“Are you sure about this Shinning? Maybe, you should think about this some more.”
“No, I feel like if I take my time I’ll do something I’ll regret.”
“Very well, I hate to see a bright young man such as you do this but you’re already 18 so I can’t really stop you.”
“Thank you, sir.”
“No, no. Don’t thank me. I’m sorry that I can’t do anything for you and that it came to this.”
The older man stamped the documents on his desk and got up to make copies of them. He gave the originals and a set of copies to Shining Armor and opened the folder with Shining’s name to put in the other set. With the documents in hand Shining thanked the man once more before opening the door.
“Shining?” the man called out just before the door closed.
“Yes?”
“Once again, I’m sorry for your loss and good luck.”
“Thank you.”
He closed the door and looked at the documents once more. The stamp and signature from the Principal of Crystal Prep were located towards the bottom along with his signature. The documents made it official. He was now a high school drop-out and it was too late to change his mind. A small hand grabbed his pant leg and he looked towards the boy who was responsible.
“Sorry, Spike. Did you wait long?”
The green haired boy shook his head as he let go of Shining and held out a hand. The young man took it in his and walked towards the front door of the Academy. As they got closer he spotted a figure standing beside the double doors.
“Cadance…”
“Shining!”
The young woman’s smile mad her seem heavenly as the sun shone through the doors behind her and yet her mood dropped as she got closer to the boys. She had known Shining Armor for the better part of his life. She his sister when they were young and had grown fond of the family enough to visit often. The visits would get more frequent as their bond grew stronger, Unfortunately, while it seemed their relationship would soon grow into something more, tragedy struck in the form of a car accident due to a drunk driver. The result of which was the loss of his parents and sister as they came back from a science competition in Manehattan.
The funeral was filled with many who knew his Mom and Dad along with his friends and Cadance. It saddened him that no friends had shown up for Twilight but he knew the girl hadn’t been the most social person. Their deaths had come rather suddenly and the funerals were made in haste. The insurance had paid for all three funerals and the house his family grew up in. It also left enough for him and Spike to live off for month and the case against the driver responsible for the deaths was still in progress. With a little more than a year before he graduated, Shining was left with a difficult choice. The choice itself wouldn’t have been much of a problem if it was just him but the child by his side complicated matters.
Spike was still in elementary and even though they were not related by blood he was the only family Shining had left. His parents had adopted the boy when Twilight had brought him over after finding him alone at a nearby park. He had been covered in bruises and was near starving; his parents had let him stay while they tried to find out more about him despite his refusal to talk. They found out that his parents had abandoned the poor boy very recently and even when they tracked them down Shining’s parents never talked about what happened with their meeting. The only thing they did say was that they filed for adoption of the silent child.
“So it’s done?”
“Yea, I’m officially a drop-out.” He said with a sad smile.
“You didn’t have to do this Shining. You know my parents would be more than happy to take both of you in.”
“No, I can’t burden you or your family with this.”
“It’s not…”
“Please, Cadance.”
“Alright…”
She grabbed her left arm and looked downcast. The decision for Shining to stop his education came from the reality of having to take care of Spike and needing the money to pay property taxes.
“Come here Spike.” Cadance said as she beckoned the boy close.
Spike came forward and she hugged the boy tightly. She had been heartbroken when she learned Shining’s parents were dead and fainted when told Twilight was with them when it happened. She watched as Shining changed from being bright, cheerful, and full of vigor to being a mere shell of a man. For a time afterwards, she saw him rarely as he took care of the paperwork involved with the case against the drunk driver. His eyes tired and empty and his mind preoccupied unable to accept thedeath of his family. It wasn’t until the topic of putting Spike up for adoption came that he regained some semblance of his former self.
“Please let me or my parents know if you two need anything. There’s no reason you have to bear the burden by yourself.”
“Spike is not a burden.”
“Shinning, you know what I meant.”
