Prologue

Names are significant. They begin a chain of attachments that lead to a cascade of sadness. Yes, they are very significant. Why name that which is destined to die – become attached to that which is fatted to pass? Families, friends, pets, even objects – they all have names, but when these things die, corrode, or break, the reason for these names hold a new significance – sheer and utter sadness.

Jacob Martin is my name, the name of a forty-three-year-old man who once had a twelve-year-old friend named Cypress Kaye. At the age of ten, life begged me to realize these things and to embrace them as pure fact. Cypress Kaye, what significance should his name hold?

Far back as I can remember, I was with cypress. We lay in the grass outside my house as we did often. We use to cloud gaze while thinking of what small lives we had.

"Jake," Cypress called, "How old are you now?" The month being March, I had my birthday around four months before the time he asked.

"Nine…I mean ten." I said while shaking my head and laughing. I had forgotten my age only for a slight moment.

"And you're twelve already right, Cye? I continued, turning my head from the sky to him.

"Yeah, twelve." Cypress sat up from the grass and crossed his legs as I followed with the same.

"Are we going inside now?" I asked

"If you want, but lemmie ask ya something real quick. What if you were considered an adult at your age…well, not exactly, but you had to do the same stuff that grown-ups do? Would you be able to?"

I sat for a few seconds in thought, "Don't know, prolly.

"No, I mean what type of things would you do. What would you get done? He persistently replied.

"I said I don't know! It's a stupid question anyway. Yeah, we're going inside or at I am, at least." The two of us stood up and dusted the grass and dust from our pants and walked headed inside. Once we shut the front door after getting inside, we kicked our shoes off and started to jog to power walk to the living room.

"Ah, ah…neatly boys." My mother requested, lifting her head from her sudoku book

"Yes ma'am." I said as Cypress' voice repeated behind mine like an echo. We fixed our shoes neatly on side the front door and joined my mother in the living room to watch television. Cypress Turned the T.V. to the anime channel and we both sat to watch.

"Oh, Lord" my mother, Savina said as she sighed on the way to her room. She never really liked our shows, but she was doing her puzzles, so I'm sure she would have given that response either way.

I lived in a three bedroom – two story house with four restrooms. These rooms were separated between the upstairs and downstairs.

After Cypress and I watched television for an hour and a half, we grew tire of it. In light of this, I asked, "Cye, wanna go upstairs and play some games?"

"No, I'd rather go to my house and play. It's getting' kinda boring being at your house all the time."

"Yeah, me too." I replied. Before leaving, I stopped by my mothers room.

"Bye, ma. I'm going to Cye's house. Love ya." In response, she beckoned me for a kiss and ass she pecked me, she said, "I love you too, hon. Be careful, you two.

"Ma, It's Five blocks away, we can make it." My mother was averagely protective, so since Cye, as I sometimes called him, lived five blocks away, she had no true reservations about the two of us going to his house together. Out to the garage, we grabbed our bike from the garage and prepared to speed off. My father actually didn't like me going many places on the weekend, he'd prefer me to stay in and study, but he worked many hours as a construction worker, therefore, never home.

"You're lucky your father didn't have anything to say about this." Cypress declared.

"No argument here. I'm glad he's at work now.." Cypress tilted his head toward me and squinted his eyes as we rode to his house.

"I know that look." I said "He pours concrete."

"I thought he taught at that college."

"He does both, crazy. Did you also know that he has a masters in medical like my mom?" Cypress' eyes widened.

"Really!" He exclaimed. "He's a jack of all trades, right?

"Yup, but he's not a doctor. That's only because he learned medical just so he could know stuff like that.

"Still cool"

"I know." We were quick to arrive to Cypress' home where he only had a mother after a single divorce. Her name was Jessica M. Kaye – a realtor for Hatcher N' Co. Once we got of our bikes, we leaned them on side of the two story home.

Jessica was like an aunt to me. I grew up four years with Cypress and Jessica.

We approached the front door of the house and Cypress pulled out his key. For an instant, I noticed him having trouble with unlocking the door. After two minutes of failed attempts, he simply fainted head first into the welcome mat.

"Cye!" I shouted. Panicking, I removed the key from his still hand and burst through the unlocked door.

"Auntie Jess! I shouted, running through the house in search. There in her room, she lay quietly asleep on her bed. After an ample amount of shakes and screams of her name, she finally woke up.

