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Sin didn’t understand why one day, his father told him that he couldn’t wear his favorite clothes.
“It...it’s because today is a special day, Sin.” He said, his voice coming from far above. “And special days mean there are special rules.”
“Why’s it special? If it’s special, why can’t I wear my comfy shirt?”
He didn’t reply. Sin was still confused. He wasn’t sure what made today so special. It wasn’t his birthday. It wasn’t Christmas. He wanted to go outside in the sun and play with Mommy and catch bugs. He was used to ‘special’ meaning ‘fun,’ but if he wasn’t allowed to do things like that, then he didn’t think it was all that fun.
His father gave him something different to wear. It was white and itchy, and it had to be all tied up in the back. He didn’t want to wear it at all, but when he squirmed, he could hear anger in his father’s voice as he told him to sit still.
He was brought all the way to a strange white room, and in the room were a lot of strange people in white clothes. Everyone was far taller than him, so even though he had his father’s hand to hold onto, he still felt scared. He wished his Mommy was here. She made him feel safe, even when he tripped and skinned his knee or got lost while out walking in the big garden. His father loved him, he told him so, but Sin wasn’t sure he believed it as much as when Mommy said it.
“Daddy?” Sin asked, tugging on his father’s hand. “I’m hungry. Can I have breakfast?”
Ky smiled at him, but it didn’t feel warm. “No, not yet. You’re not allowed to eat yet until after we’re done. But- but I promise you can have a big breakfast after that. Whatever you want.”
That managed to get him excited. “Whatever I want?”
“Whatever you want.” He repeated with a nod.
“Can I have waffles? The fancy ones?”
For some reason, his father laughed. “As many as you want. You can even have strawberries and whipped cream with them.”
“YAY!”
“But you have to be good, okay?” Ky said. He pointed to something in between the group of strange people. “Can you please hop up on the bed right there? I’ll help you up.”
Sin could still feel a chill run through him as Ky led him by the hand to the strange bed. He’d never been to this room of the castle before, but all the white reminded him of the rooms where he’d get check-ups. But he didn’t normally have to wear weird clothes for check-ups.
“Daddy?” Asked Sin, suddenly frightened. “Am I sick?”
His father jerked to a stop, and his grip became almost painful. Although Sin didn’t understand much, he knew to take that as a bad sign. Even when he tried to smile at him again, Sin still felt cold and nauseous.
“No, of course you’re not sick. This is just going to be like a special checkup. And- and it’s so special that you won’t even feel anything. So don’t be scared, okay?”
He was still unsure. Ky picked him up and gave his back a little rub. “Here. I’ve got you.”
Even if it wasn’t the same as Mommy, it felt nice when his dad picked him up. He was warm, and there was a nice spot where he could rest his head, right on the edge of his father’s shoulder.
But it was a temporary reassurance. Sure enough, as soon as they got to the bed, Ky set him back down again. The bed wasn’t very comfy. It didn’t even have a blanket. Sin wished it was soft like his, or that it had his blankets or Chimaki. He thought beds were supposed to be comfy. This one just made his back hurt.
He winced away when one of the strange people reached out and touched him. He remembered what he’d been told, though, and tried to be brave. The strange people didn’t hurt him, they just stuck funny stickers on his chest and a clip on one of his fingers. The weird mask was a little uncomfortable, but he could sit still for a few minutes with it on if it meant he got waffles later. He could be brave, even with all the strangers and their smelly gloves. He could be brave.
“Everything looks normal.” Someone said. Normal? Did that mean he was almost done?
Ky dragged over a little chair and sat down by the bed. He took Sin’s hand and gave it a gentle squeeze.
“You’re doing really well, Sin. Just breathe, alright? I’ve got you.”
Sin knew his father was very strong. So if any of the weird people tried to hurt him, he knew he would beat them up for him.
“Little one, could you look up at me for a moment?” Someone asked.
A lady was holding a hand above his face. He hoped she wasn’t going to touch him again. “Ah, very good! Now, just focus on my hand, alright?”
He wasn’t sure why, at least not at first. When he kept staring, though, he could see a purple light coming out of her palm. Magic? It looked sort of like it, but he’d never seen purple magic before. Even though he wasn’t allowed to practice magic yet, he knew his parents were both really good at it. Mommy had shown him how she made ice, and she had told him Ky could make lightning with his hands. But again, neither of those were purple, and they didn’t tickle his skin like this one did. This magic was confusing.