“Sorry… It’s just that everywhere I go someone has something to say about this whole thing. Every single time they don’t care if he hears it or not.”
“It’s okay, Shining.”
Both Cadance and Shining looked at the boy when he spoke. It was the first time since the funerals took place that he had spoken. Even before that he had rarely talked about anything at all with anyone other than Twilight. In fact, he hadn’t even cried throughout the whole ordeal.
“What do you mean Spike? What’s okay?” Cadance asked as she held the boy by the shoulders.
“I mean; we’re not even related by blood so the fact you’re doing this for a stranger is what’s making them say such a thing.”
“You’re not a stranger! Like I’ve told everyone else that’s brought this up, you are my brother!”
The small boy shrunk back at the yell and Cadance hugged him once more. She shot a look at Shining that could make even the strongest of men quiver in their boots. Shining sighed and knelt down next to the pair.
“I’m sorry for yelling Spike. There’s no reason for me to take it out on you. I guess I’ve just been too wound up lately. Can you forgive me?”
Spike nodded and came from behind his protector. The two brothers shared a moment before hugging. It lasted for only a few seconds but it held much more significance for the both of them then it seemed.
“So what are your plans after this Shining?”
“We’re going back home for the rest of the day after stopping by the store. I need to get his things ready for tomorrow since he’s going back to school and I’ve got several prospects for employment.”
“Okay, I’ll be over when I can and when either of you need me. Please take care of him.”
“Don’t worry Cadance; I’ll take good care of Spike.”
“I was talking to the both of you.”
The car ride was a silent one for the both of them. Shining was too nervous driving to talk and Spike was too scared of his budding driving skills to do anything other than hang on. It didn’t help matters that the car was a beat up clunker that their father had bought for Shining as a graduation present. The plan was to fix it with him little by little as, even though it was barely hanging on, it was an extremely rare car he found through friends. The 1948 Tucker Torpedo had paint hardly distinguishable from the original color peeling off all over where rust wasn’t eating away at the body. The two back windows were missing and covered by plastic. The antenna had been cut and the back bumper was damaged beyond repair.
It was the only means of transportation they had left due to selling their mother’s van and the wrecked car for parts. Shining knew that the car itself was worth well into the millions but he couldn’t bear to part with it since it was the last thing his father ever gave him. He planned to rebuild it as his father had initially wanted but it was still up in the air as to how long it would be before it ever happened.
“What do you want to eat tonight Spike?” Shining asked as he got of the Tucker.
“I don’t know, anything is fine.” He replied trying his best to hold down the light lunch they had prior to leaving the school.
“Spaghetti it is then.”
“Again?”
“You said anything.”
They got the ingredients for dinner along with the rest of the week’s food. They received a few looks as they walked by due to the contents being mainly boxes of noodles and different jars of sauce. It wasn’t anything new to Spike as it was the only thing Shining had ever been able to make. Aside from the obvious failure in culinary expertise, they threw in ready-made foods and several snacks so as not to only have one type of sustenance available.
“Can we have pancakes tomorrow?”
“Sure, Spike. Though, I can’t guarantee the taste… or if it’ll look like a pancake.”
“As long as I don’t have to eat left over spaghetti.”
“Cut me some slack little bro. It’s not my fault mom never taught me how to cook.”
“Sorry…”
Shining hated when Spike said that word. Normally, it wouldn’t have mattered much to the young man but the fact that his brother seemed to say it every time he felt he did something wrong was what made him angry. However, even if it made him angry he didn’t know what to say to help the boy overcome his feelings of being a burden. Instead, his anger was redirected towards himself for being useless in helping the boy.
“It’s fine, Spike. Tell you what, I've got some extra cash so how about you get some candy.”
“Can I?”
