In Chadwick's Eyes Read online

  Copyright © 2020 by Rae Yung

  All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof

  may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever

  without prior written permission except for the

  use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Cover design and Illustrations by Zuke Llogs

  Logo by Steven Gunawan

  Printed by Book Baby Publishing Pennsauken, NJ

  First Printing, 2020

  ISBN (Paperback Edition): 978-1-09833-589-2

  ISBN (eBook Edition): 978-1-09833-590-8

  In loving memory

  My Brother, Demetrius

  A strong, beautiful, kind spirit who taught me to believe in my creativity

  When I turned six years old, my parents and I moved to Chesterbay by steamboat. According to my dad, Chesterbay was named after the town’s cat-themed gift shop. As we surfed across the sea, a thick fog covered the old chipped buildings. A train moved like a caterpillar as it crawled through the underground tunnel. The trees hypnotized me into a deep sleep as we passed. When I woke up, the cab door opened to a winding staircase surrounded by a flowerless garden. My hand sunk inside Mom’s palm, and she led me up the twisted steps.

  Our new place was huge, and no day was the same as the next one. Each day, my parents and I explored books and acted out our favorite scenes as the fireplace spit. Every night, Dad sat me on his knee and said, “Chadwick, one day you will be a great man of many faces.”

  “Huh?”

  “I am here to teach you. It is what fathers do—teach their sons to be great men.” The knot in his throat moved up and down as he talked.

  I don’t understand what he means when he said things like that. Heck, moms can teach sons to be great. Mom taught me plenty of things, like don’t talk when adults are speaking. Chew with my mouth closed. Think before I speak. Stop yelling from my bedroom like a hyena. Listen to understand. I think Mom does great. But this man is my dad, so I go with whatever he says. “Sure, Dad. I will be a man of many faces, as many faces as you want me to have.” I humored him.

  “A great man.” Mocking him, I flex my arm muscles.

  My mom died on my tenth birthday. After her death, I was as numb as Mom lying in a wooden box on that dark day. Before that gloomy evening, Mom cleaned but hardly cooked. Heck, I don’t remember the last time we ate. She always made me feel safe, protecting me from the ghostly shapes that haunted my bedroom at night. After Dad tucked me in under my favorite blanket, Mom checked for monsters underneath my bed before singing a bedtime song. When she wasn’t paying attention, I loved to play hide and seek under her flare dresses she made. They reminded me of a parachute. Her giggle gave me the okay.

  Those days were the best, until that one day after I ran and slid under Mom’s skirt, wires fell from her backside. The awesome day went sour like a lemon. I asked her about the horrific image that I could not get out of my head, and she stared at me without blinking. I tried tugging at the loose cords, but they did not move.

  I pooped my pants, so I ran to the bathroom to clean myself up before rushing to Dad’s office. He didn’t notice me standing there watching him like a hawk. He made me promise not to interrupt him when he was inside his study, but that day I broke my promise. “Dad!” I yelled. My voice echoed through the room. He jumped and dropped a book on top of his foot. “Wires hang from Mom’s back. Hideous wires!” My eyes twitched.

  “Your mom is playing a joke on you, Chad. She likes to have fun every now and again.” Dad chuckled while rubbing his foot, and then he turned his back toward me.

  Mom’s joke wasn’t funny. She didn’t say anything afterward. I’m kidding, Chad. Joking, Chad. Hello, Chadwick. Nothing. But I trusted my father, so I went with it.

  Thunderclap and the rain poured the day my mom died. I was excited about my birthday—which turned out to be a complete disaster—starting at school. The Bully Brothers took my homework and my new clothes from the gym locker. The gym was their favorite place to taunt me when everyone else left for lunch. Mr. Long, the football coach, gave me a shirt from the lost and found with holes around the neck, and trousers that were too big. They were smelly with brown stains on the seat.

  To make things worse, I missed my bus ride home. By the time I reached the flowerless garden, darkness had caught up with me as the drizzle soaked my clothes. The sloshing of my birthday boots irked me like the sound of fingernails scraping a chalkboard. I held my breath as the floorboard creaked, hoping there was something great waiting for me on the other side of the door to make up for the start of my shatty day. A pizza party? A mountain of toys stacked near the doorway? A white puppy with brown spots so I can make him my best friend in the whole wide world? Wait—Grandma? My grandma was the grand surprise on the other side of the door. Great.

  “My dearest Chadwick.” Grandma sat on the chair at the end of the hallway, gawking out the window in a daze. Inside, our home was nice and dry, but the drip from my clothes created a puddle on the floor. The puddle looked sad on the shiny hardwood and then I realized it was my reflection staring back at me.

  “Where are Mom and Dad? No one bothered coming to look for me!” The closer I walked toward Grandma, the clearer I could see the cigarette smoke clouding the air. Her arms stretched long, and tears filled her big, sad eyeballs. I never gave her hugs, but that night was different. She needed it badly. I held my breath and climbed onto her shaky leg.

  “I have bad news, sweetie. Your mom and dad had an accident, and your mom did not survive.”

  My emotions would not allow me to cry. One moment, my parents were on a weekend vacation and the next day, my mom was dead. Most epic joke ever!

