7.

Ruby Roux never knew either of her biological parents. Dad died in an apparent freak accident forty-eight hours before mom went into an early labour on Ruby herself. Ruby was born fine and well but mom did not survive.

Death does not always mean an end, it did for mom but for dad, well ... he returned on a number of occasions though on none of these occasions did he make his return known to Ruby. He did however make his return known to David Roux, Ruby's older brother and only official sibling. It could be questioned as to if it really is dear auld dad who paid those visits to David, for David there is no doubt.

There is a fourteen year plus gap between David and Ruby. For about four years after becoming orphans, brother and sister survived while being passed around between living relatives who felt more burdened by conscience and obligation than by anything else. As soon as he could Dave gained custody, he gained guardianship of his sister. Dave had no idea how to be a parent, he loved his sister so he would always do the best he could for her. His best however would do little to prevent her from becoming what she was always meant to be.

Yeah, visits came to David, visits at first, he could not be sure if he were dreaming or not. During one night in particular not so long after having moved in with an aunt and uncle, Dave was sure there was someone hidden by shadow in the room where he had been sleeping. Having only just woken, Dave would have himself a moment as his own dead father did come to him for an ever so brief visit.

Insects were floating about dad's head as if he had only just climbed out of his own grave moments before coming to see his son and despite the late-night darkness the insects were clearly visible as they were also audible. Before David could really get a hold of the moment, Dad was gone. This first visit had been put down as some sort of dream or nightmare, especially with the fact that David had been having nightmares during the run in to this first visit.

A few years passed before a second visit came and by such time David had acquired an apartment for himself and his sister to live in. Being that bit older and with the circumstances of the visit it could not be put down as being a dream or nightmare and David could not have seen that this would be the beginning of a very real full on waking nightmare.

Home alone with his four-year-old sister David, now almost nineteen-years-old, moves into a hallway while Ruby plays in the living room and there dad is, waiting to deliver some very important information.

Once again dad looks as if he has only just climbed up and out of his own grave. He is filthy dirty and still has insects flying around his head though he still looks like dad. There is no degradation; he in no way looks as if he were decomposing, neither does he look as if he has aged. Dead people don't age, do they? No, they decompose, whatever they are or are not supposed to do, they are to remain ... dead, surly.

If this really is dad, then it must be his ghost and not his actual physical self? But then why are insects circling? And if his physical self has returned, how is it possible that he not only is reanimated but here ready to hold a conversation with his son? The age thing wouldn't matter so much for he hasn't been dead yet five years. At that, where has he been for those past few years? Years have passed between the first visit and this one.

All this is not only confusing but also frightening. David falls backwards and to the floor the instant he sees his dad. Yeah, this definitely ain't no dream.

'Dad ... what the hell?' Dave asks in disbelief while also holding an arm and hand up as if to protect himself as if what has come to him might cause him physical harm.

'Dude ... it's alright ... it really is me. I'm dad, trust me.'

'... But ... how?'

'That doesn't matter right now ... listen I've come to give you heads up ...'

'What? What do you mean?' Dave asks feeling confident to get back up onto his feet.

'It's your sister ...'

'Ruby? What about her? She is fine, just inside here playing ...'

'I know where she is but listen ... your sister is incredibly special.'

'Special? How?' David could not feel any more confused than what he does in this moment.

'Ruby is special ... she is really important and ... special. She has a purpose in this world as you do too. You need to be there for her, look out for her, protect her.'

'Of course, there is no need to tell me this.'

'There is need son, trust me. There is nothing normal here ...'

'You're telling me ...'

'A time is coming and ...'

Dad doesn't get to finish his sentence for a brief crashing sound hits out and it sounds as if it were coming from the living room as if something has fallen so David rushes in to make sure his sister is alright. She is indeed fine; a toy had fallen is all but the conversation with dad is now done for that distraction took David away from dad and when he returned dad was gone ...

8.