“You’re going to start feeling tired, Sin.” His father said. “Don’t try and fight it off.”
He was only more confused. He’d just woken up a little while ago, why was going to be sleepy? He took afternoon naps sometimes, but that was after he ran around and played and got tired from playing.
Sin was going to ask a question, but as soon as he opened his mouth, a yawn came out instead of words. He hadn’t felt like it a few seconds ago, but he really did feel sleepy. The strange people were still doing something he didn’t understand, but when he felt tired, it was hard to pay attention to any of that. All he could manage was staring up at that purple light, his hand still being held.
“There you go…” His father’s voice was echoey and distant. “Papa loves you, Sin. Papa loves you so, so much…”
Of course Sin knew that. Why was he telling him now? It seemed silly. But he didn’t care about it for too long. Before he even realized it, it was too difficult even keeping his eyes open, and he suddenly couldn’t feel any hands on him anymore.
++++++
Sin had a hard time remembering things sometimes, but he didn’t remember falling asleep in the grass. Had he? Maybe he had. Sometimes he did wind up taking a nap if he ran too much after a neat beetle he found and felt too tired to walk back inside the castle.
Well, he didn’t feel tired now. He got up and brushed the grass off of him, and started looking for any toys he might have dropped. Nothing caught his attention, though he quickly spotted a white butterfly.
“Haha! Hi there!” He said to it, trying to figure out how to grab it in his hands. How had Mommy told him to do it? Stay low to the ground, move slowly…
In his attempts to remember, the butterfly started flying away before he could even try. “No! Come back! Come back!”
He didn’t think anything of chasing after it. Sin was too focused to worry about getting lost, or even where he was. The castle didn’t appear to be anywhere nearby like he’d expected, but it was a detail his little brain decided was less important than the butterfly. It wasn’t like the ones that he was used to seeing flitting around. This one almost seemed to glitter, and the sunlight made its white wings turn into rainbows. He knew his Mommy loved rainbows. He would have to show it to her after he caught it! That would make her so happy, he could tell already.
In his thoughtless chasing, he very nearly stumbled over a little wooden fence. Though he was angry for a moment for stubbing his toes, it was made up for by the realization that the fence surrounded a bed of flowers.
“Ohhhh…” He said, eyes going wide. “You wanted to go sit on the flowers! I get it.” They were awfully pretty. The castle had a couple of gardens that he had seen, but this was even prettier than those. All of the flowers were giant and colorful, and a wide brick path cut through that had big patches of flowers all around it. He wondered where they went. After all, it seemed like a silly idea to have a path that went nowhere.
Well, no reason that he couldn’t explore it! His head felt fuzzy, he couldn’t remember if there was anywhere he was supposed to be. Did that mean he didn’t have to worry? He hoped so! He was already caught up in the excitement of this new adventure, he wanted to enjoy it.
It was a little weird that the bricks didn’t scratch the bottoms of his feet like the ones at home did. Not that it had ever stopped him before. But he liked this one much more because of it. Sin ran down the path with glee, giggling at the feeling of the wind on his face. The flowers turned into bright, pastel smears in the corners of his eyes. This was fun! He liked playing this new game. The only way he could think of that would make it more fun was if he was racing someone else.
Oh, maybe there was someone else here that he could play with!
Sin skidded to a stop. Once again, he was confused at how his bare feet didn’t burn from skidding, but it didn’t seem all that important. He was too distracted by his new mission. There were no voices he could hear, so he looked around the nearby beds before going in a new direction and trying to see if it would be different.
It felt like forever before something caught his attention. He had run back and forth and back and forth all over until he’d spotted them. There was a strange person standing by the flowers, someone he definitely did not recognize. After all, they had purple hair. Purple! Sin didn’t even know hair could come in that color. Very strange.
“Hello!” He called, raising an arm to wave.
They must have not seen him coming. Sin wasn’t exactly known for being quiet, so it was kind of funny to watch them jump. He only realized in hindsight they had been holding that pretty butterfly as it fluttered out of their hands and flew away.
“Agh, that one took me ages-”
For some reason, they did another little panicked jump, even when he hadn’t said anything. Sin watched them turn slowly towards him.
“What in the name of…?”
“Hello!” He called again, thinking it would be the polite way to be. “Do you wanna race?”
They were taller than him, but most people were. But it was kind of funny, Sin was pretty sure they were wearing pajamas! Why would anyone wear pajamas in the middle of the day?
