Something Very Special

Something Very Special
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"Tell me a story." He said to me. Looking at me with those naïve blue eyes like always.

"What's the magic word?" I asked him. He was so young and innocent then, not like now. My little boy, all grown up with the weight of the world on his shoulders, but still smiling, even now.

"Tell me a story... please. Oh please tell me one." He replied, remembering his manners after a little prompting. He was still learning back then, though he never really stopped I suppose.

"And what story would you like to hear?" I smiled at him and he smiled back. Such a beautiful child with the brightest smile, it matched his eyes, always sparkling.

"My favourite." He grinned.

His favourite... it actually scared me a little every time I told it. Not because the story itself was terrifying, though it had its moments. No, I just knew that one day my little boy would find something in that story that would change his life. He had always been special to me, always, but I've ever since we had to move just how much so he really was.

Even if that meant one day he would be taken from me, and I would never see him again. That's why his favourite story scared me so much, because I knew it would take my son from me.

His favourite story and my least.

"Your favourite?" I questioned. "Don't you want to hear a new story?"

"Nuh-uh." Was his reply.

Even as a child he was stubborn and determined. Once he set his mind to something, changing it was almost impossible.

"Alright then. Your favourite." I nodded.

I remember his face when I told the story, the same as whenever I told it. Totally transfixed and in awe, fascinated by every last word. His eyes never looked brighter, he was such a quiet child. Hard to believe if you know him now I know. He used to be so timid and withdrawn, but whenever he wanted to hear a story, suddenly he was the most active person in the room.

Even after telling him one he had heard a hundred times before, he'd stay animated for days. He loved his stories, brave knights, noble heroes, evil dragons, ancient kingdoms, myths and magic, sword and sorcery, he loved it all. If you had asked him in that moment; if you could live in those stories, would you?

He would answer 'yes' without hesitation.

That just made his favourite story even more fitting. For some reason he loved it, even though it was at its heart a sad story. Then again, he could always seem to find the light amongst the shadows, no matter how dark they became.

He looked up at me, eyes wide and bright, smiling from ear to ear and sat patiently, waiting for the legend he loved most.

So I told him that story, even though he had probably heard it a hundred times before. I started it the same way as always...

"There was once a prince of a forgotten kingdom..." I began and  suddenly my son's eyes were as bright as a full moon, with a smile twice as wide.

You could see his face rise and fall throughout the story, through all the highs and the lows, even when he stopped smiling, his eyes stayed bright. He clearly held the story quite dear to his heart, it was in his blood to love myths, that particular one even more so. Like all things though, the story had to draw to a close and as I prepared to speak the final line, someone else spoke for me.

"...And the prince stepped into the night and vanished from the world." The bard said a smile at his lips and a heavy bag at his back.

"Dad!" My little boy cried as he ran over to his father.

I don't think I'd ever seen anyone move that fast before, other than his father who seemed to slip in and out of our lives like a phantom. He wasn't always around, but he tried at least. I even understood why he kept his distance, some truths just aren't easy to bare, but none can truly stop a father from loving his son.

"Hey there kiddo!" The bard grinned, lifting his son up to eye level and fixing him with a stern glare. "Staying out of trouble?"

"Maybe." My little boy replied. One story is all it took to turn him into a cheeky child with a smart mouth. "Do I still get my present if I didn't?"

He also had a habit of losing all verbal inhibitions. Manners were something he'd occasionally forget... I dreaded to think what he'd get up to in his teens or who he'd aggravate.

His father continued looking at him with a stern and stony face. I remember clearly how our son replied. He returned his father's glare with an equally stern pout. Needless to say his father's glare didn't last long.

"Ha!" The bard laughed. "He's got too much of us in him." He said, turning to me with a grin.

That made me smile and I cherished that statement to my last breath. Even after everything that had happened, the fact he could say that so confidently gave me hope. When I looked at my son from then on, I could see clearly that the past hadn't changed him at all. Ignorance and innocence, in his case, I liked to believe they were the same.

I had to.

"Speaking of which..." He began, putting our son back down on the ground. "How's the other one coming along?" He asked, seating himself beside me on the bed.

My lover... for a bard he could certainly be blunt at times, but he meant well. He came and went as easily as a breeze, but he always came back. I wouldn't say we had a perfect relationship, but he tried his best. With circumstances as they were, I couldn't really blame him.

"Not long now." I replied, grasping his hand. "The physician said maybe a month, possibly less."

"I hope it's a girl." He stated.

Now that surprised me. He wasn't exactly willing to talk about things like this, not normally. To have him come out and say something like that...

"So do I." I smiled at him.

"Speaking of family. I've brought you a little something." The bard said, returning my smile. He let go of my hand and started shuffling around in his backpack till he found what he was looking for.

When he showed it to me, I couldn't believe it. It was a small silver locket in the shape of a kite shield. When he lifted my hand and placed it into it, he released the hidden catch on the side. The seal opened and showed me something I never thought I'd see again. Inside the locket was a single small blue gemstone, held tightly in its frame. It even had the crescent moon carved into the underside of the lid.

"How did you...? This is?" I tried to ask, but I found the words dry up before they could be said. I was in awe.

"Scavengers are quite skilled at picking through ruins." He replied, ever the bard with his metaphors. "It took a while to track down but I found it."

"I can't believe it..." I muttered.

I really couldn't. After everything that had happened, after all we'd lost that night, I thought it was gone forever. Then suddenly there it was again, a precious heirloom in the palm of my hands. It all seemed too good to be true.

I could see my son standing on his toes to try and see what was in my hand, always the curious one. My son... I knew then just who should have the necklace, I had worn it for years before, now it was someone else's turn.

My bard seemed to have the same idea and lifted his son onto his knee so our child could see his inheritance. It was about all we could really give him. I can only hope it was enough.

"Stay still." I said to him and with great effort, he did.

I slipped the thread of the locket over his head until it finally rested on his neck.

It looked perfect.

For just a little while, we were a family, together again. Even though I knew it couldn't last, I was happy.

One day though, I knew, he would set foot beyond my sight and I would never see him again. It hurt knowing that, but he had always been special. I'd known for a long time that one day he would disappear, but not knowing when was what hurt the most.

But no matter how far he travels, who he meets, what he sees, what he does, his achievements and his failures, all those things that make him who he is. No matter how they change him from the little boy I held in my arms, he will always be my son.

Because even when the boy becomes a man, he will still be my little boy...

And something very special.