Xander kneeled down in the soft rain and laid the two red roses
against the headstones. It had been 6 weeks since his parents had been
killed in a car accident, the victims of a drunk driver. "Which is ironic
don't you think?" he said softly to the grave, the marker reading John
Harris 1953-1999 and Linda Harris 1957-1999. "When I heard that you guys
were in an accident, I guessed that dad was the drunk. Who'd have thought
that you would both be sober when you died? Not me."
He spoke with no bitterness, only sadness and regret. When he had been told that his parents were dead, Xander felt nothing. He had always thought that such news would have brought some kind of emotion to the surface. Sadness, anger.happiness? It hadn't hit him till two days after the funeral. Giles, worried about him being so withdrawn, had practically forced him to visit his parents gravesite. The two men had stood there, under the hot July sun, simply staring at the headstone.
As he had stood there, sweating in silence, his mind drawing a blank. Suddenly, one of the few happy memories from his childhood had come to him. A summer barbecue in his backyard. It played like an old movie that hadn't been watched in years. He watched as he, Willow and Jesse kicked a ball around, while Xander's father argued with Willow and Jesse's fathers about the best way to grill a hamburger. Willow and Xander's mother sat at a near by table, drinking ice tea and gossiping about the neighbors. Jesse's mother had died the year before from.something.
As Willow and Jesse debated on whose turn it was to play goalie, Xander had looked over at his father and caught the man smiling at him. Xander remembered it so clearly. His father's smiling face, the joy in his eyes as he watched his only son play. The moment was broken when Jesse kicked the ball at his head, bringing on a friendly wrestling match between the two friends. Willow simply giggled as Xander pinned Jesse and raised his hands in victory. When he had turned back to his father, the man was busy on the grill.
Thinking back on the memory, Xander felt himself start to cry. It was not long after that day that first his father, and then his mother had started to drink. And fight. And hit each other. And him. As the tears ran down his face, the boy felt Giles slip an arm around his shoulder, not saying anything. Just comforting him.
Xander now visited his parents' grave every week. He hadn't cried since that day, but still the sadness filled him whenever he visited. During the week, he would ask himself why he felt sad. For most of his life, they had been his parents in name only. Xander would think of all the times they had yelled at him for no reason, sent him to his room without dinner for a minor mistake. But most of all, Xander remembered the beatings. There had been times where one of them had hit him so bad, they had had to phone the school the next day to tell them he was sick.
He thought of all of these memories as he sat in his house, alone, night after night. They gave him some comfort in the darkness, raging against ghosts and phantoms of days past. Then he would visit their grave, and it would fall away from him like fog against the wind. And all he was left with was sadness and regret. "Whether you guys were good parents or not, and I'd vote for not, you were still the only parents I had."
He never said "I miss you" or "I forgive you". Both would be lies, and if his parents could hear him they wouldn't believe it anyway. So today he stood, like so many other days, by their graves and thought sad, incoherent thoughts. The only difference was that today was raining and that it was his birthday. "I'm 18 today." Xander said softly. "I'm a man today, or so people tell me. I'd like to say that I wish you were here to see it. But really, I'm not. You guys would probably have just yelled at me about being a slacker, or ignored it all together."
The headstone, as always, remained silent to Xander's words. As unflinching as the people who lay under it had been to them in life. Standing for a few minutes longer, Xander finally turned and slowly walked away from the grave.
.___.___.
"Are you sure?" The woman said as she watched Xander leave the cemetery through the tinted window of the Lexus. "It will happen tonight?"
The gray-haired man beside her in the passenger seat sighed. "For the last time, yes!" Gregory Kalugin said in exasperation. "Tonight, at 10:47pm, the first phase of the Rebirth will begin. We will have exactly one month to the minute to convince Alexi to accept his birthright. If he does not, all will be lost."
Sonja Cosign watched with sad eyes as the boy their Family depended on walked through the rain on his way home. "It just seems.so cruel." she said as Xander turned a corner and disappeared. "After everything he's been through in his life, and now his parents dying.to force this upon him."
"We would not have to force anything upon him if his parents had allowed us to take him in the first place." Gregory said angrily, on of his withered hands gripping his cane tightly. "If we had been able to prepare him properly, the Rebirth would be a the final step for him, instead of the beginning."