“Yea, just be sure not to go over ten alright? I’ll be by the produce section”
Shining watched him run off towards the candy aisle and continued on towards the vegetables. He was debating the use of buying vegetables, specifically, eggplants. Spike, for some odd reason loved to eat the vegetable and, once she learned of it, their mother did her best to add it at every opportunity when cooking. Shining on the other hand did not like the slimy consistency of purple bane of his taste buds. Nevertheless, it made Spike happy so it was worth stomaching if it meant seeing him smile.
The past few weeks were tough on the both of them and while Shining recovered from his slight bout with depression, Spike hadn’t reacted to anything which made Shining worry if he was holding back. With the few times they had time to spend together it was hard to get a feel for the boy’s personality. It also made it hard for them to bond, yet, with each moment they spent together they felt as if there was an understanding. However, Shining wanted more; he wanted the same kind of relationship he had with Twilight. With Spike being the only family he had left he was determined to make it happen. He snapped out of his contemplation by the noise of the shopping cart being filled with something. Putting the eggplant back with its brethren he watched as Spike put more small boxes into the cart.
“I set the limit to ten.”
“They’re on sale for fifty apiece.”
“Chocolate Geodes. A gem card in every box. Brought to you by Pie Industries.” He read as he took a box from the cart. “Really?”
“What? The cards give a picture of jewels and the backs have all kinds of information about them.”
“This is fun for you?”
“It’s no worse than how Twilight used to collect those weird dolls of dead scientists.”
“I guess so. At least these things aren’t as creepy to look at. Tell you what, I’ll add another ten to the budget if you don’t ask for eggplants for a week.”
“Deal.”
“Perfect! Let’s go before you change your mind.” They walked towards checkout and Spike went to collect his prize. Shining waited in line and thank whatever deity was around that allowed him another week without having to eat the purple bane of taste.
“I’ll get started on dinner. Can you go check the mail?”
“Sure.”
As the door opened he took a minute to stop at the doorway and looked inside. It was late in the afternoon and the sun was barely hanging in the sky. The warm orange glow shining through the cracks and spaces of the blinds and into the otherwise dark home. It was silent, it had been since the accident and even more so since the funerals. It was unbearable, constricting, suffocating, and frightening. Dust was collecting in several places that were otherwise ignored now that his mother was gone. Books were left in odd places; several with multiple bookmarks and some stacked for later reading.
As he stepped inside and walked to the kitchen he saw the door leading to his father’s study. He had only been in the room twice. once when he was Spike’s age and hiding from his mother after breaking something. The second time was just after the accident when he needed the necessary documents for the lawyer he hired. The room that smelled of old books, whiskey, and faint cigars was now empty. The small light that shone through the edges of the door as a beacon to those walking downstairs would no longer be present. He felt the need to keep every one of their rooms the way they had left them but knew it would be impossible within the coming years. He and Spike shared a room at the moment and he knew that as they grew older they’d need space. It meant turning one of the rooms into his room which meant removing the things left behind by their family.
“Shining?”
Turing around to face the boy holding a stack of letters he put the bags down on the kitchen table. “Sorry, did you need something?”
“Are you ok?” Spike asked throwing the letters onto the table along with the groceries.
Shining put a hand on the boy’s head and tried his best to stay smiling. “Spike, how would you like your own room?”
“No thanks.”
“W-what do mean? Don’t you want to have a room to yourself?”
“I would like one sure, but I don’t want to sleep alone. Besides, if I do get one, it means getting rid of one of the other ones. I don’t think I’ll ever be ready to forget them.”
Spike found himself being crushed to instantly and felt his brother’s body trembling slightly. He knew what it meant but decided not to tease as he was doing the same. The hug was a lot more powerful than the one they shared at the back at the academy. It assured them that, no matter what came, they’d be able to work through it together as brothers.
Author's Note
Just something thats been on my mind as a short story. I'll be using it as a basis for contest coming up and would appreciate any feedback.
As always, thank you for taking the time to read my story. Please leave a comment or critique below as any critique helps me grow as a writer. Have a great day!