The Tapestry of Love

Chapter 12

He was sitting in the room lost in his thoughts but didn’t feel calm Joshua took a cold shower to calm his nerves, he went to the bed trying to get the negative thoughts out of mind but no avail he continuously looked at the ceiling to reflect on his actions that made an innocent person into an envious, covetous person.

He was remembering the time when he was crying sitting in the doorsteps because he missed his mother he felt a gentle and sweet touch on his shoulder

“It’s Alright Josh, we are here for you, did you miss your mom so much” August asked innocently Joshua nodded his head crying

“Don’t cry”, he wipes his tears with little soft hands “If you want you can have mine, we can share her love but don’t cry it makes me feel bad”.

“Let’s go I’ll show you something”. He took Joshua’s hand and ran towards the empty ground a little far from their house.

The night sky was beautifully filled with stars and a bright half moon he pointed at a star near the moon shining brightly. “Josh, that’s Aunt when you miss her we can see her here, you know mother told me that when people went to heavens they became stars”. Joshua looked at him

“See aunt is smiling, mom also told me when the star twinkle it means he is watching at you smiling, now you too smile at aunt she’ll feel happy” he touched both sides of Joshua’s lips and lift them upwards gently to make a smile, Joshua smiled and August jumped with happiness see Josh you are looking beautiful now” he held Joshua’s hand they both watched the sky for some time and went home holding hands.

A gentle smile hit Joshua’s lips and he felt a little bit relaxed, he was tired so by this beautiful thought his eyes were closed and he went deep in the valleys of sleep.

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Joshua found himself in a vivid yet surreal environment, he stood on a cliff, overlooking a vast, turbulent sea. The sky was painted in hues of crimson and gold, the sun setting behind the horizon. The wind was strong, whipping through his hair and clothes, filling the air with a sense of impending doom.

As Joshua scanned the horizon, he saw August standing at the very edge of the cliff, a serene smile on his face. Augusts’ eyes sparkled with an ethereal glow, a mixture of warmth and sadness that Joshua couldn’t quite explain. His heart tightened at the sight, an inexplicable fear rising within him.

August!

Joshua called out, his voice barely audible over the roaring wind. August turned to face him, his smile widening as if nothing in the world could disturb his peace.

“Joshua,” August replied softly, his voice carrying an almost otherworldly calmness. “I’m glad you’re here.”

Joshua took a step forward, his instincts urging him to reach August before something terrible happened. “What are you doing? Come away from the edge. It’s dangerous!”

August shook his head slowly, still smiling. “Its okay, Joshua. This is where I need to be.”

“No, it’s not!” Joshua shouted, panic creeping into his voice. He lunged forward, his hand outstretched to grab August. “Don’t do this! Please!”

In a sudden, August turned back toward the sea and stepped off the cliff. Time seemed to slow as Joshua’s fingers brushed against Augusts’ hand, his grip slipping as August began to fall.

August! .Joshua screamed, his heart shattering as he watched Augusts’ form plummet into the abyss below. He fell to his knees at the edge, his arm still outstretched, his fingers trembling with the ghostly sensation of Augusts’ touch.

Tears streamed down Joshua’s face as he stared into the void, the agony of loss ripping through him. “Why?” he whispered, his voice breaking. “Why did you do that?”

The land around him began to fade, the colors bleeding into darkness. Joshua awoke with a start, his heart pounding in his chest, his breath ragged. The room was dimly lit, the remnants of the dream lingering in his mind like a haunting echo.

He lay back down, clutching his chest, trying to steady his breathing. The image of Augusts’ serene smile and his fall into the abyss played over and over in his mind. Joshua couldn’t shake the feeling that the dream was more than just a nightmare. It felt like a message, a warning, and he knew he had to find August. He couldn’t lose him, not like that. He got out of bed and went to the window, looking out at the night sky. The stars twinkled overhead, a silent comfort in the darkness. He took a deep breath, trying to calm his racing heart.”It was just a dream,” He knew that the fear he felt in his dream mirrored the turmoil in his waking life. He couldn’t shake the feeling that August was not here. He had to find him, to make things right between them before it was too late. With a determined resolve, Joshua got dressed and left the house, to find August and set things right between them. He can’t wait for the morning he took his car and hit the road not knowing whether he was going to the right place or not. He was driving the silence of the midnight and made his heart sink He can’t think straight what he should do?

