Chapter Text
Fiyero was dreaming of snow, sea and trees when a loud, persistent sound woke him up. It took him a while before he realised that the blaring sound that had invaded his dream was the sound of his phone ringing. Not his handphone, which had a much nicer, and much more professional ring tone, but the landline which he did not even remember having.
He sat up with a growl and tried to find something to throw at the offensive thing, but the phone was downstairs and on the other side of the room. The only thing it was, though, was that it was still ringing.
He muttered the choicest Arjiki vulgarity that he could remember.
The phone continued to ring, no, shriek.
He looked at the clock as he picked up the handset. It was five minutes past eight. He looked out of the window. It was dark outside, and it took him a while to recall that he had stumbled onto his bed that morning after a night of drinking too much with his colleagues as they celebrated the last working day of the year.
“Hello?” He winced as he spoke into the mouthpiece, his voice too loud for his hungover brain.
“Hello? Is this Mister Fiyero Tiggular? Mister Fiyero M. Tiggular?”
“Yes, this is Fiyero Tiggular speaking. May I know who’s that on the line?”
The caller identified herself. Did she say she was a police officer?
“Mister Tiggular, I’m happy to inform you that we have found your bum.”
His bum? He reached for his rear. Nope, his bum was still there, right below his waist, behind his… oh well… it’s there.
“I didn’t lose my bum.”
“Son. Your son, Mr Tiggular. S-O-N. We found your son, your little boy. He’s safe, and he’s here with us. But he’s tired and he’s hungry. It’s a really busy night for us tonight. Can you please come down as soon as possible?”
The officer who called was not kidding when she said that it was a busy night. There were so many people, sitting and talking, or standing and yelling that he thought that he had walked into a badly decorated theme pub by mistake. And the faulty overhead light at the entryway that flickered non-stop did not help. There was even someone who was playing the harmonica, swaying to his own music. A street bum attempted to shove the policeman who was trying to take down his particulars, while another pair of police officers tried to lead a man in handcuffs into custody. He manoeuvred his way between the different groups to the counter and sat down in front of the staff on duty.
“Are you here to report a crime?” The staff on duty did not even look at him.
“No.”
“So what offence did you commit?”
“Me?”
“Yes, sir. If you’re not here to report a crime, then you must be here to turn yourself in for an offence.”
“I’m here because one of your colleagues called me. She said that they found my son.”
“The lost child?” The staff finally looked up. “Now why didn’t you say so earlier?” He stood up, beckoning Fiyero to follow him.
Fiyero took a deep breath. “There’s just a little problem here, officer. I don’t have a son.”
The staff looked at him again with a brow raised. “You won’t be the first man who tries to deny paternity.” He moved out of the counter and Fiyero had no choice but to follow him.
“But it’s true. I don’t have a son. I’m single – “
“No one believes in keeping themselves chaste for marriage nowadays.” The staff led him down a corridor, with different Lurlinemas ornaments stuck on each door.
“I don’t have a girlfriend – “
The staff gave him a once over. “Biology doesn’t check if she is your girlfriend before impregnation occurs.” They turned left into another long corridor.
“Are you sure you got the right person? Perhaps this child belongs to someone else with the same name as me?”
“The database does not lie, Mr Tiggular.” The staff stopped in front of a door labelled ‘Interrogation’. He entered the room without knocking.
The room was bare, with paint flaking off the wall and an overhead lamp that was far too bright. There were three chairs and a table, taking up most of the space. The only chair facing him was occupied by a brunette in uniform while the other chair with its back facing him was occupied by a young child with black hair.
“You’re finally here, Mr Tiggular,” she said with a smile, and Fiyero recognised her from her voice; she was the officer who had called him earlier.
The child turned around. It was a boy. He had a round, cherubic face. His fringe was long, almost covering his red-rimmed brown eyes. He tried to smile the moment he saw Fiyero but the smile quavered. He bit his lip and tried again, and this time, the smile stayed.
