Chapter Twenty Nine

A strange cold chilled Stu's bones. The door creaked slowly yet loudly. It was a cracked fading door with a knob that had lost its shine. The very presence of the door made him felt uncomfortable. There was knock which made him jump. A head peeked out of the door: it was Fargo. He beckoned Stu to come in before disappearing back in. He didn't want to at first but he rather go through the door than look at it. He ran and closed the door behind him.
Once inside, there wasn't much difference in the scene but slowly, something began to form. Baby blue walls with rocking horse wallpaper came into view. Toys were scattered upon the floor. Was this his old bedroom at their old house?
Someone came in from behind him. It was a young woman around 25 with a bundle of blue in her arms. She cooed to the bundle before setting it down in the crib. She removed the blanket to reveal a chubby babbling baby. Stu smiled. He knew who that baby was. That was him.
A another little boy ran in, hugging his mother's legs. She smiled and picked him up so he could see his baby brother. The boy tickled Baby Stu's tummy. That must have been Hector.
Someone came in again but it was hard to see his face since it was hidden in the shadows. Hector jumped down from his mother's arms, running towards the man, giving him an embracing hug. The man returned the hug. He went over to Stu's mother and kissed her lips. Who was this guy? Stu was too young to have remembered this guy but see the way he dealt with his family, he came to one conclusion: was that Daddy Carbin?
It must have been. Stu hadn't known his father like Hector had. When he was only 3 or 4 months old, his father died in an office building fire. It was the biggest fire of the year. Everyone got out thanks to the help of Daddy Carbin but he himself didn't get a chance to escape.
He felt the burn of raging flames on his back. He saw fire fighters screaming, running back and forth, trying to put out the rampant flames. They eventually did but not in time to save Stu's father. He saw his mother with Hector crying into his mother's skirt. She held baby Stu close her chest, trying to hold back the tears. She walked away, not looking back.
This next part of the past Stu remember all too well. The boss of his father's company called his mother, telling her how sadden he felt over the loss of Mr. Carbin. He offered them to stay at his house as long as they wanted. The boss of his father's company was Glenn.
Stu didn't mind the huge estate. There was only one thing he didn't like about the house: the Saldivar children, Curtis, Sylvia, and Woodrow. All three were up tight and never knew how to have fun. All they ever did was sit in the study, reading books or doing work. They had a strict diet that stuck too. Glenn was a harsh parent unlike Stu's mother. She kept a firm rule but allowed her kids to be free.
Stu also liked the study. Not for working but for drawing and coloring. Stu was a prolific drawer and had a old portfolio of Curtis's is keep his drawings in.
When not drawing, he was outside in the garden. It was lush and spacious: a perfect place to find his favorite animals, butterflies. No one knew quite why but when he first saw a butterfly, he became amused. He would follow them around, trying to catch them. He would just catch them to release back out. When it rained, he was inside, reading books about butterflies. His mother called him his little Butterfly Boy. Butterflies also seemed to like him as well. He was very skilled with them for some strange reason. They would land on his hand and stay there while other children wouldn't be so lucky.
One day, his mother came in with a sandwich to give to him while he was drawing a very special picture. When she came over, she showed it to her. It was of a lovely woman that looked vaguely like his mom except her hair was of ribbons and she had a pair of colorful butterfly wings on her back.
“Who's that?” His mother asked.
“Lady Butter,” Was his reply. “She is my new best friend!”
His mother smiled and left. The three Saldivar children wanted to see Stu's friend. They got up from their work to tower over Stu and stare at his drawing.
“She's not real.” Woodrow said flatly.
“Is too!” Stu snapped. “She's my best friend and she's standing right behind you!”
All three children roared in laughter before they turned around. Those heaps of laughter turned into screams of terror for standing in front of them was Lady Butter in the flesh! They ran to find their father, screaming at the top of their lungs.
“What's their problem?” Lady Butter asked Stu. He shrugged. “Wanna play pirate adventure?”
“Okay!” Stu agreed.
Stu sighed. His child years were his happiest. He had forgotten all the fun he had use to have. It had vanished quickly as he had grown up which was the saddest part of his past.
The scene faded, turning into a buzzing school gym. He saw himself as a teen, peeking outside of the curtain. He was nervous. He saw his mother give him a reassuring smile and his brother with a thumbs up. This calmed him a bit. Glenn and his children were also there which didn’t make him feel good at all. In fact, wish they weren’t there.
But with his family there, he walked across the stage to get his diploma. There was much applause. He looked into the audience to see his brother whooping and his mother tearing. Glenn just clapped nicely. Stu wished Glenn would stay away from his mother. Last night, he had over heard the two of them talking.
“Myrtle,” Glenn’s voice was soft and romantic. Or least that was how he was trying to make it sound. “You’ve lived here for so long, alone and without a husband.”
“I don’t think I can ever marry again!” She said.
“Then what about me?” He asked her. “What about me?”
“You’re very sweet to offer me a marriage proposal but I can’t just part with my husband as if he weren’t real.”
That was all Stu had heard. He couldn’t bear another part of it. He hadn’t said anything to mother but he had told Hector who was angry than a bull seeing red. 
After graduation, there was a happy after party. Everyone was having a great time except for Stu’s mother. She kept making frequent trips to the bathroom, hardly being seen at all. Stu thought she just was overwhelmed but he was so wrong.
It had been only been a week since he had left the house and was in college. Everything seem to be perfect. He wasn’t until his first week ended and he had decided to go back home. He pulled up to the big house. It wasn’t so big since he had grown up. He got out of the car and knocked on the door. At first, no one answered so he used his house key to get in. It was quite: really quite. Ever since mother had moved in, the place had been a bit more lively. He finally found everyone. They were all upstairs, outside his mother’s room.
“Hector?” Stu asked his brother.
“Stu,” Hector said in a choked up voice. “Mama’s in acoma.”
“What?”
“She went in a few days after you went to college.”
This wasn’t happening, it just couldn’t be. His eyes began to fill up with stinging tears. In anger, he fled to his old room. I fell onto the bed, crying his heart out. Something fell on his head. He looked to see the crumpled picture of Lady Butter. A smile almost came to his face until the door was opened. Glenn grabbed the picture from his hands even though Stu put up a good fight. Glenn stomped down the stairs, the picture clasped in his hands. Stu raced after him. He found Glenn in the study, over a blazing fire. He suddenly remembered the burning office fire that his father had perished in. With an evil grin, Glenn dropped the picture into the fire. Stu ran, pushing Glenn out of the way. Tear fell onto the ashes which had once been the picture.
Stu stared. That was the worst day of his life. He wish he hadn’t seen it again. It had turned his life from happy to hard and cold. From that day on, he seemed to be like Glenn and it disgusted him so.
Stu felt horrible. He wanted to curl up and dissapper forever. That was what he was going to do. 
He felt a comforting pat on his back. He turned to see Fargo, his head on Stu’s shoulder. Stu smiled: this guy was alright. Fargo pointed to an opening in the air. He tugged at Stu so he would follow him. Stu didn’t feel comfortable at first. Maybe he should, maybe he shouldn’t but something about Fargo made him feel a bit better. He got up from the ground, took a deep breathe, and followed Fargo.

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