Wolf’s Bane

His trip down memory lane was not so pleasant but it did give Eron enough strength to push aside his sleepiness and get up from the bed. He tossed aside the blanket and tried to look around for the towel that he wore last night to temporarily cover his nakedness.

It was nowhere to be found…

“That’s odd, I could have sworn I was wearing it last night when I went back to the room…” he whispered to himself, still searching around the bed just in case it fell off the mattress as he slept. “Or was I? Wait a tick…”

Just then he heard fast but not-so-heavy footsteps rushing from one room and going through the corridor. It was followed by another set of firmer footsteps and it sounded like it was running after the lighter runner.

And they were both headed towards his door!

Eron’s thoughts: “Shit, did I even lock that thing? Damn, too late to find out…”

As he wolf-sped towards the farthest corner of his room where his clothes were still piled messily, one on top of the other, his hands swiftly moved like a blur to choose something for him to wear before that damned door opened.

“Katya, don’t just run into his room without knocking!” a teenage boy’s voice yelled from the hallway, overpowering the sound of their running.

“I just want him to see my plushy!” a younger, sweeter voice piped up, as it became louder by the second.

He knew they would soon be entering his room…Content bel0ngs to Nôvel(D)r/a/ma.Org.

“Shit!” Eron mumbled, still in the middle of dressing up like the Flash, while hoping he wouldn’t tear through his clothes in the process. “Shitshitshitshitshit!”

The door burst open and in ran Katya with a large stuffed toy in her arms and her older brother Macky just a few steps behind her.

“Good morning, biggest brother!” the little girl yelled cheerfully.

+++

Jack woke up pretty early just so he could go back to the lumberyard without having to wake up anyone else in the house. Besides, he had to make sure that Max got back to work without any more incidents.

He also needed to meet up with the new applicant who he “bumped into” accidentally the previous night.

“What is it about these days that everything would turn into something dramatic or exciting? I’m starting to miss the good old boring times I used to have. Heh, or do I really want that?”

It was still dark when he stepped out of the house, so he was armed with a dark brown, fur-lined coat, a black baseball cap hiding his dark hair and a flashlight in his big right hand. He didn’t dare prepare himself some breakfast, even if it was just cereal and milk, just so he could avoid making a racket in the kitchen.

If they did wake up, Jack was sure that his parents would make him late by asking him questions about what had gone on last night after they both went to bed.

And he couldn’t let them do that.

There was just too much that happened during his late-night visit that he needed to think about. The brisk walk back to the lumberyard would give him the chance to do that before his workday started.

Besides, he was known to overthink and this was the perfect time to do it…

And with all the right reasons, too…

+++

Almost five hours before…

“You really should come home more often, Jack. We aren’t exactly that far away from the lumberyard.”

Yes, that sounded about right. Whenever he was in the village, he knew he should show up at his parents’ house or there would be hell to face and it would be mostly from his mother.

Even now, when he already took the time to visit, he was still being gently scolded for having dinner at a friend’s house and not at his parents’ home. It didn’t help, too, that they had friends over whom he never considered as his acquaintances. He had good reasons for that, though…

“Your mother is absolutely right, son. It would be quite easy for you to leave your company and go home every day, especially since you are the boss there now,” says Miss Nelia, who happened to be a former school teacher and she still talked to everyone like they were her students. “Or maybe, you’ve found someone special up there in your workplace…?”

“That’s not possible, Nelly! There are hardly any women working in the lumberyard and those who are, are taken already. Well, not unless he’s into having male companions, which I don’t think is a problem, if he’s really into that kind of thing,” interrupted Miss Maritess, the other gossip who was a former Hollywood actress that never really made it as a star and got stuck with part-time roles in horror movies where she always got killed off.

Yes, hearing them talk, Jack could easily remember now why he never liked these “ladies” …

First off, these two women were not of his generation and were around the same age as his dad.

Well, he did have friends who were even older than his father so that’s not the real reason…

Second, they were the most irritating town gossips, and they were never ashamed of speaking about other people’s affairs with as many individuals as they could talk to. Since they were retirees, they had a lot of time in their hands to tell their personal versions of whatever stories they heard, and they would always add in their own opinions and make it sound like it was a fact.

Finally, and this was the biggest reason why he disliked them, was that they didn’t exactly approve of foreigners or non-locals. It would make sense, since the really old families here who put up the village had a tendency to be proud of being the original citizens, as if that made a real difference to the state of this sleepy little town.

To them, it seemed to be the case, though, not that it mattered to the rest of the villagers. And these two happened to be the last of their line so they’re making the most of it.

If not for the fact that they could be very entertaining, he would have just gone upstairs to rest instead of staying there on the porch with his parents and their guests. But he didn’t dare be that rude to these people so he chose to ignore the two single ladies who were, sadly, already there having dinner with his parents before he arrived.

“Oh, Maritess, he doesn’t swing that way,” Mrs. Schneider said soothingly, hoping her husband and son didn’t mind that statement. “He actually did bring a few girls over when he was still in university but they just didn’t work out. But Jack dear, it would be better if you can come home more often…”

“Mom, our company is growing now. We’re not just into lumber anymore and we’re already gearing up our carpentry and furniture department. I need to be on-site most of the time so I can supervise everything myself,” the foreman said, looking towards his mother who was sitting on the porch’s rattan sofa while he sat on the balustrade like he used to do when he was a teenager.

“You know I’ve already suggested that you use the jeep so you can just drive home when you need to get here.”

Jack hid his smirk from his father as he took a sip from his beer. He knew his parents long enough to know that if he did take that vehicle – or even buy his own – he would probably be “requested” to come “home” a lot more than he wanted.

And he wasn’t really into the drama, gossip and intrigue that seemed to be part of the village’s history. Especially, since his sister’s story would mostly be talked about to this day…

Honestly, that was the last thing he needed right now.

He loved his parents very much, but there was always that un-closed matter in the back of his mind… The thought of what happened in the past and the reason why he couldn’t talk about their family’s personal tragedy to anyone in the village… Not even asking family or friends for help in his search for his sister…

Whether he wanted it or not, this was still something he couldn’t let go of. And his parents’ insistence that it be kept under wraps didn’t help him find closure.

Unfortunately, his mom and dad never changed their mind…

And it’s still the same to this day so he would rather deal with this all by himself than bring in other people into the picture and then listen to them “interpret” his actions.