Birdhouse

ii. lee

Confused, Levi observes the weeping boy. “A what, mate?”

“A Fallen!” the boy repeats, “They have banished me from Heaven, but it was not my fault. I did not mean to!” Tears continue to stream down his flaming cheeks, leaving glistening trails in their path.

Levi cannot believe what he is hearing. Scratching his stubbled chin, he ponders on how to call this boy insane without offending him. “Heaven? You think you’re an angel?”

“I am an angel! Or at least I was…” he adds wistfully. “It was the Serpent. He told me to do it.”

Levi stands from the carpet and grabs the plaid blanket strewn messily on the floor. Draping it over the boy to cover him, he nears the front door. He steps into some boots and slides his tattered leather jacket on over his white pyjama shirt. Snatching his keys from the table, he pockets them and beckons the boy towards him with his hand. “Come here.”

“Why?” he questions softly.

“I’m taking you to the hospital. You ain’t well, kid.”

The boy seems angry at Levi's words. “I am well! I am just sad.”

“Why do you talk like that? Why don’t you shorten any of your words?” Levi asks, leaning against the doorframe. 

“I do not understand.”

“Like that! You say ‘do not’. Just say ‘don’t’.”

The boy c***s his head to one side like a confused puppy. Giving up, Levi sighs and approaches him further. The boy shrinks back in fright.

“I ain’t gonna hurt you, kid!” He decides to attempt a different tactic. “What’s your name?”

The boy glances up timidly through large, green eyes. “My name is Haraeya.”

Levi smiles gently, taking another subtle step closer. “Hey, Haraeya. I’m Levi. Would you mind coming with me?”

Haraeya watches him, motionless.

Levi takes another step closer. “I wanna help you, init.”

“In what?” 

“Init, it’s…forget it.” Levi holds out his hand. “Take it. I won’t hurt you.”

Warily, Haraeya watches his hand, before reaching forward to grab it. However, Levi is surprised when, instead of holding it, he wraps his fingers around Levi's thumb like a newborn baby. He hauls the boy to his feet.

“Thank you, Haraeya. Now would you mind coming with me to the hospital? It won’t take long to drive you there,” he speaks softly and slowly like one would to a child.

“Drive?” Haraeya questions as if he has never heard the word before. “What is drive?”

“In my car,” Levi explains.

Haraeya’s stare remains blank.

“You know…car? Vroom vroom?” This boy clearly has something wrong with him and Levi decides that his moral compass points towards taking him to someone who can help.

Leading him to the front door, Levi realises Haraeya is still firmly holding onto his thumb. Weird, but a somewhat endearing gesture nonetheless.  

Door swinging open, he guides Haraeya down the pathway to his old, rusty car. The boy observes his surroundings with wide, curious eyes as if he has never seen the outside world before. His hand relocates to grip onto Levi's leather jacket.

A car roaring past them causes Haraeya to yelp in surprise and bolt up the path back into the house, the blanket managing to fly off him in the process. Baffled at his terrified reaction to a simple car, Levi frowns in puzzlement as he grabs the blanket and chases after him. Stumbling through the front door, he hurries into the living room, only to find it empty. He dashes into the kitchen in search of him, but to no avail.

“Haraeya?” he hollers, “Where are you? There’s nothing to be afraid of, I promise.”

The sound of something knocking over from the floor above causes Levi's head to shoot up and for him to race up the stairs. Entering his bedroom, he discovers his bedside lamp knocked over onto the floor. He picks it up, circling the room like a vulture.

“Kid, I know you’re in here.”

A sob is heard at his feet. Levi drops to his hands and knees and peers under the bed, only to find a shaking, naked boy, cowering as if trapped in the home of a serial killer. The fear in his wild, viridian eyes causes Levi's expression to soften.

“What’re you doing under there, buddy?” Levi asks gently, “And why’re you crying?”

“I am scared and my back is ouch,” he explains, bottom lip trembling.

“Your back hurts?”.

Haraeya nods. 

