Mario Muscar

Blood and Water

by Mario Muscar 

 

For most 10-year-old boys in Fort Crossing, Saturday is a day of suburban adventure. A day filled with bikes, football, tree-climbing, all around general exploration, and maybe even the occasional girl chasing. The young lads routinely exit their homes early in the morning, returning briefly for a quick lunch before heading out again. It is not until the street lights begin to glow and hum their ever faithful alarm that the boys return home, often with scraped knees, dirty faces, and an annoyed attitude that they have to bathe and go to sleep.

 

Lonnie, however, spent his Saturdays inside his bedroom, playing with his action figures, or devoting time to conquering the next level on his newest video game. He would read (and reread) the latest issues of whatever comics his mother purchased for him that week at the comic shop in the mall. Always inside. Always by himself. Lonnie didn’t care about playing sports or exploring the cemetery or going to the pool like the other boys. Lonnie liked things. Anything he acquired, he took great care of it.

 

Lonnie’s mother typically didn’t pay much attention to what Lonnie did on Saturdays. She was much too busy keeping the house clean and making sure everything was spotless.

 

She kept house like a woman obsessed. On hands and knees, toilets and bathroom floors were scrubbed. Kitchens were bleached. Windows were cleaned, both inside and out, with such fervor and diligence that many a bird met their demise flying into what they thought was just more air.

 

In addition to making certain everything was impeccable, she also ensured there was no clutter. Nothing was ever left out if it wasn’t being used. All shoes were in closets, coats were hung, mail was immediately opened and filed when it arrived, dirty dishes were put into the dishwasher after use. She liked everything in its place. The house looked almost like no one lived there.

 

So it was unexpected when, on the last Saturday in May, Lonnie’s mother told Lonnie that it would do him some good to go outside and play with other kids.

 

Lonnie looked away from his collection of bobbleheads (which he was currently dusting with a small rag) and caught his mother’s eyes.

 

“Huh?” Lonnie said.

 

His mother walked over to him with his jacket in her hands and placed it next to him.

 

“I think that you should go out and do something,” she said. “It’s a very nice day and I think that it would do you some good to get out of the house and see what the other kids are doing.”

 

At first, one would think that Lonnie’s mother was showing interest in her son. Perhaps she had finally realized that spending his entire free time inside was not the best for him, either physically or socially. But the truth of the matter was that Lonnie’s mother had an ulterior motive. She wanted to get into Lonnie’s room so that she could give it a complete overhaul. She had plans to wash the windows, scrub down the walls, clean out and organize Lonnie’s closet, and dust everything she could get her hands on.

 

“Why don’t you get your bike out of the garage and go for a ride,” she said. “Go see if Stephen or any of the other kids on the street are playing.”

 

Lonnie hadn’t played with Stephen (or any of the other kids) since last summer. There had been a slight altercation where Stephen stated that Wolverine could cut through Captain America’s shield because Wolverines claws were made of Adamantium but Captain America’s shield was only made of Vibranium. Lonnie knew that Stephen was misinformed by the movie version of the characters but that in the “real” comic book version, Captain America’s shield was made of an alloy of Vibranium AND Adamantium. Lonnie’s correction was met with several taunts from Stephen. Lonnie met the taunts with a kick to Stephen’s shins. Stephen responded with some swift punches to Lonnie’s face and neck. That was the last time Lonnie saw Stephen outside of school.

 

“But, Mom…” Lonnie started.

 

“Don’t ‘But, Mom’ me,” she interrupted. “Go outside and find something to do and we’ll swing by the comic book store tomorrow after church. Okay?”

 

Lonnie reluctantly stood up, picked up his jacket and walked out of his room. He grabbed his shoes from the closet, sat down on a chair and tied them on, all in the most reluctant, passive aggressive manner his little 10-year-old frame could muster. He exited the house and walked to the garage, took his helmet from its hook on the wall, scooted his bike off the bike rack and saddled up.

 

He thought he could make the best of it and maybe ride down to the toy store on Central Avenue. They usually open at 10AM and it was nearly that time already. He popped on his bike and pedaled down the street.

 

The toy shop on Central Avenue wasn’t that great of a shop. They got a lot of the standard new toys when they came out. Whatever the big Pixar or Disney movie that was currently out, they were always sure to have a slew of those toys. Those weren’t the types of toys that Lonnie was typically looking for though. Lonnie could find those toys anywhere. What Lonnie liked was older rare toys and toys that were imported from Japan. The toy shop had a used toy section in the back where Lonnie would look for hidden treasures. He once found a huge collection of Masters of the Universe figures some man had sold to the store.

