Fever Dream

Chapter 4

It was midmorning, and Kya was sitting outside on the front porch. The sun shined brightly on his face. The warmth felt amazing against his warm skin. A breeze blew lightly from the west.

After about five minutes of peaceful silence, his phone buzzed beside his leg. He jumped nervously. He glanced down and read the message. It was from his parents.

"

It read. Kya gulped slightly.

He texted back.

A minute passed and another message appeared on his screen.

"

Another minute passed and another text came up.

"

Kya rolled his eyes, smiling softly to himself.

A moment passed before another message appeared.

"

"What did you expect, dad?" Kya sighed, glancing up at the sky. He didn't see any birds flying past. "You never told me that your father was coming. I'm sorry. I didn't realize."

He glanced down, sighing. He didn't want to lie to his family, and he definitely didn't want to upset them. But he had no other choice. If his father didn't show up by the day after tomorrow, he had promised his mother that he'd send him pictures of his new fiancée, which meant he had to deliver those photographs today. His father would surely understand, right?

After he finished talking with his father and receiving a response, he stared at his phone. After staring at his reflection for a while in it, he finally decided to reply.

He typed slowly into the chat box.

He hit enter and waited anxiously for a reply. The longer it took for his mother to respond,the more his stomach twisted uncomfortably in knots.

She responded within five minutes.

He bit his lip and furrowed his brows. He knew his father would never forgive him for lying to his family. He knew his father would want to meet her. He knew that he had promised his mother to bring her home. He knew it was important to his mother.

He closed out of the chat and looked at the photo that his grandfather sent of the wedding venue. It looked beautiful. He hoped that his grandfather's family would love it too. He knew his mother wanted to impress everyone.

"Mom?" He said quietly.

"Yes, honey?" She answered back.

"Do you... Do you think it'll be alright if my father comes for dinner on Sunday?"

"Of course." She assured him, giving him a smile through the screen. "Just don't stay up all night waiting for his arrival. You need your rest."

"I won't." He laughed awkwardly.

"Good boy."

Before he knew it, the sound of footsteps approached him. He quickly pushed aside the conversation, turning around to look at the man that entered the yard. His father's expression remained stoic and his voice remained stern.

"I take it you already spoke with your mother."

"Yes, sir."

"Very well." His father nodded. "If she says it will be alright, it will happen. I assume you've informed your mother of your decision to invite our acquaintances here? And that I'm coming, as well?"

"Yes, sir."

"Good. Now, why don't you tell me exactly why you're doing so?"

"I thought that the best way for me to gain their trust would be to prove myself worthy of marrying their daughter. That I am worthy to share the same family as theirs."

"Good answer." His father remarked. "But what does being worthy entail? Is that something you're interested in learning?"

"Not really. There' s really nothing special about my future prospects. Just a few good investments. Nothing that'll take away too much money from my savings account. And..."

"And?" His father pressed. "What else might it entail?"

"Well, I plan on getting a law degree someday. That's what the company pays me to do, anyway. So I suppose it might help me in that regard."

"So what's stopping you from taking that path?"

Kya hesitated, unsure how to respond.

"The company expects me to be working full time, especially during my university studies. In order to ensure that I don't lose focus during class, I can't afford to give up on schoolwork completely. If I'm going to become successful as a lawyer, I have to study hard to succeed."

His father considered him for a few moments, then nodded.

"Very well," he agreed. "If you plan to pursue that line of work, you' ll have to put in an effort. You can't simply abandon school work. Even if it means giving up your dream of becoming a lawyer, you cannot simply drop out of the law field. That's what happens when you quit. People find you strange and suspicious. They start treating you differently. They don't believe you anymore, and if they do, it's usually because they fear for their own safety. This could lead to you losing your job."

Kya frowned slightly.

"Don't worry about it. I know where I stand with my son. He has to keep up with school studies or else the company might cut him off."

"I understand, sir."

"Good. Then we'll leave it at that." His father said. "Come inside. Breakfast is almost ready."

