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He had dropped him for merely a second.
Dropped.
Just for a second.
Yet he was still gone, out of Barley’s sight.
They were at the beach, and Ian, who had just turned three years old, was teetering to the water. Barley noticed this amidst his sand castle building and went to pick him up, despite the small boy not really enjoying it as much as he used to. That and well, Barley couldn’t hold him since he wasn’t growing much but Ian sure was. So of course, Ian squirmed in Barley’s hold, wanting to play in the water, but Barley was standing his ground: he didn’t want little Ian to drown!
Alright Ian, you’ll stay right here, I’ll bring the water to YOU.
And Barley went to do just that. Although when he came back, Ian was nowhere to be seen. He looked everywhere, even asked his mom, and she had no clue either. Barley ran along the beach, calling out his brother’s name, but no response ever came.
The panic set in right before Barley jolted awake.
It wasn’t real,” he told himself quietly. “It’s not real.”
That didn’t seem to be enough for him. Barley couldn’t really be sure that Ian was safe, not unless he saw it for himself.
So he stood up and walked to his door, being very careful not to step on anything important which, let’s be honest, was everything to Barley. He slowly and quietly opened his door and began his trek upstairs to Ian’s room.
This was the time that Barley wished they still shared a room; then all he would have to do is walk a few feet and he would be right there. But that was no longer the case, considering Barley had “moved out” only a week prior. Why did he have to do that?
Once he was finally at the door of Ian’s room, which was wide open and illuminated by the nightlight the three-year-old had on the wall of his room, he breathed out a sigh of relief. Barley walked into his brother’s room, and made his way over to the small bed which had small walls on the sides so that Ian wouldn’t roll off. He leaned over the bed:
“Ian? Psssst. Ian!” Barley whisper-shouted. “If you can hear me, open your eyes!”
The smaller Lightfoot brother did nothing of sorts. Barley huffed. Why did kids have to sleep so well? Well, younger kids. Barley was a kid and he couldn’t even sleep that great.
So instead, Barley just decided to shake his baby brother awake, who finally stirred and opened his eyes.
“Ian! You’re alive! Oh boy, am I glad to see you!” Barley grabbed Ian under his arms, and Ian’s eyes were wide and inquisitive, very confused as to what his older brother meant.
“So I had a dream, right? We were at the beach, and I’m pretty sure you were washed away with the tide! Even though I only set you down for a second… Anywho, you’re here now! I knew it wasn’t real. Take it from your big brother Barley, dreams aren’t real! Unless of course, they’re the kind that lead you to your destiny. In which case, follow those! Those are surely real, brother.”
Ian’s eyes were even wider now, but they also looked tired. A sort of “you lost me.” Barley sighed and shook his head.
“Ah, I’ll explain when you’re older, it’s sorta useless now. You’re still sucking on pacifiers. But that’s okay, because you’ll get older as the years go by! That’s how time works,” Barley laughed, “so don’t be too confused.”
Ian just looked plain old tired now. He seemed to ask “what are you planning to do?”, and Barley got all of this with one glance.
“Oh yeah, you’re probably wondering what I have planned at some obscene time at night, huh? Well, I was thinking we could build a blanket fort! Like, a big one. And it can be our castle! And I can keep you safe in there. You can bring Jazzy, too!” Barley grabbed the abhorred stuffed thing and handed it to Ian, who clutched it to his chest. Barley giggled at the sight.
“Well then, onward!” Barley pointed in the way of the stairs and he began his travel, but he was quickly obstructed by his very own mother, who had her hands on her hips.
“Oh no, was I doing my monologues too loudly?” Barely frowned.
“Barley, what in the world are you doing with your little brother at 11 at night? It’s way past your bedtime,” Laurel questioned.
“Uh, well, actually, this is a dream, momma. What you’re seeing isn’t real, and I’m actually in bed right now. So, this is the end of your dream. Bye-bye!” Barley said sheepishly, and tried to duck around Laurel but she stood tall.
“Bear, what are you really doing? Nice try though,” Laurel asked.
“Oh,” Barley realized his plan was foiled. “Well, I had a bad dream, and I just wanted to build a blanket castle with Ian to keep him safe.”
“Honey, Ian’s too little for that,” Laurel tried to reason.
“No no! I would do all the work! He would just have to sit and watch!”
“Well,” Laurel sighed, “okay. Just be quiet, okay? I work tomorrow. Snacks are… well you know where the snacks are. Just be safe.”
Barley’s eyes widened. He could build his castle!
“Okay! Thanks momma!” Barley smiled wide, running down the stairs with Ian still in his arms.
They reached the end, and Barley went to the couch to set Ian down while he grabbed some snacks for him while he waited.
“Okay Ian, I’m gonna build our castle, but for now, you can eat some marshmallow bites. Just don’t choke.” Barley set the snacks next to Ian and placed his pacifier on the coffee table after taking it out of his brother’s mouth. However Barley remembered that his mom had made cookies, and they were usually off limits when they were made, but he figured it couldn’t hurt too bad to take just a couple. So he grabbed the jar and took it into the living room, popping some into his mouth before also setting them next to Ian.
Ian loved cookies, really anything sweet in general. And when he got his hands on them, he practically inhaled them.
After enjoying some cookies, Barley was quick with his work. Ian giggled when Barley would fall (which was often), and by the end, the blanket fort was magnificent. Barley admired it, and stood back to take it all in.
“Boom! Check that out, brother!” Barley turned to Ian, but Ian wasn’t checking anything out at all.
Ian had marshmallow bites all around him, an empty cookie jar next to him, and his mouth was hanging wide open, eyes closed. Somewhere along the line, the boy had fallen asleep, and Barley wasn’t sure when. Just to make sure he didn’t die from choking, Barley checked to see if a heartbeat was still there; much to his relief, it was.
Barley smiled, and picked his little brother up, carrying him into the fort he had made. This was their castle, and now he could keep Ian safe forever. Well, at least until their mom had to take it down. But until then, Barley had the high ground here. And now he could sleep knowing his baby brother was safe, sleeping in his arms.