He was thinking about the places where August can go he remembered the place where August usually goes when he gets upset at something or fights with someone. Now after conversation with Alexander he started understanding Augusts’ behavior he remembered when August first fought with boys at school.

Flashback

They went to the same school Joshua was the most genius top student of school but he never fought back the bullies that pranked him or degraded him he always tried to ignore them so they bothered him more. He never told anyone about it.

One day August came to ask him for lunch but his class had canceled and Joshua had no class at that time, when August came Joshua was standing between the class his notebooks all torn and his stationary was spread on the floor , three boys were checking his desk and all his stuff.

“You thief you stole my stuff, no one taught you that not to steal other things” one boy yelled

“Stop it, don’t yell at him actually he has no mother to tell him what to do” the other said all boys started laughing

“Don’t talk bad about my mother” Joshua yelled

“Oh sorry, don’t make jokes or our genius will start crying” they laughed hard again

Joshua’s eyes filled with tears and he tried to run away but one of them held his wrist tight

“Don’t go out like this or others will think we did something bad with you, don’t be a cry baby common”. They clapped their hands and burst into laughter again and ran out he didn’t see that August was standing there, August wanted to go after him but he thought he would make him feel embarrassed because Joshua thought no one knew about his bullying. He went inside and started to gather Joshua’s stuff the boys looked at each other and stand around him

“Hay little, what you think you are doing”.

“Can’t you see I’m gathering Josh’s stuff” he tried to ignore them

“And who do you think you are to do so, oh are you his boyfriend” the boy asked incessantly

“See, I have told you before that he is a gay but you didn’t believe me” the other boy said the latter August looked at them with anger

“Don’t ever talk about him this way or behave with him badly”. August clenched his fists

“What do you do if we talk badly?”

“Chill buddy why are you feeling bad, tell me is he so good in bed” the other boy put his hand around Augusts’ shoulder

August landed a solid punch on his jaw that made him staggered backwards blood spattered from his mouth on the floor. The other lunged at August with a chair he dodged it and grab the boy from back collar and hit his head on the table they were fighting when the staff came to stop them August was standing in the center his chest heaving and his fists bloodied they took the boys to nurse and August to principal’s office. He got suspended for a whole week for his behavior no one knew why he did that the bullies said that because they didn’t take him in the basketball team that’s why he beat them so hard. August also didn’t tell the truth because he didn’t want to make Joshua embarrassed.

The next day when Joshua went to school he knew what happened after he left school yesterday. They spread fake rumors to their classmates that August is Joshua’s boyfriend and he took revenge for him. Everyone was talking about it Joshua felt uncomfortable and went to meet August. August was sitting in his room watching something on laptop Joshua entered August closed and stood up “Josh, how are you? Did you not go to school today?”

“Why did you do that, why you beat them”? Joshua asked

“Because….” He was about to say something then pause for a while

“That was not a good deal August why you can’t understand, you can tell me I’ll help you join the team but you use violence. Why are you being more and more spoiled every day?” Joshua yelled

“But I did it for you, they were talking bad about you” August explained

“But you made me embarrassed, everyone gossiping about our relationship said you are my boyfriend, how ridiculous your little action made a big misunderstanding, how can I explain this now”.

“Is it that embarrassing for you” August looked at Joshua sadly but he was not looking at him or thinking about his feelings

“Or what, it’s not true we don’t have feelings, how can we” Joshua said

“Yes how can we”, August gave a bittersweet smile

“But what if someday I tell you I’ve feelings for you” August asked looking at Joshua

“What happened to you, I don’t have time for your silly jokes, remember to not do anything silly again I will not always be with you to clear you mess, you are going to middle school try to grow up”. Joshua left after giving him a lecture

A tear fell from Augusts’ eyes he swept it and sat on the bed he was happy to see that Joshua didn’t know the real deal.

Joshua came out of the thoughts with his phone ringing continuously he looked at the screen its Mr. Smith he picked up the call

“Where are you Joshua?”

“I’m going somewhere, why are you asking, is everything alright” he asked with concern

“Come home now I’ll tell you then, I’m waiting for you”. He said he hung up

Joshua felt worried at his father’s behavior and drove towards his house.