Sonja glared into the cemetery, cursing Xander's parents in every language she knew. "His parent's were greedy fools! They wanted the estate for themselves before they would allow Alexi to be trained. What kind of parents would not only deprive their child of such advantages, but put his life in danger to do it!"
Gregory shook his sadly. "The 'Harris'' had no idea their son was the Heir before we came to them. Jovan had thought the Birthright as a fairy tale told by his grandparents, and Linda knew not the true origins of her husband's family." Sighing again, this time in sadness. "If we had kept Jovan in the family, perhaps he would have decided differently. Then again, perhaps not. Even as a child, Jovan was greedy. I remember him at family gatherings, stealing cookies from other children's plates. We had thought it charming at the time, but."
"Jovan was a traitor to not only us, but his own son!" the raven- haired woman replied with scorn. "Turning his back on his family was bad enough, but to find out that his son was destined to lead us and then keep him from it.that is beyond forgiveness! And the way he and his wife treated the boy after we refused them! No! Jovan was a beast! If he were not dead already, I would kill him myself!"
The sudden slap Gregory gave her left her stunned for a moment. "You should know better then to say such things, Sonja," the old man said with reproach. "To speak ill of the dead is simply bad manners. To threaten the life of a Family member, even a dead one."
Ignoring the pain of the slap, Sonja bowed her head slightly. "I forgot myself, Uncle. I ask forgiveness."
Gregory coughed harshly, covering his mouth with a handkerchief. "You have been too long away from the rodine and the Family. Your manners are the first to fade, I have seen it before." After another coughing fit, the elderly man took a deep breath and exhaled. "You are forgiven, but do not let it happen too often. Your parents may let such outdated notions such as discipline decay, but I assure you I will not. When we take Alexi back to Russia, you will need to remember them. Some of our older Family members are not as forgiving as I."
Sonja briefly wondered who could be older then the 104 year-old man beside her, before nodding and starting the car. "When will we approach him?" she said, trying to change the subject from her back to their mission. "And what if he doesn't accept?"
Clearing his throat, Gregory straighten in his seat and placed both hands atop his cane. "We will approach Alexi after the first phase has begun. He will notice the change and it will help convince him of what we tell him." Setting his jaw as the car moved forward, the old man gripped his cane tighter. "As for him refusing...he cannot. It is his Birthright."
He spoke with no bitterness, only sadness and regret. When he had been told that his parents were dead, Xander felt nothing. He had always thought that such news would have brought some kind of emotion to the surface. Sadness, anger.happiness? It hadn't hit him till two days after the funeral. Giles, worried about him being so withdrawn, had practically forced him to visit his parents gravesite. The two men had stood there, under the hot July sun, simply staring at the headstone.
As he had stood there, sweating in silence, his mind drawing a blank. Suddenly, one of the few happy memories from his childhood had come to him. A summer barbecue in his backyard. It played like an old movie that hadn't been watched in years. He watched as he, Willow and Jesse kicked a ball around, while Xander's father argued with Willow and Jesse's fathers about the best way to grill a hamburger. Willow and Xander's mother sat at a near by table, drinking ice tea and gossiping about the neighbors. Jesse's mother had died the year before from.something.
As Willow and Jesse debated on whose turn it was to play goalie, Xander had looked over at his father and caught the man smiling at him. Xander remembered it so clearly. His father's smiling face, the joy in his eyes as he watched his only son play. The moment was broken when Jesse kicked the ball at his head, bringing on a friendly wrestling match between the two friends. Willow simply giggled as Xander pinned Jesse and raised his hands in victory. When he had turned back to his father, the man was busy on the grill.
Thinking back on the memory, Xander felt himself start to cry. It was not long after that day that first his father, and then his mother had started to drink. And fight. And hit each other. And him. As the tears ran down his face, the boy felt Giles slip an arm around his shoulder, not saying anything. Just comforting him.
Xander now visited his parents' grave every week. He hadn't cried since that day, but still the sadness filled him whenever he visited. During the week, he would ask himself why he felt sad. For most of his life, they had been his parents in name only. Xander would think of all the times they had yelled at him for no reason, sent him to his room without dinner for a minor mistake. But most of all, Xander remembered the beatings. There had been times where one of them had hit him so bad, they had had to phone the school the next day to tell them he was sick.
