Chapter 17: Birthdays for Two

(Note: Today there are two entries, on account of the holiday.)

Dear Journal:

Did I honestly expect Miraj's birthday to come up again so early?

No, not really. But sure enough, it was here again. I got him his cake, he thought of what he wanted to wish for.

Didn't take him too long to figure out what he wanted. He was already blowing out the candles, and the whole age mess started up again.

Chapter 16: Peace of Mind

Dear Journal:

It's been a long time since I've been to the Graveyard. As in, way too long.

A while back, I remembered talking shit about the place. Now, I don't remember why I did.

Oh, right...Full of dead people.

But now it doesn't seem so...spooky bad. Now it feels more like a necessary evil to me. All the dead people need to rest somewhere.

That way, if you need to talk to a dead relative, you know for sure where they are. I needed to know that, at least.

Having been away from this place for so long, I had to remember where he ended up. I had a feeling he was somewhere way in the back.

Lo and behold, I was right.

Chapter 15: A Bunch of Change

Dear Journal:

I visited Lisa today. I can't believe she's already grown up.

Well, I can, since she and I were in the same graduating class, but still. I remember when we used to wrestle outside during recess when we were kids.

But these days, elementary school just feels like a really fucked up fever dream to me now. I guess Lisa sort of felt the same way.

Then she brought something else up. She told me by saying, "Oh hey, VJ! Guess what?"

Chapter 14: Winter Wonders

Dear Journal:

Winter's here already?

Well, I shouldn't say that. It's been here for a while now. I guess I just haven't left the house enough to really notice it.

But Miraj sure did.

Even though I graduated and all that, I still had to get him to school.

I made sure he got to school on time, or at least had an excuse for lateness. He really wanted to go with me to see me register as a self-employed sculptor.

Then came the holiday.

Chapter 13: Growing Pains

Dear Journal:

What is it with me and forgetting birthdays? Like, that seems to be a recurring thing with me.

Well, Miraj didn't outright say it was a birthday. But I saw the cake, and drew my own conclusions.

Here, I thought, it can't be his birthday again already. It only seems like yesterday we had the last one. I told him, isn't it a little early for you to celebrate your birthday again?

Chapter 12: The Future is Spooky

Dear Journal:

Spooky Day came and went.

I wasn't really in the mood for trick-or-treating. Never really have been since my voice cracked. I figured, I'm getting too old for free candy anyway.

Miraj decided to stay home, too. I told him, if he wanted to go out and do it, I wasn't gonna stop him.

But nah, he said he'd rather stay home, and give out candy to the other kids.

Even though it had to be boring as hell, he said he didn't mind. And this way he didn't have to figure out what to go as for a costume.

Yeah, costumes can be creepy if done right. But there's scarier stuff than plastic masks and fake blood all over the place.

Chapter 11: Love Hurts

Dear Journal:

I've never even considered dating. I mean, what's so great about it? Sure, I went on a date with Lisa once, but that was it. And she and I were better off as just friends.

Miraj, well, I can't really see him dating, either. But just because I couldn't see him with someone else, didn't mean it couldn't happen.

I heard him talking on the phone when I got off from work a few days ago. He was talking to Lisa's mom if Darlene was there.

Darlene. Why Miraj would want to hang with Lisa's little sister is beyond me. But there he was, asking if she could come over.

Last I saw her, she wasn't much taller than Miraj. But then, that was when I last saw her.

The girl that showed up later...