"What is it, Jacob? Quite down."

"Cypress fainted at the door."

"Oh, God!" She shouted as she lifted herself from the sheets.

Jessica stomped toward the door and Cypress lay there stationary – motionless.

"Again!" She shouted. "Jake, go get the bowl and towel. I ran into the kitchen as she grabbed him from the porch and placed him gently on the couch. I went over with a towel and a bow of hot water. Jessica wet the towel and placed it smoothly across his forehead after squeezing

"How'd it happen this time?" She asked.

"I don't know. We just got off our bikes and he fell at the door. He was trying to get in. You know, he should really go to the h—"

"Ah, ah, ah. Stop right there you little sneak! No further discussion. I already told you. I do what he wants when concerning him.

"But that's a stupid idea. You can't be okay with a kid making doctor decisions can you?!"

"You keep your mouth shut Jacob. Don't you dare tell me how to be a parent. The only way to let a child learn is to allow them their mistakes. He will learn."

"That's stupid too." I yelled "My mom says not to let kids make mistakes, but when mistakes do happen that's not anybody's control, you teach them better, but you got control over this!"

We both shouted at one another like dogs. The sense of emotion in Jessica's eyes began to grow sharper and sharper. It was nearly a look of hatred.

My mother taught me everything I knew, but it seemed as if Jessica was being stubborn…nothing more. After out argument, we stayed silent for about ten minutes.

Moments after our silence, Cypress woke with words. "Too hot" He began "The towel is too hot." He mumbled. Jessica grabbed and immediately embraced him tightly.

"Thank god. You were under for much longer this time. I'm glad. I was this close to bringing you to the hospital." She said as she peeked through her slightly parted her thumb and index finger. "I know how you hate doctors." She continued.

"So!" I shouted, "He needs to see one. It doesn't matter what he wants!" I stormed outside, slamming the door behind me. I wanted it to be known just how upset I was.

For months then, Cypress had been randomly fainting very often, but he refused hospital treatment from fear of needles and everything else about the hospital environment. The problem is that at that time, it seemed as if the moments of fainting at become closer than at first. He ate well from what I knew and he was only a bit smaller than the ideal weight for a boy of 4ft. 10in. So who, other than a doctor, would understand the problem?

I went outside to lay in the grass in order to clear m head of negative thoughts, or rather, take them with a grain. I lay silently and calmly, nearly falling asleep until Cypress joined me a while later.

"You know," he started, "sleeping is just fainting while laying down." He laid down next to me while I ignored his presence.

"So back to the grass again, eh?" We could have stayed at your house, right?" I stretched a hue smile across my face, but my efforts to hold conversation with him seemed ineffective. "My mom's gonna take me to the hospital tonight." he said. With ease, I sat up with a bright smile on my face.

"She is, are you foreal?! You're going?" I exclaimed

"Yes, Jake." He affirmed "We're going tonight at around ten. It's usually slow at night during the weekend, so we can be in and out, ya know? You can go if Savina comes with you. My mom said." I laid back down and calmed my excitement.

"Hm, so you agreed to go. Why?"

"She played it tough. She made me feel kinda bad about not going, so I decided that I would"

"You know, I don't think I could." I said as Cypress lowered his brows in confusion. "I don't think that me, a ten year old, can take care of himself like grown-ups do. I mean, I'm smatter than you, I think, but you are older than me and can't make the right choices, so what does that say for me?"

Cypress looked at me and laughed, "That's a terrible answer." He said. "What if things-" Jessica came outside dangling keys and shouting, "You two, I'm going to the store! It would be nice if two young men could help with the groceries!"

"Kay" We replied at once. We got up and dusted ourselves before running to the garage and getting in the car after Jessica. Once we got in, she fixed her rearview mirror and buckled her seat belt.

"Strapped in?" she questioned to us. We nodded and that was sign enough for her to crank the car and drive off. As we drove, she changed the radio to the XM news station, which she often listened to. Neither of us like to sit in the middle, so we both sat in the back on opposite sides near the windows.

Five minutes into the drive, things were silent. It was eerie to me, so I spoke first.

"Auntie," I called as her eyes gestured to me through the rear view mirror. "I'm sorry for spouting off at you like that. I didn't really mean it."