***

They spent most of the morning chatting idly and eating breakfast, as well. When it became lunchtime, they were preparing to head to the restaurant, when someone else arrived in the house.

"Hello, dear." His mother called cheerfully. "Who's at the door? Did you forget your keys again?"

"It's my friend, Kya. His father is arriving today."

"Really?" His mother replied excitedly. "That's great news! Come on in!"

"Thank you." Kya said politely. "Dad, it's good to see you again."

"Good to see you as well." His father replied. "How are you doing these days?"

"Fine, thank you."

"How about school?"

"Pretty good." He shrugged. "Same as always. I guess it depends on how you define'school'."

"Ah yes, how was your last year of high school, son?" His mother joined in.

"Not bad, I guess. My grades weren't quite perfect, though."

"But you got straight As, right?"

"Yeah, I did."

"That's great, dear. We're proud of you."

"Thanks, mom."

"Now, let's go eat. Your father and I are starving."

"Right."

***

"So, how was your summer?" His mother asked after they had sat down and started eating.

"It wasn't bad."

"Your father tells me you went to university." His father added.

"Yeah, I did."

"And what's your major?"

"Law, actually."

"Wow."

"Yep." Kya smiled sheepishly. "I couldn't decide whether I wanted to continue studying it or not. So I ended up dropping out."

"Are you planning to take over for me? Because I can assure you, you'll be sorely disappointed if you try."

"No, no, I'll be fine. I think it's best that I stick to one career. Besides, there's a chance that I wouldn't even make it as a lawyer."

"Why's that?"

"I just don't think I can handle the stress that comes with being an actual lawyer. It doesn't bother me that I have to go into practice everyday. I'm used to that kind of thing. But I don't think I could handle having to sit behind the desk for hours on end. And it would only be worse if I started getting calls for cases. Or having to attend meetings and meetings and meetings." He explained. "I would probably get stressed beyond belief. I' m sure I'd break my neck."

"Hmm...." His mother murmured thoughtfully. "What about college? Have you gotten into one yet?"

"No, mom. I haven't decided on a major." He shook his head.

"That's fine, dear."

"Did you get a boyfriend recently?"

"No," His father answered for him.

"Okay then." His mother smiled lightly and nodded her head before continuing to eat.

"What about you, dad?" Kya asked. "Any girlfriends?"

"No, I haven't found anyone worth pursuing." His father answered, his eyes narrowing a little. "However, I've been thinking about getting a girlfriend since last night. Why, has any of your friends done anything similar?"

"No."

"So you have a lack of interest towards dating?"

"That's right."

"Then, how do you expect us to raise you if you don't have the confidence to date?"

"I know." He said quietly. "Sorry, dad. But I've just never had the courage to ask anyone out. It's easier to focus on school."

"Alright." His father nodded. "You've convinced me."

"Oh," His mother chimed in as she took a sip of her drink. "Speaking of, did you meet someone while you were out shopping?"

"I didn't. The only woman who's ever caught my eye has been a customer at the store." His father commented.

"Really?" His mother asked surprised. "Well, that's certainly interesting. Who is she?"

"A young girl named Karen."

Kya looked at him curiously.

"She came with a group of girls this afternoon and they were looking for something to buy."

"What for?"

"To celebrate their anniversary."

"That sounds nice."

"I agree."

Kya continued to listen intently to what they were saying, but he also couldn' t help but wonder what kind of person this Karen was. Judging by the way his father described her, he seemed to be very fond of her. It gave him the impression that he was a little bit protective of her. He wondered how she treated him, how he treated her.

He glanced at his watch. It read 11:20.

"Hey, dad," He interrupted. "Is it okay if I leave now? It's a bit late for a boy my age to still be outside on his own."

His father chuckled.

"Don't worry, son. I think I'll survive without you for one day. I' ll tell you tomorrow how things go."

"Sure. See ya, Kya."

After saying goodbye to them both, he walkedback to his room and grabbed his bag before heading downstairs.