 

Lonnie arrived at the toy shop, propped his bike up against the wall and walked in.

 

“Hello, Lonnie!” the clerk behind the counter said.

 

The clerk was a rather large man in his mid-30s. He had a shock of dark black hair on top of his head and wore a size too small t-shirt with a silhouetted image of Freddie Mercury’s face. Had he wore a name tag as the owner of the shop asked him to, it would say “Shawn”. Lonnie was  bummed when he saw Shawn was working. He much preferred it when the store manager, Malcolm, was there. Malcolm and Lonnie would always have nice conversations about important things, like Masters of the Universe toys or the newest TMNT cartoon.

 

“Hi, Shawn,” Lonnie said, looking around the shop, hoping to see Malcolm somewhere in the store.

 

“If you’re looking for Malcolm, he is working today but he ran down the street,” Shawn said. “There’s a yard sale on Willis Avenue. Apparently there are a lot of toys and other stuff from the ‘80s. He’s checking it out.”

 

Lonnie’s heart jumped. Toys and other stuff from the ‘80s? That was Lonnie’s favorite era for toys. There was so many different things released then. A glut of robots, action figures, video games and more. Lonnie thought it must have been a magical time to be a kid. He didn’t want to miss out on this yard sale.

 

Lonnie gave a rushed “See ya, Shawn” as he ran towards and out the door. He felt slightly sick in his stomach. What if there were things there that he really wanted? And maybe for cheap? Perhaps the seller didn’t know what she had. He might be able to pick up a Soundwave or a Cobra Rattler or some M.A.S.K. toys. Then, a rush of worry came over him. Maybe he wouldn’t get there in time. What if they were already all sold?

 

He hurried onto his bike and pedaled full bore down Central towards Willis.

 

He arrived in no time and saw the yard sale. Many tables were spread out in the lawn with different types of items. Lonnie saw plates, bowls, and glasses. He saw piles of clothes on one table. There were also pieces of furniture (dressers, tables, chairs, bed frames) scattered around. It looked like the entire house had been moved outside. He imagined the inside must be fairly empty.

 

To his relief, there were only three people currently at the sale. One was a woman sifting through old clothes with an intense fervor that one sees at yard sales. It was like she had lost her wedding ring in the pile and was freaking out while looking for it. Lonnie saw Malcolm standing at a table on the far end of the yard, talking to an older woman in a wheelchair.

 

Lonnie made his way over and noticed that the table Malcolm was standing at had a multitude of toys stacked upon it. Lonnie saw several Transformers toys, a large stack of Nintendo games, a box full of green army men, a Mr. Potato Head, Tonka trucks, a mix of G.I. Joe figures, and other various toys and games. He didn’t see any of the items he was hoping would be there but he did see some gems.

 

“Hey!” Malcolm said as he spied Lonnie coming towards him. “Check out all this great stuff.”

 

Now that he was a little closer, Lonnie scanned the table a bit more thoroughly. He was most excited when he saw a small box full of ThunderCats toys. Lion-O, Tygra, Mumm-Ra, Jackalman and Panthro were there. And it looked like they had all their accessories. And there was also a Thundertank. He was most interested in these.

 

After scanning the table, Lonnie’s eyes landed on the old woman sitting in the wheelchair.

 

“Lonnie, this is Mrs. Kowalski,” Malcolm said. “This is her house and this is her sale.”

 

Lonnie looked at the woman and gave a timid “Hello.”

 

Mrs. Kowalski looked at Lonnie. While she was sitting in a wheelchair, she didn’t look as old as Lonnie thought she would be. Even though she was sitting, Lonnie could tell that she was a tall woman. She had very light skin and dry lips. Her head was covered with a bandana and Lonnie noticed that she may have not had eyebrows. He was somewhat nervous to be around her.

 

“Hello, Lonnie,” Mrs. Kowalski said. “See anything you like?”

 

Lonnie pointed towards the box of ThunderCats.

 

“Ah, these old toys,” she said. “These were my son’s when he was about your age. I’m not sure if they’re worth anything but I will sell you the entire box for five dollars.”

 

Lonnie couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Five bucks? This woman clearly didn’t know what she was doing. His heart jumped again as it did in the toy store. He could barely contain his joy.