“Hello, Daddy.”
“This is not my son. I don’t have a son,” Fiyero said to the new face behind the counter. The crowd had cleared about twenty minutes ago, and now the police station was almost empty. He had no idea how many times he had declared the same statement in the past hour. It felt like a hundred. It felt like a thousand. And then he heard the same reply that he had heard a hundred, no, a thousand times before.
“Mr Tiggular. It is stated in our system that you are the father of this child. The system does not lie.”
“I’m not lying either. There must be a mistake, a misunderstanding somewhere.”
The officer shrugged. “So are you, or are you not going to bring him home?”
His mind whirled as he looked at the boy who was a few seats away. He was sitting on his hands, his legs swinging, his head down, looking at his lap as if he was being detained in the principal’s office. Fiyero had no idea how old he was. The boy could be anything from five to twelve years old. He had dated a few women during that period. But he was pretty sure none of them had gotten pregnant.
Or had they?
Maybe he should talk to the boy (something that he had avoided doing so far) and ask him for his mother’s name. Perhaps the name would ring a bell.
The glass door to the police station opened just then, bringing in the chill, and also a warm, mellow voice.
“Liir!”
The boy whom everyone in the room said was his son looked up and quickly jumped off the chair.
“Mommy!”
Fiyero spun around. The light at the entrance flickered again, and under the dim glow, he thought that the woman who had just rushed into the police station was phosphorescent, until she stepped under the bright lights.
Fiyero had to blink a couple of times before he realised that he was not imagining it.
It was not a glow, but rather, her skin was green. Emerald green.
“Mommy!” The boy ran into her arms.
She was definitely not one of his ex-girlfriends. He would surely remember if he had met her before, even if it was only for a minute.
As he walked up to them, he heard snatches of their conversation. The woman was admonishing the boy for walking away without her, and the boy was trying to interrupt and tell her something. He stood behind the boy for a while and waited for her to notice him. It took her a while before she did.
“Hi,” he gave a smile and a wave.
The green girl stood up, her hand sliding down from her son’s shoulder to his hand, holding him tight. She was almost as tall as him, her green face flushed with the cold outside. She had a nice smile, a smile that was part relief and part gratitude.
“You must be the one who found Liir. Thank you – “
“Mommy! That’s Daddy!”
She looked at her son, her smile faltering, momentarily confused.
“That’s what?” she asked her son.
“It’s Daddy. The police found Daddy!” The boy reached for Fiyero’s hand.
But before Liir could touch Fiyero, the woman wrenched the boy’s arm away, pushing him behind her.
“Don’t you dare touch my son!” she hissed, her eyes narrowing. The friendliness that was there five seconds ago was gone.
Fiyero raised his hands in mock surrender. He heard footsteps behind him, and an officer came up to them.
“Officer,” the green woman turned her attention to the man in blue. “I’m so sorry it took me so long to come. I was looking for him everywhere and it was so noisy outside I didn’t hear the phone ring. I’m Liir’s mother. I’m his next-of-kin.”
“But Mommy,” the boy shook her hand, trying to get her attention. She hushed him gently.
“Officer, it’s late, and I’m sure you have much more important things to do. Just let me know what papers I have to sign, and we’ll be out of here immediately.”
Fiyero raised his hand. “What about me?”
“He has nothing to do with this child, Officer,” she whispered to the police officer.
The officer gave Fiyero a commiserating look and led the green woman and her son to the counter.
It was not difficult to find out where she lived. All he needed to do was to sit nearby and pretend that he was busy with his handphone while the officer took down her information. She was a tourist; the address that she had given was that of a motel that was not located in the best part of the city.
He gave them a 30-minute head start and spent the time contemplating what to do next. He came up with nothing workable. The only idea he came up with was to bribe the staff at the motel reception to find out which unit they were at, like what they always showed in the movies, but he realised that it would not work the moment he stepped into the motel – the receptionist had left for the day.
