Baby

sunlight, the occasional sighting of little creatures. He never felt lonely, seduced by the magic of timid rabbits, quarreling squirrels, hyperactive chipmunks and the silent family of deer; all his unwitting playmates, enchanting him with their innocence and acceptance.
    Today he turned seven. He looked forward to the scrumptious cake his mother always baked for his birthday. He knew Abby planned to have a special gift for him from the meager money she earned from the Muslim family she babysat for. He could hardly contain his excitement as the school day past so slowly. He thought he would age another year while he waited. The usual snubs from his classmates mattered not, his mind focused on the happy party waiting for him at home.
    Running up to his now familiar door after the school bus dropped him off, he jerked in surprise, seeing his father’s car in the drive, hearing shouts and angry voices. Letting himself in, he trembled at the sight of his father. His heart ratcheted up, thumping hard as his breathing came fast and shallow, his stomach starting a slow roil. He witnessed his father’s arms looped around his mother’s neck as he tried to force her to kiss him. She fought back, trying to slip out of his grip with little success, her balance a hindrance because of her brace. His father’s expression hardened, angry and ugly. A sneer deformed his thin lips as he slowly strangled her while Scotty beat on his father’s legs, vainly trying to protect his mother. She screamed, fighting him off until a desperate shove sent her falling back on the kitchen table where Scotty’s birthday cake sat, waiting to have the candles lit for his party. Seven beautiful blue candles on top of rich chocolate icing. His mom caught her balance on the kitchen table, sending his beautiful birthday cake flying. Everyone froze as the cake landed upside down, splattering on the hardwood floor. Staring at his ruined birthday cake, Scotty felt his stomach turn inside out, queasiness ready to explode. And, a little something new; anger. The kind of anger that festers and simmers beneath the surface, cooking in its own poison while it twists the mind with bitterness. Picking up the remains of the cake, he threw it at his father who just laughed at him, calling him a crybaby and a little turd. He wasn’t a turd. Sobbing, he ran out the door, up the hill and into the woods. He just kept running, past all his favorite spots, into the deep woods, his sobs turning to anger, magnified by the resentment of his afflictions.
    Slowing down, he dropped to the ground, leaning up against a hillside unfamiliar to him. He tried to block the memory of his daddy’s belittling taunting tone and the damaged look on his mom’s face. Restlessly, he wandered along the hillside until he turned a corner, stepping back in surprise.
    Before him stood a massive granite boulder. He eyeballed the massive rock, wondering how he dare claim it for his own. He noticed handholds, seemingly carved into the side of the rock. Hmm, could he pull himself up? Approaching the rock, he struggled with the handholds, finally reaching the top. What a great spot for a fort. Curling up in a depression, he felt the warmth from the sun seep from the rock into his body. His drowsy eyes slowly closed over his tear stained cheeks and he drifted off into an uneasy sleep.
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    The creature roused herself from a deep slumber, feeling the presence of a large life form. She sensed its closeness, but noted it was not yet in the deep quiet cavern of the Hive. She called the Hive home, her safety well assured for over a century. Sadly, she coped with constant loneliness. Her only companions the occasional woodland creature that found its way into the cavern. Periodically, she would venture out of the cavern to observe the behavior of the human creatures of this planet, caution an imperative.
    The trauma witnessed over a century ago still smoldered sharply in her mind; the guilt, just as fresh. She could have intervened when she became suspicious of her birth Brother’s mental and physical damage during her emergence. Or perhaps it happened during the Womb’s entry into the Earth’s atmosphere. Maybe the Womb failed to properly care for Brother, although it certainly cared for her without complaint. She often suspected the Womb deliberately allowed the incident to escalate just so it could study the outcome. How else could the Womb learn how to interpret the actions of the humans? She