Acupuncture By Charlotte Reed - Get a Free Blog
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Buoys<br />
<strong>By</strong> Tina Cho<br />
Aaron was watching his father sleep when a bird swept in from the window. His father turned<br />
in his bed, but the sound of the sheets was muffl ed by the twitching of the black feathers as the creature<br />
settled onto the water pipe. Aaron was observing the neck of the bird turn when Mark muttered,<br />
“You are a little late.”<br />
Aaron apologized.<br />
“Or early now, I guess. Th e sun woke me up,” Mark said. He motioned his son to prop up the<br />
bed. Aaron arched his body over the old man and turned the handle counterclockwise until the bed<br />
sat up at a right angle. “Was there an emergency?”<br />
“Sort of.” A woman had fallen into a lake.<br />
Mark smiled. “Well, you can tell me all about it while I take my bath.” Aaron closed the window<br />
and fl icked on the television. He went to the bathroom, squat by the tap while his hand cut through<br />
the column of hot water. From the sound of the water Aaron thought he heard his father hum to the<br />
national anthem.<br />
“Look,” Mark said, pointing at the screen. Aaron returned to his father’s bed. “It’s the lake. Th at<br />
was years ago, wasn’t it? When we drove south for four hours for some lame water because your<br />
mother got ideas in her head from some sailing magazine?”<br />
“Th e boat was fun.”<br />
“We shouldn’t have let you drive, you almost fl ipped us over. But you and your sister had a hard<br />
time getting off in the end, didn’t you?” Aaron answered yes. “And your mother—where was she?”<br />
“She was sitting next to you.”<br />
“No, she was by the bank. I remember she was standing on that grass, waving her arms like<br />
crazy. It was so windy, she was scared.” He paused. “When did she say that she’d visit?”<br />
“Tomorrow,” Aaron answered. Mark turned back to the television. Th e weight seemed to be<br />
leaving his body as his face dissolved into a blank stare. Aaron looked up to check on the bird. Th e<br />
bat sat crumbled in the corner of the ceiling, fl inching.<br />
“What are you looking at?” Mark asked. Mark never liked birds, detested their shrieks and redeyed<br />
glares. Aaron hated being the only one to remember Mark explode then leak, so Aaron kept the<br />
bird to himself. Instead, he swiveled his father’s legs around like a niece in a sundress and carried the<br />
hairless body to the bathroom. Both men looked away as Aaron unbuttoned and slid the garment<br />
magus ~ 40 ~ mabus