“I don’t remember making you…” The stranger said. “How did you get here?”
“I walked!” Sin replied with a toothy smile. His mother had told him to be careful about talking to adults he didn’t know, especially when he was by himself. But he didn’t think they had said anything about talking to other kids, so he was pretty sure it would be okay to talk back.
“You...walked.” He replied, with more than a hint of disbelief.
“Yup!”
“That doesn’t clear anything up.” He said, looking terribly confused. “You shouldn’t be here. You can’t be here. I’ve never seen anything like you around here. And, just my luck, she never bothered to explain if this was even possible"-
“Who’s ‘she?’” Sin tilted his head. “Is she your Mommy? I don’t know where my Mommy is.”
“I- that isn’t your concern.” The older boy shook his head. “You still haven’t answered my question. Where exactly did you come from?”
Sin thought for a moment. “I came from that way!” He pointed back down the path he’d come. “I think. I runned a lot, so maybe.”
“And that’s it? That’s all? You don’t know anything else?”
“Mmmhm!” Shaggy blonde hair flopped as he nodded up and down. “Uh, but I know other stuff! Mommy tells me all sorts of neat stuff about animals! Did’ja know bird bones are all hollow inside? An’-”
A hand raised in front of his face. “Enough. Please, just stop talking.”
Sin resisted the urge to stick his tongue out and lick the hand, like he did when his father did something similar. The stranger looked him over without talking, and he let him, at least for a couple of minutes. He could behave and sit still, but only for so long.
Eventually, he just got bored of waiting. “Why are you playing with the flowers?”
To his disappointment, he wasn’t given a reply. “Why are you playing with the flowers?” He asked again, in case he hadn’t been heard. The most it got him was a brief glance, which told him that he had been, but he was still ignored.
“You’re not good at this!” He complained. “Mommy told me you’re supposed to answer questions and stuff! We’re supposed to take turns! Like, you go ‘what’s your name?’ and I say ‘my name is Sin!’ and then I ask what your name is, and you tell me!” Sin looked up at him in expectation. “My name’s Sin! What’s yours?”
The stranger huffed, crossing his arms and glaring. “If I answer your asinine questions, will you be quiet?”
Sin wasn’t sure what ‘asinine’ meant, but the rest made sense. “Okay.”
“Fine. I suppose it’s of little relevance, but...I suppose I can entertain. You may call me ‘Bedman.’”
He screwed up his face in disgust. “That’s a dumb name.”
The boy made a face of his own. “‘Dumb?’ That’s horribly rude. Who raised you?”
“Mommy did!” He replied with a smile. “Daddy’s busy a lot, he’s a polo- a polly- um...but he still loves me too!”
“Clearly neither of them taught you manners.”
It took him a moment to understand. “Hey! That’s mean!”
“Says the one who can simply walk up to someone and insult their name.”
“But ‘Bedman’ is a dumb name!”
He huffed. “Fine, I would prefer not to waste time arguing with a child in the first place. I suppose you have a better idea for a name, then?”
Sin put a chubby hand to his chin, eyes squinching in an exaggerated gesture of thought. “Um...Mr. Purple!”
Bedman gawked down at him, then took a deep breath and shook his head again. “Arguing with children would be a waste of time. Now you answer my question. I have no indication of what you are or how you got here. Are you a Backyard entity I’ve simply never encountered before? Do you have an interface I can access with your function data?”
Very little of that made sense. At least, it didn’t make sense to him. Sin focused on the few words he could understand.
“I have a backyard! Mommy likes to plant, um, she plants roe-sis and bag-on-yas! I’m not good at planting, but she still lets me help!”
“...How old are you?”
“Um…” He thought for a moment, what had mom said? He held up four fingers. “This many?”
The boy’s eyes went wide. “You...you shouldn’t be here.”
“Why not?
“Because-” Bedman didn’t look like he knew, either. “I’ve seen things like you here before.”
Sin clapped his hands. “Oh! Can I play with them?”
“No. They’re not as fully formed as you. Humans that pass through here have nowhere near the same level of awareness. They’re not supposed to. You aren’t supposed to, either. Even the catatonic ones that spend more time remain unresponsive. I don’t know how, but you have managed to bypass those functions and reach a higher level of conscious awareness comparable to mine. You’re an anomaly that shouldn’t exist. This- this is almost paradoxical, how do you even exist?”