He exited the building and crossed the dusty yard. The lights in the yard were off – perhaps they were on a timer, but most likely they were not working in the first place, and he nearly tripped over a drink can that was left in the dark. He swore, loud enough for himself to wince at his voice, and then something made him turn back and look at the building. Two of the rooms were lit, and in one of them, the room on the third floor, was a boy, looking out of the window.
His boy.
He quickly corrected himself. The boy whom he had met at the police station.
Fiyero waved at him and then realised that it was most probably too dark for the boy to see him. He turned on the torchlight function of his handphone and shone it from the side, put on his widest smile and waved, and was rewarded by the boy smiling shyly.
Fiyero waved wildly. The boy looked behind him, and turned back again, his hand making a small, shy waving gesture in front of him.
Fiyero jumped on the spot, and then hopped on alternate foot. The boy grinned and then laughed.
His mother stepped into view, and Fiyero quickly pressed his phone against his chest to hide the light. She looked out of the window, and not seeing anything out of the ordinary, turned to her son again. Fiyero assumed that she was asking him what had made him laugh. The boy said something, shaking his head at the same time, and the woman knelt. She talked to the boy for a while and ruffled his hair affectionately before she stood up again and pulled the curtains shut.
Damn.
But less than a minute passed before the boy drew the two pieces of curtain slightly open and poked out his head. Fiyero found himself smiling. He shone the light from his phone at himself again, gesturing wildly as he stepped closer to the building. The boy shifted so that he was between the curtains and the window and gestured back, pointing to here and there and making faces. Fiyero nodded and gestured again.
He had absolutely no idea what the boy was trying to say.
They continued like this for some time, miming to each other, until the boy suddenly froze. And when he moved again, there was decisiveness in his movements. He gestured again, and this time Fiyero understood what he was trying to say with that beckoning motion he made with his hand.
Come up.
Fiyero pointed to himself, and then at the boy.
Me? Come up for you?
The boy nodded. And he beckoned again, urgently this time.
Fiyero did not need to be told thrice.
He took the metal stairs to the third floor and knocked softly on the door of the only room with light under its door. The door opened, and the boy pulled Fiyero into the room before closing it behind them with a soft click.
“Daddy. You found us,” he squealed softly.
He knelt the same way the woman did so that he was at eye level with the boy.
“Where’s mommy?”
“Shower.” He put a finger on his lip.
Fiyero nodded.
“Where have you been all this while, Daddy?” Liir asked. “Did you bring me a present?”
“A present?”
“Yes, a present for me?”
Fiyero chuckled softly. “No, I didn’t bring a present.”
“Why didn’t you come and find me earlier?” He pouted.
“Why? Did Mommy bully you?” he whispered back.
The boy shook his head. “But you’re Daddy. You should be here with us.”
“Well, the truth is… I got to talk to your mo – “
“Liir, it’s almost bedtime.” Fiyero looked up upon hearing the voice, just in time to see the green woman stepped out of the bathroom and rubbing her hair with the towel at the same time. It took her a while to finish drying her hair and she dropped her jaw when she saw who was in the room.
“What – . Who let you in?” she turned to her son. “Liir?”
“It’s Daddy, Mommy,” was the boy’s innocent answer.
“Come here,” she beckoned to the boy. The boy hesitated, looking from her mother to Fiyero, not knowing what to do.
“Stay away from him,” she called out to her son, and yet the boy hesitated.
“But it’s Daddy. It’s Daddy coming back.”
“Liir!” This time there was no mistaking the authoritative tone in her voice, and the boy rushed over. She pushed him behind her and straightened.
“What are you doing here?” she demanded.
“I’m here to see him.” He pointed at the boy. “To see Liir.”
“You are not taking him away.” She lifted her chin, but Fiyero could see the slight trembling in her jaw.
“Woah.” Fiyero raised his hands. “I’m not here to take him away, as adorable as he is.” But he reached behind him and turned the lock, and the woman narrowed her eyes.
