***
Hours later, I’m standing by Aisen’s doorway. His parents have gone back to their hotel, but not before showering the boy with affection as they left my house. Now, he’s sitting on his bed, fiddling on his phone. I try to memorize the sight of his skinny frame in his pajamas. If I squint my eyes, I can see the little one I used to read bedtime stories to.
“So,” I say. “Your parents love your new monster form.”
Aisen startles and puts his phone down. He shrugs, and nervous energy rolls off of him. “Um, yeah.” He scratches his arm, and I sit down an arm’s length from him on the sheets. “We got to play in the water, their mermaid forms and my octopus. It was fun.”
My heart aches a little more. “I’m glad,” I manage to say with a smile.
“And they said they want me to live with them on the road. Doing shows.”
I gulp. “Mhm.”
Aisen taps the bed. “Um, what do you think?”
“That depends. How do you feel,joka?”
He shrugs. “Travelling around the world sounds really dope.”
“It does.”
“But I’d miss my MM friends. We’ve gotten really close as monsters.”
“Yes, but with your cell phones, you can text them, right?”
“Right.”
I muster up my best smile. “And I’ll even keep you on my cell phone plan! That way, you can use the internet and stuff. And show me all the pics around the world.”
Aisen looks up at me with his tiny, dark eyes, so much like my own. “So, you think it’s a good idea?”
I hate it.“I think you should follow your heart.”
He bites his lip. “Homeschooling sounds easy. But boring. Still, not as annoying as regular school.”
“Ah.”
“And I do miss having parents. They said I’m getting so big without them.” He stares at the wall. “I don’t want them to miss me growing up.”
As much as it rends my heart to say goodbye to him, I know he’s missed his folks all these years. If my parents ever wanted to see me again, I’d forget all their transgressions and welcome them with open arms.
“You’re not a little kid anymore, Eyes-and-ears.” I poke his belly, and he chuckles. “If you want to travel with them, I’ll support you.”
He slowly nods. “I guess. If you think it’s a good idea.”
“It’s up to you.”
After a long pause, he replies, “It’ll be good to spend time with Mom and Dad. That’s what they said, anyway. I think so, too.”
My face goes numb, and then I pat his shoulder. “You’ll always have a place here on dry land if you need.”
With the finality of my words wafting through the air, my nephew leans in and hugs me. I hold on tight and try to fight back the burning in my eyes.
“Hey!” I pull back. “How about this Friday we throw a little party here for you and your monster friends!”
“Um, sure?”
“You can play Nintend-Ogre Witch games! And I’ll order all your favorite junk foods.”