He didn’t have an answer to that. Sin had wondered himself. Asking his mom hadn’t gotten him very far. She had only blushed and said she ‘would tell him when he got older.’ “I dunno.”
Bedman refined his composure and folded his arms behind his back. “Unfortunately, I cannot allow you to wander around unsupervised when I have no idea what you’re capable of. Until I can ascertain your origins and determine how exactly you got here, I will have to keep a close eye on you.”
Yet again, Sin was completely confused. This person used a lot of big fancy words. “Does this mean we’re gonna play together? Do you wanna race?”
“No, we are not ‘playing,’ I need to work and you need to be quiet so I can.”
Sin huffed, crossing his arms and plonking onto the grass. It was bad enough when he had to do schoolwork instead of playing outside. This place was just perfect for playing tag or racing! Why didn’t Mr. Purple want to play with him?
“Mmmm. Mmmmmph.” He grabbed at his feet, rocking side-to-side as he watched Bedman sit back down and go back to whatever he had been doing with the flowerbed. It didn’t make any sense to him, but it seemed very important, so he was curious.
“What are you doing? You still didn’t tell me about the flowers!” He said, planting his hands between his legs and hunching over. “Why are you playing with the flowers? Are you a gardener? You should be wearing a hat for that!”
Bedman didn’t shout back at him, but he did sigh. “Fine. If I tell you, will you actually quiet down this time?”
“Uh-huh! Tell me!”
He noticed he was being gestured closer. Sin scooted nearer to the flowers, and realized that another strange butterfly had appeared when he wasn’t looking.
“Ah! Hello, mister butterfly!”
“They aren’t butterflies,” Bedman said. “They’re data carriers. Each one contains a fragment of information that they carry across the Backyard.”
“But they look like butterflies!”
“Yes. I know. You’ve said that already. They look like butterflies, but they aren’t. Their purpose is to carry commands and information and deliver them to appropriate channels. Each contains a set of information that can be interpreted by the correct corresponding outlet.”
“So they’re like...tiny flying books? Shaped like butterflies?”
Bedman perked up. “An excellent analogy! Yes, I suppose that’s an adequate if rudimentary descriptor, although-” He glanced down, noticing Sin’s empty-eyed expression, and sighed in frustration. “Yes, they’re tiny flying books.”
The little boy chirped with glee, bouncing in place. “Yay!”
“And these, erm, ‘tiny books’ have to put their information in the right places. Otherwise, things don’t work properly. Does that make any sense?”
“Mmm...kinda. It’s like a lie-bur-ee? Daddy says all the books hafta go in order, that way you can find stuff.”
“It’s similar to that, yes.” He nodded. “And that is my primary job here. Organization and maintenance.”
Two right answers in a row! Sin was feeling quite proud of himself. Mommy would be proud, too! He loved it when mommy was proud of him. When he did good, she’d give him a pat on the head and let him have a treat!
Treat, treat...why did that remind him of something...
“Can I have waffles??”
“Waffles? What on earth for?”
Sin opened his mouth, but closed it again. Why did he want waffles? He wasn’t really hungry. He wasn’t really not-hungry, either. He didn’t feel much like anything. Weird.
“I dunno.” He replied. “Guess it doesn’t matter. There’s no waffle-makers in a garden.”
His companion gave an offhand shrug. “There would be no purpose. I mean, the Backyard is malleable.”
Aaaand he was confused again. Bedman kept talking. “The Backyard stimulates the human mind and consciousness into perceiving it in such a way. Although, if one were to get philosophical, if something can create a fully accurate facsimile of reality, up to and including the sensory data, who is to say it’s not reality?”
“Wow,” Sin said, staring up with vacant eyes. “I dunno what that means.”
“It’s- ugh, never mind.” Bedman huffed. “In simpler terms, if you have something that’s an identical, nigh-perfect replica of something else, how could you tell which one was the original? How could anyone know for certain which one came first?”
“Oh! That one’s easy. The first one came first.”
“But how can you be so sure?”
“Because it was the first one.”
“That isn’t-...” He trailed off, almost appearing to smile as he sighed. “I suppose I can respect the philosophical concepts a child offers. So surefooted. You don’t question it for a moment.”
Sin was still confused, but it cheered him up to see his new friend actually smiling. He tried to think of how to make it stay. “Um, tell me more about the Backyard!”