At fourteen years of age a person is still essentially a child though many a fourteen-year-old do take on some kind of responsibility especially if circumstance dictates such though many fourteen-year-olds do still get to remain children. They can still play games, play with toys, be free to have a certain amount of fantasy in their lives but for David Roux, there certainly was nothing typically fourteen about him and the same could be said for the years that followed, if anything things became all the more difficult for him.

If losing both your parents at fourteen years of age wasn't bad enough, he had a new sister to look out for and indeed he got to become her legal guarding not long before he himself turned nineteen years of age. Indeed, David Roux matured long before his time. Responsibility came to him months before becoming an orphan.

David was still only thirteen when mum became pregnant with Ruby though she was barely two months into the pregnancy when David turned fourteen. For mum Elise, the pregnancy was difficult from the get-go, even before she knew of it. Dad Adrian stayed home as much as he could those first couple of months, but he had to get back to work.

He needed to make some money and he needed to look after his own sanity. Elise had become aggressive and hurtful. She would tell Adrian how useless he is and how he could never do anything right. This was so unlike her, she had rarely said or done anything hurtful to her husband and if she had it would have been a heat of the moment thing and regret would instantly kick in to make sure all is well and good though once that second pregnancy had come it appeared that all regret and caring on her behalf completely vacated the Roux household.

Elise would flip at Adrian mostly at first over the slightest of things, cups of tea not being at the right temperature, food not being cooked properly when it actually has been, the clothing he would wear when there really was nothing wrong with anything he was wearing, as if he were a young child incapable of making his own decisions and this kind of behaviour indeed began to come before the pregnancy was known or confirmed. Once the confirmation came then the prognosis of her change in personality was put down to being something possibly hormonal. But things were becoming extreme and Elise had in no way been affected like this when she had been pregnant with David.

Quickly and early on, the changes not only affected Elise emotionally and personally but physically too to the point where she almost needed constant bed rest. Yeah, Adrian needed to get back to work for financial and personal mental health reasons though almost every minute he was out working his mind was still focused on home.

He was able to take night shifts and this accomplished a couple of things. It meant he could get through his work quicker and that he could be home during the day while David was at school. Unfortunately for David once all this started, life would be either at school or at home looking after mom. Dad indeed worked but there was the hope that once it would all be over, life would become somewhat normal again, unfortunately it was only really beginning the closer it got to nine months.

All hope destroyed, dashed, and disheveled almost in an instant, no more than two and a half days. Approximately one o'clock during one eventful night, the cab area of dad's truck filled up ever so quickly with insects. Windows had been shut so this occurrence could not even be anywhere near properly considered for dad's truck overturned, ending the life of Adrian Roux. Forty-eight hours later mum goes into what would have been thought of as premature labour but actually timing had been off for daughter is as right and well as a full term new-born could and should be.

Ruby is the fourth of nine to be born and the births of the second, third and fourth all occur one day after the other. The birth process for mum number four ... well mum does not survive the birth of her daughter.

Yeah, there was grief and plenty of it for David, he had lost both his parents in a matter of a couple of days and with the arrival of a little sister he certainly did not want to be separated from her. He had a need to care for her, a need which came from somewhere he did not quite know of. It was more than being a brother; it was more than losing his parents. There was and would be something else to it. It was as if he knew something was not quite right and that it would be up to him to see that it could become as right as any right could be.

So, David would be thankful that adoption did not come for him or Ruby until he himself would be of age where he could put in for guardianship of Ruby.

How discombobulating it can become when your dead father returns four years or so after his death to tell you to watch out for your sister, you really know something is not right in any of what occurs. Mom though, during her pregnancy on Ruby, once dad was out working, she would turn her aggression and hurtfulness David's way. She had been bed bound so she never became physical or violent with David though she really was ever so hurtful.

'You are not good enough ...' she would tell him. 'You will never be good enough ... you'll never be the person my daughter will be ...'

It was illness that had mum say all this. He tried to put it away as soon as he could, he tried to lock those words into a corner of his mind where they would never see the light of day again, but he couldn't. Those words mum spoke would often return long after death took her, and they would never fade away. A child forced to grow up way too soon. How could he fully cope with any of it?