"No, you were right, hon. That's why we're going to the hospital tonight.

"I know, Cye told me."

"Yeah? Did you two make up?"

C'mon, ma." Cypress interrupted "Us?"

"Right, my mistake." She responded. After that small conversation, Jessica turned the radio to the XM J-pop station at medium volume. Before the two of us had fallen asleep, Cypress made a laughing noise.

"What was that about?" I asked

"Spouting off...you're so white."

"Ignoring you." I retorted, leaning against the car door and closing my five minutes later, I awoke from my doze. Cypress appeared to be still asleep. I didn't speak, I just peered through my lids, looking around the car. Jessica drove a really nice 4 door vehicle with red interior. It was a very expensive brand that she kept clean. She cleaned it twice a week.

Minutes later, we arrived to the best and cheapest grocery store in our city. The only cheap things that our families bought was food, though we never bought the off brands.

"Jake," Jessica called "Wake him up, we're here." I didn't feel like reaching over to wake him, so I had planned to go around and wake him, but the door did not open when I pulled the handle.

"My door." I told her. She had the proof lock on, so She came to let me out and woke Cypress up as well. He made a few noises, but finally got out, stretching and yawning. Jessica never noticed that I would switch the lock off and would always forget by the time I opened my own door.

Due to lack of parking space, we had to park at a convenience store across the street from the grocery store. It had very limited parky space due to its size.

"Boys," she began "You can each get ten dollars worth of personal items, but the rest is mandatory. We began to cross the street, but was halted due to the busy traffic, so we stood, waiting at the curb. The light turned yellow and we were ready to cross, but before that could happen, everything just froze. Cars stopped moving; people stopped walking, and even the wind seemed to have stopped blowing.

Everything was still - all accept for Cypress and me.

"Cye," I called in dragging trepidation "What just happened. This isn't normal. He just stared at me as if I had asked a silly question. He then murmured, "I thought not. You haven't learned anything about this, have you?"

A man garbed in blue, wearing a trench coat casually walked from then convenience store behind us.

"It's because the boy is uneducated - uneducated about everything." The man spoke in an English accent as he strolled toward us.

"Uneducated - me? Do you...know me?" I said

"Yubel," Cypress called, "what are you doing here?" he exclaimed. Yubel stood in silence, munching on a bag of chips while appearing to be checking his nails for residue.

"Are you gonna answer me?" He started to snicker a bit and said, "Come now, boy. Mother taught me to never speak with a full mouth.

"Don't play games with me, Yubel! Why are you here so early?" Yubel began to shake his head.

"Careful not to get to angry. You don't want Jake here seeing your true self - the monstrous person that you really are." I stood frozen still, looking between them both trying to figure out what to say. That guy put doubt of the world inside of my head in one instant.

"Who...are...you?" I asked. Yubel walked closer to me I slightly stepped back each time he came closer

"I'm not early, I am actually very late." he said "This boy should have gained your ruthlessness by now, Cypress. Why have you not changed him? You are far to busy living this false life." Again, he placed doubt in my head - doubt about Cypress, who he was, and how he fit into our relationship.

"You see, Jake" Yubel said, turning to me. "You are who we needed from the beginning. You were meant to be a little more...crude by now. That was his job, but since he failed, I'm forced into drastic measures." I had no clue what he was going on about at the time. I just thought that d I stayed silent that nothing would happen.

"But he's not like us! His spirit is unbreakable. It's not easy to do what you asked me - not easy at all!"

"Quit your excuses, boy. We see no personal growth in this child's psycouvanetic structure. Look at him. He clearly doesn't even know about himself. I felt you could at least manage that." Still, I stood in silence looking at whoever spoke words at all. What would he do? Did he mean to kidnap or hurt us. It's not as if I thought to call anyone. I assumed the entire world was frozen, beside the three of us. Not knowing what to do, I cried...didn't know any other way to respond. It wasn't your typically loud cry, but the tears were there and I don't think either of them cared. Still, the two of them continued talking.

"So," Cypress started, "It's my mother and I, isn't it - the final resort?" Yubel smiled maniacally.

"Precisely, so I suppose you've come to terms with the conditions that apply, or do you even remember?" Cypress clenched hid right fist and I noticed a tear stream down his face, but he seemed to try hiding it.