Thankfully, he seemed happy to be asked. “Alright, if you wish. The Backyard is a dimension of significantly more flexibility than the real world. If you know the proper ways to manipulate it, then you can bend it to your will, create virtually anything, shape the world around you.”
“Like how?”
He shrugged. “Practically anything you could think of.” Sin watched him twist his wrist, and a perfectly red apple appeared in his hands out of thin air. “It’s simply a matter of discovering, and then refining that skill.”
It was magic! It had to be magic. Sin couldn’t wait until he was old enough to learn magic. He wanted to know how to make apples and ice and lightning.
“Mr. Purple is a wizard!” He cheered in delight, and turned, looking out into the seemingly endless rows of flowers. “This place seems big. Real big.” His attention just as quickly returned to the apple. “Are you gonna eat that?”
“It was just for demonstration, you don’t-” Fingers gripped the apple for a moment, then loosened. “Fine, here.”
Bedman placed it in his hand, where it immediately fell into a dozen perfectly-cut pieces. Sin picked up one and put it in his mouth.
“Mmm! Yummy.” He said through crunching bites, even though it didn’t really taste like anything. “If I can make it anything I want, does that mean I can go to the beach?”
“Again with your silly inquiries. Food I can understand, but why the beach of all places?”
Sin thought for a moment, finishing a piece and grabbing another. “Well, um, I’ve never actually been. Daddy’s busy all the time, and Mommy isn’t allowed to go outside. I don’t get to go out much, either, Mommy says it’s good for us...But she’s told me so many cool stories about it! There’s big trees and lots of sand and water you can splash around in! And fish! Mommy told me how she fishes, it’s like, fwissh!” He struck a pose like his mother had shown him, holding a hand palm-out towards a nonexistent sea.
Though Sin wasn’t looking, Bedman’s expression softened. “Would you...would you like to go to the beach?”
“Mmhm!” His eyes twinkled like stars. “Can we go? Can we please go? I wanna see the fish!”
“I could make a replica to your liking. Stand up.”
He was happy to oblige. The beach! He was gonna go to the beach! “Let’s go play! How do we get to the beach?”
“This isn’t ‘playing,’ I’m- I’m simply indulging you.” Still, Sin watched as strange purple sparkles began falling from his hands. Something about that felt familiar, but the thought vanished from his thoughts as quickly as it had come. “Brace yourself, it can be a bit overwhelming the first time. You might fall over.”
Sin responded by grabbing onto his hand for support.
“What do you think you’re doing?” Bedman recoiled, tearing his hand away.
“You said I was gonna fall over. Can I hold your hand?”
He hesitated for a moment. “I...suppose I see the logic in that.” His hand inched closer, and Sin grabbed it again, holding on tight. “Ngh. You may wish to close your eyes during this.”
“Mmhm. Okay. Promise you won’t let go?”
“You’re the one who’s-” The older boy sounded like he was going to start yelling again, but when he looked down at Sin, his frustration faded. “Yes, I promise.”
Squeezing again to make sure, he closed his eyes like he had been told. Sin felt wind blowing by, and like something was pushing him back and forth. He held on tight, too frightened to open his eyes. The wind kept going and going, until it didn’t. Only after he felt very sure that it was gone, he opened his eyes again.
As promised, they were suddenly not in the garden. The flowers and fences were replaced with a sandy beach. Sin was transfixed at the sight of the green-blue water as it rolled and splashed against the sand near his feet. With a little giggle, he hopped back as the drops sprayed his shins, and watched the water pull back before rolling onto the shore again.
“Hehe! The ocean’s tickling me!”
“The danger is minimal in a simulation, but I wouldn’t advise being too foolhardy with the waves. Knowing your lack of experience, I doubt you even know how to swim, so the current could easily drag you in and drown you.”
“Huh.” Said Sin, only briefly looking up from the water as it splashed his legs again. “Is that bad?”
Bedman nodded. “Very.”
“Okay.” He turned and hurried back up the shore, grabbing his companion by the arm with a steely look in his eyes. “That means we should stay close while we play! Mommy says ‘it’s al-ways safer with a buddy!’”
“We’re not-” Bedman tried to protest, but was suddenly taken off guard as Sin tugged him along with an unexpected amount of strength. He stumbled behind as he was pulled, only managing to finally regain his balance when he was willingly let go.
Sin scampered along the seaside, gathering up the shells left by the tide in his arms. It was hard to hold so many, but they came in so many shapes and sizes and colors that he didn’t want to leave any behind.