 

Malcolm saw how excited Lonnie was and grinned. He turned to Mrs. Kowalski.

 

“I’ll be back for that box of G.I. Joes later, ma'am,” Malcolm said. “See you, Lonnie.”

 

Malcolm walked out of the yard and headed back down the street towards the toy shop. Lonnie reached into his pocket and handed five dollars to Mrs. Kowalski.

 

“I’ll have more toys and things next week,” she said. “I’m having this sale for the next few Saturdays and we are still cleaning out the attic. I’m sure there are a lot of other toys up there. My son had quite the collection.”

 

“Doesn’t he want them?” Lonnie asked. He couldn’t fathom anyone not wanted their toys from when they were a kid.

 

“My son, David, lives in France,” she said. “I asked him if he wanted any of it and he said for me to sell it. I imagine his wife doesn’t want it in their apartment. She doesn’t care much for these things. Or me I imagine. They’ve only been home once in the last five years. Oh well. Feel free to look around.”

 

Lonnie looked around the sale a bit more. Lying on top of one of the dressers he noticed a sharp metal object that looked like a large arrowhead. The metal was rusted and dirty and seemed out of place amongst the rest of the items. Lonnie didn’t quite understand what Mrs. Kowalski was doing with it.

 

“What is that?” he asked, pointing toward the object.

 

“Oh. that’s the Hellige Lanze,” she said. “The Spear of Destiny.”

 

Lonnie didn’t know what she was talking about but he was interested in it.

 

“How much do you want for it?” he asked.

 

“You know, I don’t think I’m selling it,” she said. “David found it in France and sent it to me as a gift. I think I’ll keep it.”

 

She handed him a plastic bag full of the ThunderCats toys.

 

“I’ll be back next week,” Lonnie said.

 

“I hope so,” she said.

 

That evening at home, in his immaculately cleaned bedroom, Lonnie was still thinking about the spear. He was amazed that a woman in Fort Crossing had some old weapon just sitting at her house. He grabbed his iPad. What did she call it? Heyleea Lawnsuh? He typed that into Google and got nothing. He couldn’t remember the other name she called it. His mind was kind of foggy about the entire thing the farther away from it that he got. He could barely remember what it looked like.

 

That week at school was very slow for Lonnie. He was approaching the end of the school year and, while he enjoyed school, he really loved Summer. He was able to spend his time playing with his toys, reading comics, watching movies and playing video games.

 

When Saturday finally came, Lonnie got up early. He found his mother, already awake, ironing clothes and carefully hanging them on hangers. Lonnie’s mother ironed everything. Jeans, t-shirts, pillow cases. If it could be ironed, she would iron it, Lonnie’s shirts were always crisp and fresh, not that he cared.

 

“Mom, I’m going to go out on my bike for a bit,” Lonnie said.

 

“Have fun, dearie,” she said, barely looked up from the cloth napkin she was ironing.

 

Lonnie, grabbed his backpack, jumped on his bike and was to Mrs. Kowalski’s in just a few minutes. The tables were outside again as was the furniture. It appeared that there were less things than the previous week. The dressers and bed frame were gone as were most of the clothes.

 

The same woman from the previous week was there again. This time she was filtering through plates and bowls, setting aside matching pieces. Two men were looking at a lawnmower, inspecting the mechanics Lonnie assumed.

 

He saw Mrs. Kowalski sitting in her wheelchair. She looked like she was half asleep, Lonnie thought as he walked towards her. When her eyes fell on him, they brightened slightly.

 

“Well hello, young man!” she said. “So glad you came back.”

 

Lonnie smiled a little bit at her. His eyes went to the table where the toys had been last week. Some of the same things were there. A few new things too. A Glo Worm. A plastic record player that played little plastic records. Nothing that really grabbed his interest. Then he saw a box on the floor next to the table. A long white cardboard box with a cardboard lid. This he recognized. This made his blood rush throughout his body. It was a comic book box.

 

He starting thinking of the treasures that could be in there. There could be a fortune of things in there.

 

“Can I look through the comics?” he asked?

 

“Of course,” Mrs. Kowalski said. “Would you like a drink of water or lemonade?”

 

He nodded and she wheeled herself into the house to retrieve the beverage.

 

He got down on his knees and lifted the lid off the box. It was filled with many comics, all appropriately protected in plastic bags and boards. He began flipping through them. Superman, Batman, Teen Titans, both Amazing and Spectacular Spider-Man, G.I. Joe, Uncanny X-Men. Not a bad collection he thought. But nothing out of the ordinary.