“Well, no wonder! It’s a deep wound, init. Come out from under there and I’ll help you clean it up,” Levi offers, yet again extending his hand out for Haraeya to take. The boy visibly hesitates, but it doesn’t take him long to grasp Levi's thumb and crawl out from beneath the bed. They both stand up together and Levi guides him patiently into the bathroom. He instructs Haraeya to sit on the side of the bath to which he obediently complies. 

“Now, let’s take a look at that wound shall we, kid?” Levi rolls up his sleeves. He assists Haraeya in rotating so his bare feet are resting in the tub, leaving his wounded back on full display for Levi. 

It’s worse than he initially expected. The scar is shaped in an almost upside down ‘V’ shape, stretching from his shoulder blades, all the way down to his lower back. Blood that had spilled from the wound and has since dried is running down his bronzed back in streams of dramatic red. Skin surrounding the scar has blossomed an irritated pink. 

“s**t,” Levi breathes, “This doesn’t look good, kid.”

“My name is not kid, my name is Haraeya,” Haraeya says, disregarding Levi's comment.

“Yeah, duh. It’s just a nickname.” Levi rolls his eyes, reaching for a flannel.

“Nickname? What is nickname?” Haraeya asks curiously as Levi runs the flannel under the water.

“You don’t know what a nickname is? Seriously?” Levi questions in disbelief. But realising he may embarrass the boy, he proceeds to explain as he dabs at the wound with the flannel. Haraeya hisses through his teeth. “A nickname is like…something you call someone as a sort of endearment, init. Or an insult if you wanna make fun of them.”

“That does not sound very nice.”

“Nah, most of the time it’s in a jokey way,” Levi assures, wringing the flannel to squeeze water onto Haraeya’s back.

“Oh, okay!” he chirps, “How do you know what to nickname?”

“It’s usually something about the person. Like how they look, or something about their personality or who they are, y’know?”

“I am an angel!” Haraeya exclaims with excitement, “Nickname of mine can be Angel!”

Levi snorts. “Angel’s a bit too romantic for my liking. I’ll stick with kid.”

Levi stands from the toilet lid he is seated upon and opens the cabinet above him to retrieve a bottle of rubbing alcohol.

“I will call you Beautiful.”

Levi splutters in surprise, almost dropping the bottle in the process. “What?”

“You said nickname is what someone looks like and you look like beautiful. So I will call you Beautiful.”

Levi's cheeks heat up in embarrassment and he instinctively lowers his head to hide them. “Uh…thanks, I guess. But again, I think that’s too romantic.” He pauses. “You can call me Lee if you want.”

“Lee,” Haraeya echoes.

They sit in silence as Levi dabs the alcohol onto a piece of cotton wool. Warning Haraeya that it may sting, he tentatively presses it onto his skin. Haraeya yelps, his entire body jittering with surprise, but he is quick to grow accustomed to the pain. 

Once the wound is cleaned, Levi observes the jagged upside down ‘V’. “Now, how the hell are we gonna cover this? Don’t bandages cut off your airway or some s**t like that?”

Haraeya cranes his head around to watch Levi with wide, inquisitive eyes.

“Hang on,” Levi mutters, more to himself, “Let’s see if this works.” He finds a roll of bandage stacked away in the cabinet and unravels it, Haraeya watching him do so with intrigue all the while. Levi folds the ribbon of bandage into a large square. A first aid box is stacked on top of the cabinet. It was only used when his friend’s younger niece used to visit and constantly injure herself. Levi opens it and retracts a wheel of medical tape. Ripping off long strips with his teeth, he proceeds to border the square of bandage with the tape. He holds it up and gently secures it onto Haraeya’s back, directly over the wound. 

“Oi oi, check me out! Think I was a nurse in a past life or something.” Levi stands back to admire his handiwork. “I’d give you a lollipop for being such a brave boy but sadly I don’t have any.”