He thought of all of these memories as he sat in his house, alone, night after night. They gave him some comfort in the darkness, raging against ghosts and phantoms of days past. Then he would visit their grave, and it would fall away from him like fog against the wind. And all he was left with was sadness and regret. "Whether you guys were good parents or not, and I'd vote for not, you were still the only parents I had."
He never said "I miss you" or "I forgive you". Both would be lies, and if his parents could hear him they wouldn't believe it anyway. So today he stood, like so many other days, by their graves and thought sad, incoherent thoughts. The only difference was that today was raining and that it was his birthday. "I'm 18 today." Xander said softly. "I'm a man today, or so people tell me. I'd like to say that I wish you were here to see it. But really, I'm not. You guys would probably have just yelled at me about being a slacker, or ignored it all together."
The headstone, as always, remained silent to Xander's words. As unflinching as the people who lay under it had been to them in life. Standing for a few minutes longer, Xander finally turned and slowly walked away from the grave.
.___.___.
"Are you sure?" The woman said as she watched Xander leave the cemetery through the tinted window of the Lexus. "It will happen tonight?"
The gray-haired man beside her in the passenger seat sighed. "For the last time, yes!" Gregory Kalugin said in exasperation. "Tonight, at 10:47pm, the first phase of the Rebirth will begin. We will have exactly one month to the minute to convince Alexi to accept his birthright. If he does not, all will be lost."
Sonja Cosign watched with sad eyes as the boy their Family depended on walked through the rain on his way home. "It just seems.so cruel." she said as Xander turned a corner and disappeared. "After everything he's been through in his life, and now his parents dying.to force this upon him."
"We would not have to force anything upon him if his parents had allowed us to take him in the first place." Gregory said angrily, on of his withered hands gripping his cane tightly. "If we had been able to prepare him properly, the Rebirth would be a the final step for him, instead of the beginning."
Sonja glared into the cemetery, cursing Xander's parents in every language she knew. "His parent's were greedy fools! They wanted the estate for themselves before they would allow Alexi to be trained. What kind of parents would not only deprive their child of such advantages, but put his life in danger to do it!"
Gregory shook his sadly. "The 'Harris'' had no idea their son was the Heir before we came to them. Jovan had thought the Birthright as a fairy tale told by his grandparents, and Linda knew not the true origins of her husband's family." Sighing again, this time in sadness. "If we had kept Jovan in the family, perhaps he would have decided differently. Then again, perhaps not. Even as a child, Jovan was greedy. I remember him at family gatherings, stealing cookies from other children's plates. We had thought it charming at the time, but."
"Jovan was a traitor to not only us, but his own son!" the raven- haired woman replied with scorn. "Turning his back on his family was bad enough, but to find out that his son was destined to lead us and then keep him from it.that is beyond forgiveness! And the way he and his wife treated the boy after we refused them! No! Jovan was a beast! If he were not dead already, I would kill him myself!"
The sudden slap Gregory gave her left her stunned for a moment. "You should know better then to say such things, Sonja," the old man said with reproach. "To speak ill of the dead is simply bad manners. To threaten the life of a Family member, even a dead one."
Ignoring the pain of the slap, Sonja bowed her head slightly. "I forgot myself, Uncle. I ask forgiveness."
Gregory coughed harshly, covering his mouth with a handkerchief. "You have been too long away from the rodine and the Family. Your manners are the first to fade, I have seen it before." After another coughing fit, the elderly man took a deep breath and exhaled. "You are forgiven, but do not let it happen too often. Your parents may let such outdated notions such as discipline decay, but I assure you I will not. When we take Alexi back to Russia, you will need to remember them. Some of our older Family members are not as forgiving as I."
Sonja briefly wondered who could be older then the 104 year-old man beside her, before nodding and starting the car. "When will we approach him?" she said, trying to change the subject from her back to their mission. "And what if he doesn't accept?"
Clearing his throat, Gregory straighten in his seat and placed both hands atop his cane. "We will approach Alexi after the first phase has begun. He will notice the change and it will help convince him of what we tell him." Setting his jaw as the car moved forward, the old man gripped his cane tighter. "As for him refusing...he cannot. It is his Birthright."