“Mommy’s gonna love these! She collects a lot of neat stuff! She’s got a whole box of stuff, ‘an she lets me look through ‘em. There’s a pin with a big pink heart on it, ‘an these little beads made out of green stuff, ‘an and and bracelets! Big sparkly bracelets. Mommy really likes jewelry. I think Daddy might, too. He’s got a sparkly necklace he wears all the time, with a big ‘t’ on it. I thought it was ‘cause his name starts with a ‘t,’ but Mommy says his name is ‘Ky,’ an’ I don’t think there’s a ‘t’ in that.”
“Pause that thought. I can’t help but be curious...Sin, correct?” Bedman trailed behind, watching the boy’s excited gathering. “Why aren’t you allowed outside? Some sort of illness?”
“Mmmm...I dunno! I don’t think so. My face hurts sometimes, an’ my head hurt real bad one time, but we were staying inside before that too. It’s not super bad. My house is big! I get to run in the yard and Mommy teaches me stuff.”
“I see. So you don’t mind it? You don’t get lonely?”
Sin paused to scrutinize a cream-white shell marked with brown dots. “I dunno.” He said again. “All the kids in the books Mommy reads to me have other kids to play with. An’ they get to go all kinds of places, like beaches and res-tore-ants. ‘n Mommy and daddy have to do work-stuff sometimes, then I hafta play all by myself. Chimaki’s not a talky-friend, but he’s the only other one I got.”
He cut himself off, eyes going wide. “Do you wanna be my friend, Mr. Purple?”
“Why, exactly?”
“‘Cause friends are good!” Replied Sin, adding the striped shell to his pile.
“Friendship isn’t high on my list of priorities.”
“Why not?”
“It...it just isn’t, alright?” Sin didn’t understand why he sounded like that. Like many things in life, he opted to respond with enthusiasm.
“Mmm. Okay. Wanna be friends anyway?” He sifted through his collection. Upon finding a long shell topped with a spike-tipped end, he grinned and turned around to hold it up. “Lookit! It’s all pokey, it’s like your hair!”
He caught sight of another one of those little smiles. “So this is all you wanted to do? Collect shells?”
“Nuh-uh!” He shook his head, excited that he had managed to get a smile. “The beach is for all kinds of stuff! Like- like- '' The hand still clutching the shell pointed out to the water. “Are there fishies in the ocean? Mommy said there’s all sorts of big things swimming in the water! And- and some of them are really really big! Do you know how to find them?”
With a single swipe of the hand, Bedman cut a slice into the ocean and widened it into a sandy footpath.
“Woah…”
“They’re just down this way.”
Sin started to run. A few steps in, he stopped and placed his collection in a pile. That was the extent of his carefulness, as he immediately began running again towards the path.
“Be careful-”
Something grabbed on. After a moment, Bedman suddenly realized he was holding Sin’s hand again. He let go, brushing his own hand off on his pajamas. “Right. Well, logically speaking, this is the preferable way of doing it. The Backyard is malleable, but you could still trip if you run. You’ve already caused enough trouble without a head injury.”
That sounded like something Mommy would say. “Okay. I can be careful. Are the fish here yet?”
“Well, they’re all around us. You just have to observe the water carefully.” A hand pointed to a vague yellow shadow that he hadn’t noticed. “That is a butterflyfish. The one a bit to the right is a snapper. And I believe that small group over there is made up of anchovies.”
Sin’s face pinched. “Ick. I heard of an-cho-vies, daddy likes them on his dinner. He tried getting me to eat ‘em too. They smell funny.”
A strange noise came from behind him. When he looked, he realized that Bedman was actually laughing. He didn’t know what was funny, but he laughed too.
“With all due respect, Sin, your father is strange.”
That was something he could agree on. “An-cho-vies are gross! And his breath smells funny when he eats ‘em.”
The path between the water went down and down. Sin could spot more and more of the shadows moving by as they went further along. They also grew bigger and bigger. It thrilled him as much as it terrified him. He almost expected something to pop right out of the water.
Sin was transfixed by the sight of a massive shadow swimming through the sheet of water right in front of him. It was far bigger than anything he had ever seen before, even buildings.
“Wow…”
“That’s a whale. Some of the largest animals on the face of the earth.”
“Can I pet it?”
“Do you want to?”
Sin looked up at him with eyes so wide, they practically could have fallen out. “PLEASE??”