  I sat inside Dad’s study days later, waiting for him to return home. I stumbled upon his notebooks—hundreds, maybe thousands of drawings with images of birds, dogs, and cats. Underneath a nearby table, there were male and female body parts on display. Penises and vaginas? No way! I continued to snoop through Dad’s belongings. His favorite footstool wasn’t blocking the desk drawer anymore. I crept toward his desk, and there was a hanging gold latch. I pulled the latch, and a secret door opened under the counter. Shat! Curious to see what lay beneath, a lump clogged my throat. The floor moved as I slid my hand along the cold wall. Suddenly, I tumbled and slid down a long board. I landed on a pile of what felt like tools. The smell of burning metal filled my nostrils. A flashlight lay near the rubbish. I grabbed it, aiming it across the room, only to see robots, screws and bolts, human brains, hearts, legs, arms, fingers, and eyeballs! Dad!

  My dad was there, all alone in the dark. He was not going to like that I found his secret lab. I would be in trouble for sure. I might even go to prison for breaking and entering. But, what was happening? What was he doing? I shone the flashlight on my dad.

  He turned to look at me. Scared, I hit my hand against a cold, hard table. A human head with black hair sprouting out of it was faced up, gazing at the ceiling. I walked closer and, “AHHHHHHHHHHHH! Mom?” The head turned to me. There were wires dangling from the neck. I gently poked the head with the flashlight.

  “I. Love. You. I. Love. You.” The mouth flew open, and Mom’s voice filled the room.

  I turned away and ran faster than the speed of lightning to my bedroom. Was my mom a robot? I slammed the door and locked it behind me before diving underneath my blanket. I held my breath and clenched the covers tight. I was just a kid. My heart pounded in my chest. I pinched myself. I was dreaming. I was dreaming.

  I woke from a deep sleep when I heard my dad call my name. “Chadwick, son. I have a surprise for you.”

  Dad? It was all a dream, but I’m af
raid to look. His footsteps loud, I hold the blanket tighter. I will not peek. I will not speak.

  “Chad, it’s time.” I can feel Dad’s shadow standing over me.

  “Wake up, honey.” Mom’s voice?

  “Mom?”

  “Yes, sweetie.”

  I peed my pants, but I still did not look. I refused to listen. Slowly, I lowered the covers and peeked. I screamed until my muscles popped from my throat. Mom? She reached towards me and I rolled to the floor. Scared, I looked up. My head was on the floor and my freakin’ body was laying in bed without my head! How is this possible? Was I a robot, too? No way. No freakin’ way!

  I blanked. When I came to, I was on top of a hardwood plank. I sat up and scanned the room. I was inside my game room in the basement, alone. “Mom? Dad?” I whispered. Everything still looked the same. My laptop, check. My headset and console, check. My legs, check. My arms, check. My head attached to my shoulders, check. Eyes, ears, nose, mouth, check. I raced over to the mirror on the wall to do a full body check, and…oh no! I heard footsteps. Dad was coming. He stared at me from the top of the stairs.

  He ran down the steps, scooped me into his arms and hugged me tight. A tear fell from his eye. “Are you crying, Dad?” I asked. My dad is not afraid to show emotions. He says men who show their emotions are strong.

  “It’s easy to hide, Chad. Honesty takes strength.” His voice was deep, but it cracked a little.

  It was now or never. I jumped in the crack and asked, “So why weren’t you honest with me?” His forehead wrinkled, and his lips curled. He paused and I cleared my throat. It was dry, and I cannot find a drop of spit inside my mouth. “I mean, something was wrong with Mom and me, so why were you not honest with me about it? I can take it. It can’t get much worse than this... or can it?” At least I hope it doesn’t get worse.

  “No, son. The truth is some nasty people were going to take you away. So, I made changes so no one would recognize you. I did it to keep you safe.”

  I sat beside him on the bench next to the window, and he explained that Mom and I are different, but I should be happy we are different because our differences make us great. He said I should think of it as having superpowers. He said I could jump as high as I believe, and I’m stronger than I think since he fixed me. Fixed me? I did not know I was broken, but my dad knows best. He says those nasty people didn’t believe that I belonged in this world, so he made it so that I belong.

  After our talk, Dad left me inside the basement with my gadgets. I ran upstairs to my bedroom. Outside the window, the world looked different. The sun was brighter, the grass was greener, the sky was bluer, the birds sang louder. I’m fixed now! I’m not afraid of the Bully Brothers anymore. With these powers, I can do anything.

  Acknowledgements

  I would like to thank God for my strength, persistence, dedication, and passion for this magnificent creation called writing. Also, thank you to my daughter for being so patient with me during the nights when I enclosed myself inside my room writing profusely like a mad scientist. I love you more every day, honey. Special thanks to my family, who listens to my endless story ideas, reading and re-reading many versions with enthusiasm and great generosity. Finally, thank you to illustrator Zuke Llogs. Your unwavering patience and creativity are truly a gift.

  About the Author

  RAE YUNG studied Clinical Mental Health Counseling at the Chicago School of Professional Psychology. She enjoys writing children’s middle grade literary fiction and poetry. Rae has been writing self-expressive stories since the age of ten. She spent her childhood in the southern Alabama area and moved to Texas in 2008. Her creativity comes from her childlike wonder. IN CHADWICK’S EYES is the author’s first publication.

  Contact

  Rae Yung

  P.O. Box 3103

  Tuscaloosa, AL 35403

  [email protected]

  Rae-Yung.com

  RaeYungLife

 

 

  Rae Yung, In Chadwick's Eyes

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