs. I bob my head to the tune as I dust off the rims of paintings. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Keegan starting to dance, but with some really sweet moves that would impress adults at a club.

"Whoa, that's some pretty awesome moves you got there, Keeg," I shout out to him, over the loudness of the track. "Did you learn that from watching television?"

"Nope!" he replies, shouting as well. "I learnt it from my friend at school, who's name is also Keegan!"

Like a pro, Keegan maneuvers his feet around the floor, dancing perfectly. Goodness, I wish I had his energy!

It's only then that his words start to sink in.

"Keegan? You said there's another Keegan at your school?"

"Yeah, there is," Keegan nods. "He's my best friend. He's in my class, and sits next to me in most of the classes. And he's here, right now!"

"Really? Uh, by any chance, does he have dark brown hair, and dark eyes? Possibly with ragged clothing?"

"Hah! That's him! How did you know how he looks?"

Keegan's head suddenly whips to the side, and his gaze falls on an empty chair. From his face expression, it seems as if he's listening intently... But to what?

"Oh, I see. Keegan just said you DO know him. He was a friend of Kaylin's."

"Eh, um... That's, uh, nice, Keeg," I stutter, wondering how the hell he knows that.

"He just told me you can't see him. He doesn't have a strong enough anchor in the world anymore, which is why he's not appearing to you guys."

Flabbergasted by that last sentence, I scratch my head awkwardly, avoiding Keegan's eyes. He is WAY too young to make up such a load of crap, so I have to assume that there is a possibility that he's telling the truth. But how could it be? Once, I could see this guy Keegan, but now I can't anymore? What trickery is this?! Is this some imaginary friend fantasy which might actually be real?

There's only one person that knows anything about the boy with the dark hair, and that's Kaylin.

I softly knock at Kaylin's door, the scent of air freshener hanging strong in the air outside. Apparently one of the pets must have had an "accident" in her room,  and she's desperate to get the smell out of her room.

"Come on in," Kaylin calls.

"Hi there, honey. I kinda need to talk to you," I whisper, closing the door behind. "Well, you obviously remember that boy Keegan... And he's sorta made another appearance."

"Really? THAT's what you wanna talk about? Good god, you're always so worried about boys. Okay, Keegan is in the past, he was just a childhood frien-"

"A childhood friend who's RETURNED and currently pestering your little brother. problem is, no one can see the guy. Please explain that to me."

"WHAT?! I don't know what you mean by that!" Kaylin explodes, but her eyes start zoning out as she becomes occupied by her thoughts. "Dammit. It's that doll... That black doll I had when I was a toddler, whom I named Keg. It was a great doll, y'know. And when I went to school, there was no one there for me I wanted to socialize with, and I wished there would be someone. And strangely, the mysterious boy appeared the next day, with the name 'Keegan'. The only thing I can THINK of is that the doll manifested itself again, but this time with my brother."

"But that doesn't explain how we can't see him now," I point out.

"I dunno how this stuff works - maybe it's like, I had a real need for this friend and wished for it, while Keegan doesn't really have such a strong need, and doesn't believe that strongly in dolls."

With the speed of crazy dogs, Kaylin and I rush off in search of Keegan (or the two Keegan's, if you take into consideration the one we can't see). As expected, we find him all alone (or not so 'all alone' - gosh darnit, this imaginary friend business is making me CONFUSED) in the backyard. Kaylin and I exchange worried glances, and we know that we might have to take extreme measures to fix this boy.

So Alex and I end up with miserable and hopeless expressions.

Why?

We're leaving the sanity of our boy in the hands of Kaylin - she's the only one that really connects with him on some kind of level.

"Keegan... I'm speaking to the REAL one, by the way... You need to wake up. You're a part of a dream. This friends of yours - he's not real. He gets his powers from your imagination. And the more you believe in him, the stronger his ties get to this world. You need to sever those ties, Keeg. He doesn't belong in this world.

He was made for the sole purpose of helping kids through their child stages. And he's done that. But it's time for you to move on. Mom once told me about how we almost weren't a family, as she loved a different guy before dad. But she didn't want to love a ghost for the rest of her life. Is that how you're gonna be? Hoping that your ghost friend will return to you everyday, when instead, you can go out and make real, awesome friends?"

"Wh-wh-what are you saying?" Keegan stutters. "That I'm crazy, a lunatic? I'm NOT, you hear me! I'm not... I'm not...," his breathing rate starts to increase, and we can all see him question his own sanity.

"Keegan... He told me he'd always be my friend... He's real, I tell you! He is. You just can't see him for some strange reason. Maybe because you guys are crazy. You should have your eyes tested, because I can clearly see him!"

"Son, you're sister is sharing very wise words with you. Listen to her, please," Alex interjects as Keegan continues to mutter randomly.

"NO! Y-y-you can't change my mind. My friend, he's real. He has to be. I can't live without him."

With tears welling up in his eyes, Keegan turns around and storms off up the stairs to his rooms, and we hear the distant sound of a door shut loudly.

"Honey...," I stop Kaylin as she's about to run after her little brother, "You have to allow your brother let off some steam. His heart is broken, knowing his friend isn't real. It's what you went through when Keegan left school. Now your brother must deal with it. Just give him some time."

Kaylin presses her eyes together with force, and a teardrop rolls down her cheek, which she quickly dabs away. "I know," she sighs, "I know. I just... Don't wanna see him like that. I just want to take him in my arms, and tell him everything will be okay."

I laugh silently, and pull her into a hug. "You inherited my motherly love - that's good to know!"

We all go to bed with heavy hearts and don't share too many words afterwards. The tension in the air is electrifying, and not in a good way. Not even Alex and I are talking, and we ALWAYS chat about something or another before falling asleep.

Till after midnight, I sit on the edge of my bed, thinking. In retrospect, I would have changed how I acted about Keegan. But it's too late now. 

Alex stirs next to me, sensing that I'm sitting upright, and I quickly get up to avoid a conversation. But instead of relief of avoiding a awkward convo, I have that strong feeling in my abdomen, almost as if something is wrong... Nope, it's not a gut feeling about something that might be wrong. It's labor time!

I wish I could say I'm like a practiced pro, but each time I deliver a new baby, all by myself, it gets harder. Why did I ever sign up for this job?

But I make it through it... Eventually. And deliver a beautiful baby girl to the world. 

I stand there with my new baby, Bridget, in my arms, smiling because of one thing:

The girls are gonna RULE over the boys in this house.

~♥~

I HAVE A POST OUT! OMG. I can't believe I even had time for this. But enough of my boring schedule.

Thanks to those that are reading this - I love you guys. <3

A special thanks goes to Calista Smith, for the name Bridget, and for just being awesome.

:D