Dinner with Mr. Lilac

Ever wondered what it was like to be an insect? Crawling around the surface of the earth, living the life you were given in organized chronological order. Sometimes, you would have an early death, have your designated life taken away from you not even seconds after you revolutionized from a larvae. There are other creatures here besides you. They're quite terrifying if I say so myself.  

I am one of them. 

"Good morning Mr. Lilac."  

My name is Monise Saitou, I just turned 11 today. I crouched down in front of the nightstand, where I kept a ladybug I named Mr. Lilac. He had lived approximately 7 days so far. He's the first of my friends to live this long. 

"Thank you Mr. Lilac, this is the best birthday present ever." I laid down the leaf of a plant I found in the garden. Ladybugs eat these soft bugs that are always on the plants that are grown at my house. I make sure to bring some food to the ladybugs that live in my room because they won't be able to find the bugs in my room. 

"Monise," There was a knock on my door, that I recognized as Habi, the caretaker of this house. He takes care of my aunt and me who besides him are the only ones who live here. "Breakfast is ready, be sure to eat before heading to school." 

I abruptly grab my school backpack, and stuff a couple bottles filled with ladybugs inside before heading for the kitchen. 

I don't know much about my mother, or my father, but my aunt always tells me stories that my mother disappeared one day, but she waits for her to come back. My aunt is blind, and she says the day my mother left, she forgot how to see. 

The smell of banana bread and scrambled eggs filled the entire house, as I followed the scent down the stairs. It wasn't long before I reached the kitchen, to find my aunt sitting at the table, with a book she uses her fingers to read. 

She looked up towards my direction as if she sensed me through a silhouette and my natural scent. A smile formed on her face, and she set the book aside. "Good morning Monini." 

"Good morning Nami." 

I bypassed her who was sitting north of the kitchen entrance and sat on her left side where a glass of Soy milk was waiting for me. 

The weekdays were normal, in fact, everything seemed pretty boring when both my Nami and Habi were around. Every weekend, when Habi would take Nami to her sight therapy classes, the house seemed completely voiceless even compared to the fact that my aunt was very soft spoken. Habi would still be taking care of me of course, but the few hours he was gone driving her there, the house almost seemed haunted. 

"Miss. Monise, do you want me to take you to school today?" Habi asked as he himself sat down to eat. 

"No, I'm good. I'm going with my best friend today." 

Habi's eyes formed a smile with the wrinkles at the edges. He was middle-aged but didn’t seem the same age as Nami. Nami's hair almost looks like a grandma's. "Take care then." 

It wasn't long before Habi's presence was asked of at my Elementary school. Despite that Nami was my only living relative, Habi would always show up in her place because of her disabilities. Something could happen to Nami on the way, I would always imagine her falling down a pothole she didn't see, or pick a fight with someone and unable to know where she's punching she would, unfortunately, lose the fight. I gotta make sure to be her eyes when she picks a fight. 

I had a sudden realization that "Now" was Now, as I sat in a chair in front of the principal. As if, today, my story began. 

"I apologize for the trouble." Habi said, as he bowed and stood behind my chair, aligned with the parents of Jona Andou, my best friend. 

"Thank you for coming sir, it must be troubling for you to have to come almost every week." The short and round woman ranted. She seemed like the wicked witch of this story. 

"Not at all." 

"Well as you know, little Miss. Saitou here was caught holding a pair of scissors against Mr. Andou." 

"T-that's not-!" 

Andou's mother silenced Andou as he attempted to speak, right before she turned and gave me a death scorn as if I was a murderer. 

"This is almost preposterous that this young lady is capable of causing so much commotion. On top of that, today she brought in insects and frightened the teacher. We attempted to remove them from her but we did not want to repeat the same event from 3 years ago." 

Now that I remember, in second grade, the teacher wouldn't let me read on the reading couch during recess. She went on about how children need exercise and social communication, and she tried to physically remove me with the intention of sending me to play with the "others". 

So I kicked her in the shin. 

"But we have no choice but to suspend Miss. Saitou for the next three days. That child needs therapy sessions, I can no longer condone such behavior from a student. If you can no longer take further action, we will have no choice but to bring the government into this matter." 

I stood up and headed for the door, clutching my jars of ladybugs in my hands. "Let's go Habi." 

Habi stood up and bowed to the wicked witch before turning around and following after me. 

Habi and I walked out of the school grounds hand in hand, as I skipped each crack in the pavement I encountered. None of us spoke a word until Habi had to wipe sweat from my forehead and took the chance to say something. 