Haraeya doesn’t even seem to be listening. Instead, he is stood up with his head peering over his shoulder in his attempts to see the bandage covering his back. He hurries around in a circle like a dog chasing its tail. The sight is amusing to Levi.

“You alright there, kid?” he chuckles.

Haraeya freezes, head perking up to gaze at Levi. “Thank you, Lee! You are so very kind to me!” 

Much to Levi's surprise, the boy dives forward and engulfs him into a hug. Haraeya’s curls tickle his stubbled chin and the man falters, before awkwardly patting him on the back with a single hand. 

Haraeya removes his head from Levi's chest, only to gaze up at him with the utmost admiration. “So kind and beautiful. I like Lee very much. I would like to stay with Lee forever and ever! Or until I am allowed back home.”

Haraeya’s declaration grinds Levi's actions to an abrupt halt. He wants to live with him? But all either one of them know about each other is their first name. Haraeya could have a family, Levi realises. People could be out looking for him. It’s pretty clear he’s not well and it wouldn’t be right for Levi to keep him as if he’s some sort of pet. But how on earth would he be able to take him to the hospital when he’s so deathly afraid of everything? His claim of being an angel is beginning to become more and more plausible with each passing moment when Levi thinks about how truly ignorant this boy is of the world.

“Haraeya,” he sighs solemnly, “You can’t live with me, kid.”

The boy’s face falls in disappointment. “Why?”

“Your family’s probably out there wondering where the hell you are.”

“Eema is up there.” Haraeya’s finger turns upwards to point to the sky. “And she knows where I am. She was there when I was banished.”

“Banished?” Levi echoes in confusion.

“Yes, banished!” Haraeya repeats, “Banished from Heaven!”

Levi groans. “Still stuck on that Heaven s**t?”

“I do not understand.” Haraeya frowns.

“You still think you’re from Heaven.”

Haraeya’s voice raises, but he still remains the least intimidating person Levi has ever encountered in his twenty-four years of life. “I am from Heaven!”

“Sure, kid, sure,” Levi dismisses, raking his fingers through his dark hair.

Haraeya’s eyes wander to the man’s forearms on display since his sleeves are rolled up. “What is this?” he asks, pointing to the colourful markings adorning both his arms.

“What, these?” Levi asks, stepping back from Haraeya’s close proximity, “They’re tattoos.”

“Tattoos? What is tattoos?” Haraeya's gaze is fixed onto the intricate swirls of navy blue.

“It’s ink from a needle, init,” he explains, no longer shocked at the boy’s unawareness of the world. “It’s stabbed into my skin and stays there forever.”

“Forever?” Haraeya gasps, cupping his hands over his mouth.

“Forever.”

“They are very beautiful, Lee. I would like them.”

Levi refrains his laughter. “I think they’d be a bit too painful for you, kid. You need to cover yourself before you even start considering tattoos.”

“Cover?”

“Yeah, hang on.” Levi jogs down the stairs and retrieves the plaid blanket he had earlier tossed lazily over the banister in his haste to chase after Haraeya. Summoning the boy down the stairs, Levi wraps the blanket around him and helps him step into a pair of old slippers. 

The man swipes his keys from the coffee table and approaches the front door. Twisting the handle, he tentatively opens the door as to not startle the boy. Haraeya is too busy admiring the russet red slippers on his feet to notice.

“Kid, you wanna try getting in the car again?” 

Only when Levi speaks does the boy look up in his direction. His face drops when he notices the man’s hand on the door handle.

“No. I do not like the car, Lee.” His eyebrows draw together in sadness.

“You ain’t even been in it yet!” Levi laughs, “Come on, it’ll be fine. Trust me.”

Haraeya says nothing, just watches him carefully.

Levi sighs sharply, hesitates, before offering his hand to the boy. “I won’t let any harm come to you, I promise.”

Haraeya’s wary gaze alternates between Levi's blue eyes and his outstretched hand. The man flashes him a grin that doesn’t quite reach his eyes but nevertheless, it is the final push that convinces Haraeya to latch onto his thumb and allow him to lead them both outside.