 

He picked out 10 issues he wanted. Mrs. Kowalski has returned with a lemonade for her and Lonnie and some cookies.

 

“Find anything?” she asked.

 

“Just some old comics,” he said. “These were your son’s too?”

 

She nodded. He took a cookie.

 

“How much you want for ‘em?” he asked.

 

She looked at Lonnie and smiled.

 

“You can have them free of charge,” she said.

 

Lonnie was very happy but at the same time wished he would have picked out more comics if she was giving them away to him. He put them in his backpack, took a sip of his lemonade and a bite of the cookie. Lonnie looked around at the rest of the things, scanning for the spear. He saw it lying on a table covered with flashlights, candles, random screwdrivers and hammers, salt and pepper shakers, some kitchen tools, and a stapler.

 

He really wanted it but he wasn’t quite sure how to get it. He finished his cookie and took another one.

 

“So why are you selling all this stuff?” he asked.

 

Mrs. Kowalski looked around the yard at all the things that were out there.

 

“These are just things that I don’t need anymore,” she said very plainly. “I don’t see any reason to keep something that I just don’t need. And David didn’t have any interest in his stuff either. Sometimes it’s just time for things to go.”

 

“I’d love to have a lot of this stuff,” Lonnie said.

 

Mrs. Kowalski face sunk for the briefest of moments. Then, after a brief moment, she brightened up.

 

“I tell you what, Lonnie,” she said. “I’ll make you a deal. If you can stay with me today and help out, you can take whatever toys and comics you can fit in your backpack.”

 

Lonnie agreed. He put his backpack down.

 

“How can I help?” he said.

 

“There is a box in the garage on the left as you enter,” Mrs. Kowalski said. “There are some things in there that I would like to put out for sale. Can you run and grab it for me?”

 

Lonnie nodded and went to the garage on the side of the house, located the box and carried it back. He sat it on the table where Mrs. Kowalski was seated.

 

She opened the box and started emptying its contents onto the table. It was full of old board games. Trouble, Sorry, Deluxe Wheel of Fortune, Operation, Connect Four, Battleship, and Mouse Trap.

 

“Let’s set these out and sell them for $1 a piece,” Mrs. Kowalski said.

 

Lonnie set the games on the table. He stopped to admire Mouse Trap. He had never seen the game before but the image on the cover of the box looked crazy. A giant contraption all designed to catch a mouse.

 

“That was one of David’s favorites,” Mrs. Kowalski said after noticing Lonnie was admiring the game. “Would you like to play a game of it with me?”

 

Lonnie shook his head and opened the box. He and Mrs. Kowalski looked at the directions and carefully put together all the pieces of the outlandish mousetrap: the bathtub, the bucket, the crank, the diving man.

 

They played multiple times over the next hour, laughing each time the mouse trap would be sprung and one of the complicated plastic components would fail to work the way it should.

 

Mrs. Kowalski made them lunch and Lonnie spent the afternoon helping people with their purchases and giving change as needed. All throughout the day, his eyes kept falling on the spear. No one had asked about it. No one seemed interested in purchasing it. Finally, when they were putting the remaining unsold items away in the garage, Lonnie worked up the courage to ask Mrs. Kowalski about it again.

 

“So...that spear over there,” Lonnie sputtered. “What did you call it?”

 

“The Hellige Lanze?” she said indicating the spear.

 

“Yeah,” Lonnie replied. “I really think it’s pretty cool. You sure you don’t want to sell it?”

 

“Lonnie, what would a boy like you want with the Spear of Destiny?” she asked.

 

“I just thought it would look pretty cool in my room,” he replied.

 

Mrs. Kowalski smiled.

 

“Tell you what, Lonnie,” she said. “You come back and help me again next week and I’ll think about it.”

 

Lonnie was thrilled but he tried not to let his excitement show too much.

 

“Now, pick out whatever you want to take with you today and I’ll put it in your backpack,” she said.

 

Lonnie picked out a few issues of Batman and X-Men comics and handed them to her.

 

“Can you run this inside?” she said, handing him the Mouse Trap game. “Maybe we’ll play it again next week.”

 

Lonnie took the game inside and helped Mrs. Kowalski in the house. He gave her a little hug.

 

“Thank you and see you next week,” he said as he left the house.