"Did you want a new haircut?" 

I didn't reply. 

"What actually happened Monise, you can tell me." He asked as he pivoted around me, and knelt down on eye-level. "Andou is your best friend, right? You didn't want to hurt him obviously." 

I shook my head. "I wanted to become a boy, but Andou didn't want to. Selfish dookie."

 

Habi let out a chuckle. He was beginning to understand now.  

"Let's head home. You can help me take care of the garden, the ladybugs are hungry by now." 

I nodded. "Mr. Lilac is a very hungry gentleman, his afternoon must have a variety of entrée's." 

"You have a very vast vocabulary Little Miss. Monini. Quite precocious if I say so myself! Have you traveled to France?" Habi stated as he leads me down the street, as if he and I were aristocrats, on our way to having afternoon tea with my good friend. 

"The ladybugs have traveled very far and wide. Mr. Lilac has visited Rome, he says the deserts are quenching." 

"Amazing!" Habi chanted, as he laughed. "What a great individual. You must introduce me!" 

I nodded enthusiastically and began to pull him  as we approached the house. 

As we headed inside, I dropped my things, and skidded up the stairs, greeting Nami as she rolled the wheelchair by. 

"Mr.Li-" 

The smell of fresh greens engrossed my room, the window spread open, and the roaming ladybugs out of sight. I vigorously rummaged my room, looking for the ladybugs that I released this morning. Even the ones that died early. All gone. 

"What happened?" 

"I let them go." 

I whipped around to see, a silhouette in the window. 

"Why?!" 

"Poor creature, I had to save them." 

"They were happy here!" 

"A creature removed from his habitat is never happy." 

I angrily puffed up my nose. I hate this person. Always stealing my ladybugs when I wasn't looking. 

"This is why I don't like scruffy weirdos like you!" 

"Scruffy?" 

I jumped up onto my bed. "Yes! Scruffy! And smelly and dumb!" 

"You are a very daring young lady to speak to me that way!" 

I stuck my tongue out before he disappeared in the wind. 

I stood for a few seconds, then I fell onto my knees, beginning to feel tears fill my eyes. 

"Oh dear! The window was left open!" Habi rushed to shut the window, turning to look at me as I hid under the covers so I could cry and he won't know. But Habi always finds a way to know. 

"We can look for more tomorrow." 

I didn't answer. 

He walked to my nightstand to look at where I kept Mr. Lilac. He was dead. 

"I'll be taking Mr. Lilac for some fresh air then.." 

I leap from the bed falling onto the hardwood floor and frightening Habi as I held onto his trousers. The jar that once

contained my dear Mr. Lilac, shattering to thousands of pieces.

"No!" I scream in sobs, as I stare at the shards that once contained one of my greatest friends. He lasted by my side for so long. 

I found myself staring at the fireplace, as Nami brushed the strands of hairs that Habi fixed. The hair that I grew to my back for so long, was now up to my neck. Whether I liked it or not, I was nowhere near like Andou. I was still a girl. 

"Such pretty hair. So dark, and beautiful." She said as she brushed it easily without any knots now that it was so short. "You know Monise, short hair is a sign of beauty." 

"But I don’t want to be beautiful." 

I heard  the sound of her lips form a smile. "When you were born, your mother was so happy to have birthed such a beautiful girl." 

I turned around to face her. "But why would she leave? If she was happy that I was beautiful, why did she leave.." 

Worry spread onto her face. Before she could respond, Habi came to put me to bed. 

"I don't want to go to bed." 

"You need sleep," Habi said as he adjusted my covers. 

"My friends are gone, being alone is scary." 

He grabbed a chair to sit next to me. 

"My friend became my enemy today." I told him.

 

"Mr. Andou?" 

"No. He never told me his name, but he stole all my ladybugs. He hates me." 

He stroked my hair. "Maybe you misunderstood him." 

"He is always saying scary things." 

Habi looked at me endearingly. He couldn't see my scruffy looking friend, and he always assumed he was imaginary. But my friends were real. They spoke to me, they stood in front of me. They would never touch me, unless I told them to. 

"I'll stay here until you sleep then." 

Author's Note

Authors note: So I wanted to upload a first chapter. It's shorter than I expected, but the rest of the chapters will definitely be at least 3,000 or 5,000 words if possible. In order to achieve long chapters I'll be uploading once a week every Wednesday. :) (Yes I know it's Thursday as I upload this, but I am trying to organize myself here.)