On Balance Weighted- Christmas Town

Some nights take a day to rebound from; sometimes this can be rough, sometimes it wakes you with a smile. Today I wake with a smile and, as my eyes adjust, I notice the room feels like it is that from my waking realm, but somehow I know it isn't. It is a comfortable feeling, not like a trick revealed, more like a name tag applied, so that I might wake and rise and exit in peace, knowing where I stand. My soulmate's scent lingers, almost like chemicals on the air taking tangible form in memory, and very nearly in the space immediately around me. Perhaps she just left though, preparations to make elsewhere or what not. I stretch and my accompanying groan sketches the room in crystal clear detail; I am in eep. eep however has taken shape like clay over time, and I try to recall back to when exactly this room, as mine, existed. It seems a question best answered by what lies on the other side of the door, and so I open it, still rubbing what remains of the sleep from my eyes.

My brother sits on the couch in my foyer, smiling wide. Eyeing the gloves in his hands I feel the moment filter back to the surface, and place the scene, immediately returning me to a childlike state of nonsense as I hunch my shoulders, and jut my head forward with a tiny mouthed smirk of mischief. "Heist time?" "This time, yes." I stomp around excitedly, knowing that, while such a phrase is thrown about willy nilly in these parts, he is much more frugal with the term's use. He tosses me the gloves and I put them on, then procuring the 100ft cable from the endtable. "It's a quad shield coax cable. I hope that's the right kind." He chuckles "Perfect. Let's get to it!"

We exit the side door, and my memory of the layout here precedes us like radar as the knob turns. It has been so long since I have remembered this room, but it is just like we left it, with its bespoke layout designed just for me, down to the tablet sitting on the end table. I pick up the tablet, just to see if it still recognizes me, and sure enough the screen lights up, unlocked at first glance. I am just about to try navigating it when I hear a second *CLICK* and I turn to see that my brother has already started opening the door leading into my soulmate's realm. Feeling something like the echo of the memory of the weight of this decision, I pause, and I speak my mind, in typical structured thoughtform.

"If we are welcome

May this path be a blessed one

Our aim true and swift

If we have encroached

May our path confound itself

Beneath your notice

Know honest seekers

By first glance or first notion

Amidst fallow fields

Like a rosebud's bloom

May sight of us be to you

When realm's crafted true

As for pretenders

May their stories fill the page

Of books you might read

As you pass the time

We walk through the library

Fearless of dark ink

Though nothing is touched

Our inked footfalls stain the glass

Our blood pumps through halls

The brothers approach

Hope filled suitor and witness

Steps same, feet different."

He nods with a subtle sense of determination, takes a deep breath, and opens the door in full. I feel as though I remember these steps well, but instead of a familiar living room or house of any kind, it is just a dark hallway. My brother seems to know the way, walking without turning left or right, and I place my free hand on his shoulder, not looking to get separated. It is unclear how much time passes, but I feel as though I am jostled from a slight stupor by a familiar crunch beneath my feet. Wait, is it familiar? A few more steps and I feel just as in the dark as before, though now much more aware of this fact. I focus on my feet and even close my eyes as we walk to try to place the sensation and sound, right up until my brother stops. I open my eyes to see myself surrounded by a quaint town, feeling somehow bigger than when I last saw it. Perhaps snow has a seemingly shrinking effect, I consider, largely always having been a foreigner to where snow often resides. I do recognize the crunch now though, as another sight that brings back memories of my childhood. Autumn leaves cover the ground, few trees still holding strong to their leaves of glorious yellow, mysterious orange, vibrant red, and earthen brown. I let go of my brother's shoulder and step to his side.

I breathe in the fresh air, closing my eyes for a second to soak it all in, this town seen before, from my perspective returning like a welcome guest, even as I return to it. When I open my eyes I spot a familiar door, and hear the faint music from the piano playing. I walk over to it and feel my heart pound as I consider reaching for the knob. "Don't worry about that one today." These reassuring words from my brother cast my anxiety away, and I recollect my thoughts. The sun seems to dim and I look up, holding up a hand to shield my eyes, to find dark clouds rolling in. "Looks like rain." I consider that we should probably make haste, as I did not bring an umbrella, and suddenly I remember the steps to my love's door. Like a light I'm off, tromping through the leaves, each step a satisfying crunch, right to the far side of the town. 

I reach her house and it seems quiet. While I recall the layout would preclude hearing anything going on from here anyway, still, it feels quiet. My brother catches up, hands in his pockets, seemingly having taken a leisurely stroll along the same distance. When he gets back to my side we both just stand in silence, myself marvelling at the architecture of this charming house, assuming he does the same. After a minute I turn to him and, as soon as he catches my gaze, he turns his to a spot just ahead and below on the wall, and I let my eyes follow. There is an outlet, shielded from the elements by a metal plate, and in a small nook. Uninhibited, given my heistin' gloves, I crouch and open the panel. My jaw drops in shock, though I realize it doesn't really make sense for me to be this surprised at such turns all the time. Behind the panel is a N-Series coaxial port. I look back up at my brother in joyous anticipation and he just gives a nod. I look back down at the cable in my hand and say "Oh, I didn't realize it had been plugged in this whole time." Instead of a huge mess of loops, I now hold just the end of the cable, just long enough to fit snugly and securely. "And don't worry, while you ran ahead I've been stringing it up for you." I look back and see the cable looped over the same hooks I had once used for Christmas Lights, extending all the way back from whence we came. I don't even bother mentioning the distance, having seen this one in other ways before, and I just feel a sense of accomplishment welling up within me, until it beams, but subtly, from my face. Instead I simply say "Nice one."

"Indeed."

The storm clouds encroach ever faster now, seeming to increase in intensity as well as proximity. It feels like a drop of rain strikes the crown of my head, but it is not accompanied, and I wonder if it may be a warning shot. My brother and I both look up now in unison, and I recall the two witnesses present at the end. My mind swirls with the storm, and it feels like a unique opportunity coalesces in the moment. Rather than run for cover, I speak boldly toward the sky.

"'I saw my brother when he met his bride

I bore witness then promptly disappeared

Found him on the day he's meant to have died

I clenched my fist and boldly persevered

Knowing when to stay, knowing when to go

Knowing when to follow and interpose

There is delicacy to falling snow

All the more brothers, so the story goes

"'Shouldn't've happened, oughtn't've perished

She'd've snagged him, so she'll've done so yet

Vault fo'c's'le, I'dn't've sailed 'cept cherished

Who'd've thought mountain'd move(d) from ha'p'orth bet?'"

So much to say and all time to say it

Brothers י balance scales for even split.'"

"Bet." My brother's single word seems to intertwine with my many, and there's an electricity in the air. Suddenly it feels as though the temperature drops a full 22 degrees, sending shivers down my spine. My mind wanders to the last time I was here, and I find myself missing the snow. As if on cue, a snowflake strikes the crown of my head. I look up, eyes suddenly starry once again, to see the sky between the clouds above and the autumn leaves below speckled with white. More snow falls, and I stick out my tongue, catching a snowflake right away. My brother laughs at my childlike nonsense, but then joins in. A few successful catches later I say "Well, at least it's not raining, right? That's gotta count for something." "Indeed it does."

As we turn to go I notice, from the corner of my eye, colored lights have come on inside her house. I turn once more to marvel at this change, and wonder hopefully if my connection managed to help spark it. My brother pats me on the shoulder "It's time to go." I nod and we walk back along the cable back to eep, but a part of me stays in that town, staring wide eyed at her door, imagining I can almost see the Christmas tree which those colored lights call home.