“I’ll call the police,” she threatened.
“But Mommy, it’s Da– “
She hushed her son.
“Go ahead,” Fiyero called her bluff. “Call the police. And maybe this time, I’ll bring in my lawyer and you can explain to him what happened.”
“You wouldn’t.”
He shrugged. “Try me.”
She shook her head.
“What do you want?” she asked after a while.
“Can we talk?”
He noticed the way she looked at the boy.
“Can we leave the boy here and talk outside?”
She bit her lower lip and nodded her head after a while.
She closed the door behind her when they stepped into the open corridor.
“What do you want?”
“The truth. Why am I listed as his father in the system?”
“You’re not.”
“Tell me something I don’t know.”
“All you need to know is that you are not his father. And we’ll leave Emerald City first thing tomorrow and you’ll never see or hear from us again.”
“That does not answer my question.”
The wind blew into the open corridor, and she shivered, and it was only then that Fiyero noticed that she was only dressed in a faded black shirt and shorts. She was barefooted and her hair was wet. He took off his jacket and handed it to her, but she folded her arms and looked at him with suspicion.
“Stubborn.”
“I just need to go back to the room. It’s warm inside.” She reached for the doorknob, but Fiyero was faster, and he grabbed the cold rounded metal before she did. She pulled her hand back at his touch as if he was fire, and tucked her hand into the pocket on her shorts. He wrapped his fingers around the doorknob and smiled at her.
“We can stand here until you turn into a popsicle. I’m used to colder weather than this.”
“You’re obnoxious.”
“Women usually told me I’m charming.”
She snorted. “You just need to let me go in.”
“Be my guest.” He shook the doorknob. She gestured at the offensive hand. He chuckled.
“Look, you can take my jacket, or you can let me hug you.”
She looked sharply at him. He dangled his jacket before her with his other hand, and she snatched it with a glare. She held it at arm’s length.
“It does not smell. I just got it from the dry cleaner yesterday.” Fiyero feigned a sigh.
She brought it closer to her, still not touching her skin, but close enough to ward off the cold.
“What do you want?” she asked again.
“The truth. Why did the police say that Liir is my son when he isn’t?”
She gave an exasperated sigh.
“You got it. He’s not your son. It’s a mistake. I’ll clear the air with them tomorrow, alright?”
“Will you?”
“I promise.”
“But that still does not answer why he was registered as my son in the first place.”
She huffed. “Look, it’s a long story and it’s too late for long stories.”
“Mommy!” Liir hollered through the door. “Are you still there? Teddy wants to sleep.”
“Teddy?” he asked. “You have another son?”
“It’s his teddy bear. Teddy bears need to sleep too.”
“Just five seconds, Liir,” Fiyero hollered back.
“Five seconds,” he repeated to the woman. “Can you summarise your story into five words?”
She glared at him.
“I got an idea.” Without waiting for a reply, he opened the door. The warm air rushed out, and it felt like a furnace.
“Liir, what’s your plan for tomorrow?”
“What are you doing?” She hissed at him. He gave her his most roguish smile.
“Tomorrow? I don’t know. What’s our plan for tomorrow, Mommy?”
“You know, buddy. Your Mommy and I have a great idea. Tomorrow, I shall be your tour guide. We’ll meet for breakfast and then I will bring you around the city.”
The boy’s loud cheer was not loud enough to cover up the question from his mother.
“What?”
He grinned at her again.
“Sleep early, Liir. And I’ll come tomorrow to pick you up.”
“You’re crazy.”
“You’re not the first woman who told me that.”
“Keep the coat,” he added when she passed it back to him. “It’ll stop you from running off in the middle of the night.” And the surprise on her face told him and that that was most probably what she had in mind.
“A jacket will not stop me.”
“Really? Somehow, I don’t think that you’re the type who will not personally return what you’ve borrowed. And I’m sure that you’ll prove me right.”
She frowned. “Why are you doing this?”
He had no idea either.