 

The final week of school followed and Lonnie was excited for the school year to be coming to a close. When he arrived home on Wednesday, his mother was waiting for him at the door.

 

“Lonnie?” she said. “Can I talk to you for a moment?”

 

They sat down in the living room.

 

“A man stopped by today, Lonnie,” she said. “He had something for you.”

 

From next to the chair she pulled out a large bag and handed it to Lonnie. Taped to the bag was a piece of paper with the words: For Lonnie, the young boy on Front Street in the yellow house.

 

“You had been helping Mrs. Kowalski down the street?” she asked. “I didn’t know that.”

 

Lonnie nodded.

 

“I’m sorry, sweetie,” his mother said. “She passed away on Monday.”

 

Lonnie sat there staring at his mother, emotionless and still.

 

“Her son dropped this off for you,” she said. “Mrs. Kowalski wanted you to have it.”

 

He looked at the bag then back at his mother.

 

“Where is her son now?” Lonnie asked. His voice was a flat whisper.

 

“At her house,” his mother said. “Taking care of things, I guess. He lives in France and just got in last night.”

 

“I want to see him,” Lonnie said and he stood up.

 

“Now might not be the best time,” his mother said.

 

“I don’t care!” Lonnie’s voice had gotten a bit louder. “I want to talk to him.”

 

He made his way out the door, jumped on his bike and took off down the road before his mother could say another thing.

 

He arrived at the house and rang the doorbell.

 

A man answered the door who Lonnie assumed must have been David. He was very tall and skinny. His hair was jet black but with several silver hairs starting to come out and show his age. He looked exhausted. He stared at Lonnie, somewhat confused.

 

“Can I help you?” David asked.

 

“I’m Lonnie,” Lonnie replied. “I knew your mom. She was a nice lady.”

 

“Thanks,” replied David. “You’re the young man she left the package for. Did you get it?”

 

“Why weren’t you here?” Lonnie asked.

 

“I’m sorry?” David replied.

 

“You weren’t here when she died,” Lonnie said. His eyes were beginning to well up with tears. “You were her son. She talked about you all the time. And you weren’t here when she died. Was she alone?”

 

“Listen, son,” David said. “Let me take you home.”

 

“No!” David yelled. The tears had broken out of his eyes now and were running down his face. “She gave you all this stuff. And none of it mattered to you and then you left her alone with all of it! But the thing you sent to her, she couldn’t part with! She loved you and you weren’t here. You weren’t here!”

 

Lonnie was crying more now. He wiped his face and got back on his bike. David called after him but Lonnie kept riding, tears running down his face all the way home.

 

Lonnie got to his house and went to his room. His mother, who was in the basement doing laundry, yelled up to ask if he was okay.

 

“I’m fine!” he yelled back.

 

On his bed was the bag that David had brought over. He reached in and pulled out the contents. It was the Mouse Trap game. He set it on the bed and walked to the garage. There he got a big cardboard box and carried it to his room. He began filling it with all of his toys and games. He was taking no care with placing them in the box. He was haphazardly throwing them in.

 

After a few minutes, his mother came upstairs and asked what he was doing.

 

“I want to get rid of some things,” Lonnie said. “I don’t think I want a lot of this stuff anymore.”

 

His mother watched him throw several movies and videogames in the box and calmly said, “They’re your things, Lonnie. If you really don’t want them anymore, we can get rid of them.”

 

The next couple days at school were a blur. Lonnie didn’t pay much attention in class and he just kept thinking about Mrs. Kowalski. He had gotten rid of most of the things in his room except for the Mouse Trap game and a few comics he had gotten from her.

 

On Saturday morning as the sun was coming up, Lonnie lied in bed, thinking about how there would be no yard sale that day. No Mrs. Kowalski to hang out with and drink lemonade. He realized that he hadn’t yet gotten the comics out of his backpack she had given him last Saturday. He went to his closet and pulled the backpack out. He unzipped it and dumped it’s contents on the bed. There was the Batman and X-Men comics he had selected along with the Hellige Lanze. Mrs. Kowalski must have slipped it into his bag when she put the comics in there. She must have decided she was done with that too.

 

Lonnie set the comics and the spear on his dresser, put on his shoes, went outside and got on his bike. He rode past the toy shop and past Mrs. Kowalski’s house. He rode around the entire neighborhood all morning. Even when his side started cramping, he rode on, wondering what the summer had in store.