Sanctum

The Beginning of Something New

I could feel their stress. It radiated through the house whenever they argued, which was often. If not the constant pressure of work then it was the inability to pay bills or an argument for no apparent reason. It was depressing. At one point, I tried to intervene but the rage was quickly turned towards me. Why would they listen to a nine year old?

Day in and day out, yelling, disappointment, and loneliness followed me like my own shadow. Some could say I was depressed. Others could say I was misunderstood. Once, when my mother was tucking me into bed, and my father wasn't home, I asked her a question. “Mom, why do you guys argue?”

Her response, was simply, “All parents argue honey”. Then she walked out and I was to go to sleep. Another day with a reverse situation, I asked my father the same question and his response was identical.

I liked sleep. It provided me time to think, to wonder, and to dream. It was the one part of the day I looked forward to.

“Why do you always have to have an attitude with me? Why can't you be nice to me?”

“Why do you think I'm the only one with problems? You're no angel!”.

“I'm no angel but at least I'm not like you!”.

The argument then was ended by my father storming out of the house. This was followed by my mother bursting into tears. My bedroom was attached to a narrow hallway with our living room at the end of it. The living room was the frequent battleground of my parents conflicts so their arguments were easily audible. Each morning, life would go on as if nothing happened the night before. I couldn't forget like them. I couldn't ignore like them. I couldn't be ignorant like them.

I then realized my hands were clamped onto my sheets. I soon unclenched and swiped the sweat of my forehead. I wanted to relish every moment in bed, away from the world, away from life, but I was eventually dragged into sleep.

After a dreamless night, It was time for school. I walked into the kitchen where my mother was cooking breakfast. My mothers hair ran down to her shoulders. Her hair was a sort of hazel, her eyes were green. Her height was rather short but no one commented on this. As I sat down, my father entered the room. His hair was on the cusp of black but was technically brown. His hair resembled a buzz cut while his eyes were a reddish brown.

“Timmy honey, please sit down. Breakfast will be ready in jiffy”. My father walked up to his wife and gave her a kiss on the forehead.

“I've got to go to work. See you later Barbara”. While watching them, memories of the argument from the night before filled my mind.

School was no safe haven. Life at Jefferson Elementary was almost as dreadful as my home life. The school bully was no help. Jay Gunderson. He strut around the school, his broad shoulders and staggering height just the surface of his intimidation. His personality? Nothing but an inflated ego and not a lot of brainpower behind it. His goons were a group of wannabes with inferiority complexes.His name was known by every student and faculty member. It's scum like him that gave Jefferson Elementary a bad rap. He practically made a living off stealing money from other, more defenseless children. I'd heard rumors of students bringing two sets of lunch money. They would give up one set to Jay without a struggle while secretly harboring another set. I never risked it. The thought of being caught kept me from participating in such a risky situation. That day was no different than usual. It began with Jay shoving me against the locker.

“This is the last time I”m gonna ask Timothy! Give me you lunch money or… I can't guarantee your safety” he said, finishing the sentence with a grin on his face and his fist in the air.

“I don't have any money. My dad has been having trouble at the office. Plus, I'm not hungry”. My statement merely seemed to upset him.

“Do you think I care if you're hungry or not. If I catch you again without my money, I'm going to beat the shit out of you!”. By the end of the sentence, he was practically shouting. A nearby teacher had heard him yelling, and decided to intervene.

“Young man! I will not tolerate profanity in this hallway. You're going to come with me to the principal's office. Timothy, please get to class” said the teacher as she began to walk Jay down the hallway. Jay’s face was that of fury. Once I saw that face, I knew that I wasn't going to home on time. At the end of the school day, Jay’s goons cornered me by the school dumpster. It was there that I lost my will to resist. One of the lunged at me, shoving me to the ground. In unison, the others began to kick at my ribs. By the time I arrived home, my father, unaware of my injuries, yelled at me for being late and I was banished to my room. I sat on my bed, curled into a ball. The pain merely numbed me as a storm raged in the world around me. The thunder seemed to echo the reverberating pain within.

I had fallen asleep pretty easily that night. Of course their was the usual bickering but somehow I managed to get past it. I was awoken in the middle of the night by footsteps in the hallway. At first I believed it was one of my parents getting a drink. Then there appeared a teenager in my doorway. We must have stared at each other for a while. Studying each other as if we were to never see each other again. Suddenly, he looked down at his wrist, as if studying an imaginary watch. Peeking up from his wrist, he began to speak.

“Well are you coming or not?”.

“I can't go anywhere. My mom and dad will be upset. Who are you?”.

“C’mon Timmy, you can trust me. Your parents won't know. We need to go now though”. I then took a moment to examine this stranger in my room. He was rather tall in stature and his hair a golden color and free flowing. He was also kinda thin.

“Where are you going to take me?”

He looked confused at my question as if I should know. His response confused me.

“To Sanctum of course”.

“Sanctum?” I replied. This response only proved to confuse him more. “Could you please tell me your name at least?” I said.

Frustrated with my questions, he let out a large exhale. With no warning, the thrust his arms out to either side, and struck a jester pose.

“Tom’s the name, and joy is my game”. He just stood there in that pose, a grin on his face, waiting for something.

“I'm sorry but, what are you doing here?”. My words seemed to strike him down. As if in shock, his jaws dropped and his arms fell to his sides.

“Why, I'm trying to take you to place of joy! A place of dreams! All I ask is that you come with me”. I was not one for rational decisions, but that night was an exception. I climbed out of my warm, and comforting bed. Its promise of safety and comfort was tempting, but this… Sanctum, was more tempting. I began to follow this teenager into the kitchen. That's when I noticed the open window across the room. Tom quickly slid through gap, and ushered me to follow. Once outside, we ran out into the warm, Spring night.