Bedman made another little motion with his hand. Though he wasn’t sure what it was supposed to do, after watching Sin realized that the massive shadow was stopping as it passed by in front of him.
“There. I’ve stuck it in place for now. Put your hand in the water, you’ll feel it.”
“Okay.” He lifted a hand and reached towards it, pausing at the last second. “...Promise it’s not gonna bite me?”
“Why would it bite-” Bedman gave him a bewildered look, ultimately shrugging his shoulders. “No, I promise the whale won’t bite you.”
That was enough of a reassurance. The water was a little colder than it was up on the beach. It only distracted him for a moment until his hand bumped up against something solid. It felt funny and leathery, and a little bit squishy, but definitely very wet.
“It’s cold down here. How do the whales not get chilly without fur?”
“Well, they have no need to. Instead of fur, they have fatty insulation to keep warm.” Said Bedman. “Fish are cold-blooded, so they don’t care much about being cold, but whales, like people, are mammals, and thus are warm-blooded.”
His eyes widened. “Whales are like people??”
“They’re more like humans than fish are, at least.”
“Wh- what about seals? Are seals fish?”
“Seals are mammals as well.” The older boy nodded. He looked at either side of the split ocean. “But I would appreciate it if you could hold onto any questions for now. Holding this much water is becoming rather cumbersome, and if we don’t retreat back to the surface, I don’t believe I’ll be capable of maintaining enough structural integrity for it to be safe.”
Most of that was more big words he couldn’t follow, but Sin immediately knew to follow when Bedman started to walk back the way they had come. It felt a lot faster. He wanted to tell him to stop running, like they were supposed to do, but it was hard to shout when he was running, too.
As soon as they were both outside of the water, the path slammed shut. He was sad to see it disappear, but it didn’t dampen the happiness he had of still being on the beach.
“That was fun! What do you wanna play next?”
Bedman was hunched over, hands on his knees and panting. Sin wasn’t sure why. He didn’t feel tired. Maybe pushing the water open was a lot of work.
“Preferably...preferably something less strenuous…”
Even if he couldn’t go into the bottom of the ocean again, there was still plenty to do at the beach. Drawing pictures in the sand he had to do by himself while his companion was lying down in the sand and taking a little break, but he didn’t mind all that much. It was only for a little while, anyway. After that, it was even more fun! Sin got to teach him how to make sandcastles. Mr. Purple was really good at magic, but he was bad at castle-making. Okay, Sin wasn’t amazing, either, but he had managed to build a slightly lumpy wall right behind where the water came up. He had to show Mr. Purple how to mix sand so there was just enough water to make it sticky, but not too much where it was just a big wet pile.
“Conceptually, I feel this should be a simple task,” Bedman said, scooping another handful of water out of the bucket. “It’s ratios, it’s simple math. But in execution…”
“There’s a little pond behind my house, with sand all around it. I got practice at making castles! The beach has a lot more sand. You could make one really big big castle if you piled it all up! You’d need a lot of buckets, though.”
“I’ve heard in the past that people have made sandcastles as large as real houses.”
“Woah! Musta’ took a really long time.”
“Well, it’s hard enough making one this size.” Bedman dumped a lump of wet sand onto their castle. “It’s difficult to see the point in this. The tide will come in, or the wind will eventually blow it down. Why bother taking the time to build it in the first place if it’s so short-lived?”
Sin picked up a little scallop shell from his pile. “I dunno. It’s fun making castles. Making stuff is fun! I can’t reach the top, put the shell on the top. Please.”
“Making for the sake of making? I suppose I can see the merit in that.” The pale underside of the shell was pressed against the sandcastle, held for a few moments before it was left balancing on the top. “I must say, as much as I prefer a quiet work environment, you make for an engaging novelty.”
“You use a lot of big words. Does that mean ‘friend?’ Then I think you’re a gage-ing nov-el-y too!”
“...Sure. Close enough.” Bedman sat back and took a deep breath. “Alright, Sin, what did you want to do now?”
Oh, well weren’t there so many options? It was hard to pick! But right now his legs were feeling heavy. Maybe running around would help wake them up, maybe they could race!
“Le’s go-” Sin tried to stand up, but his legs couldn’t keep him up. He really wanted to play, but suddenly had no energy. Making himself sit back up was harder than running felt. A yawn forced its way out. “Mr. Purple, I feel kinda sleepy.” It felt a lot like sleepy. Maybe he had gotten too excited playing on the beach and running around.
