ET gets dropped off by Wizard in the “scum bucket” VW bug rat rod. ET was pretty close to asking the biker gang to adopt him but didn’t want to be laughed at. Coming into his grandmas house he sees the Old Man outside the window sanding down a surfboard. Covered in foam dust and wearing a respirator. Led Zeppelin so loud it rattles his teeth comes blasting from speakers mounted to the walls. Turning down the tunes and staying only grandma is home and wants to see him out back. ET always had an easy rapport with the old man. He wasn’t his grandfather but has been part of the family since before he was born. He was white and looked like a mad scientist. He had long braided white hair and always wore the craziest t-shirts from bands like Grateful Dead, Dinosaur Jr, Bikini Kill, Meat Puppets, Melvins, King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard.
He could talk to the old man about any thing except wanting bullets to get revenge for his assault out in the ruins of the amusement park. ET knew the old man would find some funny way to get back at the out of towners but ET wasn’t in the mood for hair brained schemes. He wanted to shoot them in the head and leave their bodies out in the marsh for the seagulls to feed. Walking through the house he knows grandma has a gun somewhere but not the caliber. Mad-god might too. Creeping to a couple rooms to check under dressers, in stash spots and drawers he comes up empty. Mad-god did have some bullets, but they were for some kind of 40mm anti-aircraft canon from ww2. Feeling kind of dirty for searching others possessions, ET goes out the back door to see grandma.
Grandma has a massive koi pond that ices over in winter. Its not that gold yet but the fish are not active as they would be in warmer weather. The whole backyard is designed in a Bali motif with exotic flowers, wooden walkways and statues of dancing temple guardians. ET always felt peaceful back where. Wind chimes, fountains, waterfalls and wind in the trees gave him a serenity that was rare in his life. Feeling watcher he sees his Grandma and Callisto gigging on the meditation platform of the “treehouse” which had no walls or ceiling. The original plan was for a woven cocoon in the shape of peach pit… for taking lazy naps in the fresh air. Mad-god couldn’t figure out how to design it so the Oldman and ET took over the project. Mad-god promises he will finish the final level before her birthday, but he started saying that 3 years ago.
There was a gentle wind that swayed the tree branches, little stone stair case led to the first platform about 5 feet off the ground, 2 more feet up to the second platform and 2 more feet to the top where Grandma and Callisto were laughing about some invented words for crickets, caterpillars and humming birds they just made up. When grandma forgot a word she would make up some bogus sounding scientific title, but since she was a scientist they never knew which was real or invented. Their whole world here was so different here than at home. Home was like a tornado of garbage had gone through the place. Here every thing smelled like old books, cat piss and scented candles. Grandma had a heard of rare cats from all over the world, strange looking rescues that seemed half feral and related to big spotted cats from Asia and Africa. Thankful they aren’t around because they don’t like ET and try to bite him every chance they get.
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The Treehouse was a tangle of inventive chaos. A couple platforms for plants, tea ceremonies the highest where Grandma would meditate and Callisto would silently work on her artwork. All of it was less than 10 feet off the ground but the suspension ropes it hung from being salvaged from a tug boat always made him inspect the threads closely when putting weight on the platforms. It was brilliantly lit with floating candles in glass orbs suspended from chains. A Tibetan incense burner she got in her travels in the east lends a pleasant aura about the little bubble of calm in their cold and harsh world. Today Callisto is drawing Moth Men, Butterfly Women and a giant Centipede the size of Godzilla.
Sending Callisto to play in the house. Grandma shares her concerns. “Whats going on in your life?” ET doesn’t know how to respond. He feels ready to burst with so much tension and a million things that bother him, but not one of them is fit to explain to his Grandmother. She smiles and makes and expression like “spit it out.” ET tries to think of something that wouldn’t get him in trouble or get him lectured. Grandma takes the hint of silence that he is uncomfortable talking about what happened so she switches gears. “How is your graffiti art going?” ET can’t help but smile. Most grandparents would be against vandalism but she actually buys him spray paint because she would rather him tagging than doing drugs or joining gangs.
ET tells her the latest. “I had some burners running at Hobo Beach and the amusement park but someone has been crossing me out.” She makes a grim face and asks. “Same people who jumped you and cut your stomach?” ET doesn’t want to conform or deny. Says he, “Doesn’t know.” Grandma changes subjects and starts talking about “Nature Spirits” in the forrest. ET kind of tunes out this bullshit but he likes when she thinks she saw a zombie or swamp thing out in the marshes. Grandma wants to show him some “weird specimens” she hasn’t been able to catch. Asks if ET wants a job capturing insects and plants in the forrest. ET could use some money to buy bullets but urban legends about the Axeman murderer who fees missing kids to his mutant plants gives him pause. He guesses its ok with grandma, but asks her to bring her gun.