Autumn Quiet

2020.11.10, by Jinsbek

It’s stupid, but Yumeka’s taken to casting magic circles around me to help ward off thoughts about the police raid—and it helps. I don’t buy into that stuff, really, but it puts me in a state of mind to shift away from what happened.

Our delts are still burning… Maybe we went too hard, not even a massage helped for very long. Made Akihiko some rice porridge… Ansel likes to add eggs and sugar-free, chocolate protein powder to give it some protein content. It ends up being more like a chocolate custard with a rice base, as a result. Which Akihiko doesn’t mind, “but it’s still not oatmeal,” he says. “But oatmeals are heavy on starches,” Ansel says. “But so is short grain rice!” He doesn’t have a response to that… Really, he would’ve made oatmeal for Akihiko. He would’ve done anything for Akihiko. But it’s 2300 and we don’t have oatmeal in the pantry (haven’t in… years, I might say) and Akihiko really wanted some chocolate oatmeal so Ansel did his best to improvise. We might also be the only people who serve ours with almond oil. Somehow we convinced Anatolij to briefly “part” with it (he likes to mix it into his lotion) and actually use it for food… Hahaha.

Akihiko’s old classmate with “dreaming candles” came by the hospital (was brought to the hospital by police) again. Something about having to go 37 miles to actually receive the social work/housing assistance he needs and him being homeless, without a car, and unable to drive anyway due to his developmental disabilities, he ended up in our emergency department, again. (Every time he went to the hospital, he walked—even when his perfectly capable mother was still in town.) The weather’s changing, so we’re going to see many more homeless people here. Instead of funding social services and making housing affordable, they’re [the state] forcing us to provide social work for them… Even though, we don’t have the resources, staffing, or training to do so. The best we can do is give them a sandwich and a kick in the butt.

Dr P.’s in the ICU. I heard as a nice gesture, Dr R. brought up doughnuts for him. Is he trying to kill that guy? I think he eats enough doughnuts… “It’s to get his blood sugar up,” he joked. But it’s a good sign. He’s not on a vent. But he is in the ICU. Hmm…

She… Now I’m getting mixed up, but this body isn’t what it used to be. But she had fun bathing with the kids today. Ai is so serious. She’s like her father. And we all thought Leoša would be more like her father. But she’s not… Kids—she’s like her mother. Who would’ve imagined! “I love you, Mama.” “I love you too, Ai.” “I know.” She insisted Mama and Papa not make bath time a “date” between them. “What do you mean by that?” “I mean, no dating in the bath. It’s bath time.” She took the time to meditate in the bath… Leoša just played (silently) in the foam, bubbles. Ai’s hair’s so long now. Long and straight and pretty, just like her mother’s… She admonished Akihiko, too. “No playing in the bath.” That girl is cold! For a six-year-old to instill fear in Akihiko… Hmhmhm…

Nova bought Yumeka an athamé. Which surprised me, but not, Nova being the resident knife-nut… Though Leotrim can give him a run for his money… It’s an actual hunting knife with a beautifully carved ebony handle, 64 layers of pattern-welded, high-carbon steel, and comes with a leather sheath with a python skin inlay. I don’t know if that’s “kosher” for his practice (I read something about how knives used or intended for violence are tainted with negative energy or something), but it fits him, considering how bloodthirsty he is. (That makes him sound like a crazy person, but he’s really nice.) I want to tease him about his newfound “Mormonism” but I’m too nice to do that.

Why is everyone in his family so scary with knives? Not that I’m complaining, but…