“You’re sleepy?” Though he couldn’t see as he rubbed at his eyes, he could hear the sound of sand shifting. Bedman had moved closer. “You can’t be tired, the Backyard doesn’t-”
He wasn’t making sense again. Or maybe he was, and Sin was just too tired to understand. Either way, he was more interested in finding a comfy spot to lie down on.
“This isn’t- this can’t be right, you shouldn’t be…” His voice trailed off at the feeling of something resting itself on his leg. It was the only soft spot Sin could find.
“I wanna nap. C’n we play again later?”
“Your unconscious shouldn’t have had this level of mobility in the first place, but now I don’t understand why it’s-...I...of course we can.”
“I like the beach.” Sin said. “We can play some other time, right? If mommy and daddy let me, then we can play at my house.”
“Of course, of course.”
“An’ can you tell me more animal stuff? I wanna know more about seals.” He rolled onto his back, yawning again as the fluffy white clouds went by overhead.
“I’ll tell you everything I know.” Bedman nodded, but for some reason, he still looked sad.
“Why’re you sad, Mr. Purple?”
The sadness turned into surprise, then sadness again. “It’s nothing. It just seems I’ve gotten used to you being here. It’s going to be quieter with you gone.”
Tired as he was, Sin still managed to giggle. “But ‘m not going. ‘m just gonna...sleep a little…”
++++++
“...in?...Sin?”
Everything felt sticky, like he was covered in mud. It must have gotten in his eyes, everything looked pretty blurry, too. He tried to blink it away, but it still didn’t feel quite right, and his arms were too heavy to rub it away by hand.
As the smearing cleared, he recognized a face.
“Daddy?”
Ky smiled, making a little noise in his throat. “Hey there. How are you feeling?”
Sin tried to move his arms, but they still wouldn’t budge. “Sticky.”
“I understand. You’ll feel a little weird while the magic wears off. You’re probably feeling tired, aren’t you?”
“Mmhm.” He wasn’t used to waking up and still feeling tired.
His father nodded. “The doctor already said we could leave, just as soon as you woke up.”
Oh. That had been a thing. He had forgotten all about it. The room he was in now didn’t look like the doctor’s. It didn’t look like his, either. It was pretty empty, and there was nobody else there aside from them.
A hazy thought arrived as he looked at his father. There was something wrong with his face. There were bandages all over one side. Sin was pretty sure he hadn’t been wearing that white dress before, either.
“Daddy…?” He managed to get one arm up, reaching out towards him.
Ky pulled away, one of his own hands reaching up to feel the covered part of his face. “I’m okay, Sin. And you’re okay, too. I promise. And I’m so proud of you. You did so well.”
Sin didn’t think he had done anything. It was hard to remember anything after…
His head felt too fuzzy. He remembered the uncomfortable bed, but it felt like there was something after that. Between falling asleep and waking up felt like forever, but he couldn’t remember anything about it. Just black.
He was being picked up again. His skin felt fuzzy, too. Everything was heavy and fuzzy. Being carried was much better than trying to walk when he felt like this.
“Come now. Let’s get you back to bed, okay? I’m sure you’ll be more comfortable with your own blankets and Chimaki.”
It did sound cozy. He could play later. Maybe mommy would let him look through her box and see all the pretty stuff she collected.
Ky leaned down and kissed him on the head. “Bonne nuit mon petit. Ton pere t’aime.”
He wanted to see the shells again. Mommy would show him the little shells and talk about the beach, and the waves, and the way the water smelled. It smelled salty, she said. Sin liked seeing the fish better. And the whales! He loved the whales.
...That didn’t make any sense though. How could he? The only fish he’d ever seen were in picture books, or the ones they made for dinner. He knew what a whale was, but why did he think they were supposed to feel leathery and soft?
Oh well. Thinking was only making him sleepier. He could worry about all that stuff later. Right now, he just wanted to sleep. Maybe he’d have a fun dream, and then he’d wake up.
And he did. Sin dreamed colorful dreams of all sorts. Even as he grew, and more details were added into them, they stayed whimsical and bright. Something nonsensical whipped up by his unconscious, the places he knew and people he’d met mixes and distorts until the space becomes unfamiliar again until the morning comes and he wakes up.
But sometimes, just sometimes, when he goes to sleep, Sin dreams of an endless garden.