"Of course I do." He said through a shaking voices "my mother and I have to die." He wiped the tear from his face. "No, I can handle it. Jake is to kind to be like me - to be what you want without this, so I prepared for it."

"That's not true!" I shouted. I couldn't make true sense of anything, but dying - Cypress and Jessica? I had to say something.

"You're standing over there talking so big like you get to decide everything What if I don't want you dead?" During our conversation, Yubel sighed and started smoking a cigarett, leaning against a wall. He acted so confident as if he knew that by th end, he'd get what he wanted.

"What if your mother doesn't want to die. You, man," I said looking in Yubel's direction, "unfreeze her. Let's see what she has to say about all this! unfreeze her n-" My words were interrupted by a swift punch to the face from which I flew back into the ground.

"Shut up, Jake!" Cypress shouted "Look at you! I just punched you with all my force and look, not even one bruise or scratch! Have you seriously been this blind. I'm a twelve year old and you're ten, but neither of us have even a little scrape. We've both fallen again and again, but not one scar proves that. We are different, Jake..different!"

He was right. I thought of any other children we had seen and they pretty much all had scratches, scrapes or bruises, but not us. I diverted my mind from thought as he continued speaking.

"Many people say that they'd die for who they care for, but how many get the chance to prove it?"

"But what about your Jessica?" I interjected. "Don't you care about your own mother?" His expression turned into further anger at my words - yes, both by his face and his words.

"I Don't give a damn about her right now! Stop trying to change my mind!" Yubel flicked his cigarett past both our faces to grab our attention. He started to clap.

"That was astounding...simply amazing! The rage and emotion that increased with each combative statement; It was beautiful - sublime even." He ended his laughter in a sigh as he walked toward Cypress. "If you don't mind, though, I would like to take care of my other affairs at some point."

Cypress stared at me and nonchalantly walked of with Yubel as if to intentionally piss me off. "So how's it gonna happen?" I asked

"The traffic," Yubel replied "It looks a bit heavy today. Would you not agree?"

"You couldn't make it any less messy, could you?" Cypress said, clenching his teeth and fist.

"I enjoy the theatrics, Cypress. Now, get to it." Cypress unclenched his right fist and his hand began bleeding as he walk toward his mother's motionless body.

"Cye!" I called as I attempted to jog toward him. Yubel's hand grabbed my shoulder tightly and held me still.

"Watch" He softly dragged with a devious expression on his face. Cypress placed his bloodstained hand on his mother's shoulder and they both vanished, but shortly appeared in front of the nearest group of frozen cars.

"You're serious about this?!" I shouted as I escaped from Yubel's clutch.

"It's for you." Cypress said in a saddened monotone. After this day, Jacob Martin, become a ruthless monster. Slice the throats of people who take important things from you. Jake, never let a day like this one happen again." I attempted to run again, but Yubel swiftly grabbed and kicked me into a window behind us.

"I said watch." I peered from the window as Cypress showed the most lifeless expression on his face. As if he accepted the outcome of death. I had to face it. The black hair and blue eyes that once described my best friend had turned into a shadowy silhouette of a beast.

"I'm ready." Cypress said with all confidence. Without confirmation, Yubel slipped a vial of what appeared to be blood from the inside of his blue trench coat and crushed it. At that instant, cars and people began to move again. They began honking and shouting as, "look out!" or "Hey, move!" It was sad, but under all that I could hear, one faint voice screamed, "Cypress, let me-" That was it. Nothing more than a cacophony of clashing metal and glass to end her cries.

"Jessica...Cypress!" I shouted as I got up, running to them both. Everyone in the area stood, gawking, whispering, and snapping pictures of the entire scene. "Move! Get away! I screamed through a weeping voice, pushing people. Yubel stood laughing while lighting yet another cigarett To the cars, I came and there they were. They both lay still between two vehicles and red-painted glass, but the drivers were barely injured. Overwhelmed with grief, I sat as tear after tear dropped from my eyelashes. For a moment, I looked up because of all the commotion, One woman silently walked past the entire scene. I shifted my attention from her because I could see slight movement from my periphery.

"Cypress!" I happily exclaimed

"I'm...alive?" He said looking down his blood-covered body in confusion. "I'm alive" he angrily repeated. He jumped up quickly and pulled me up as well. He walked toward Yubel as sirens began to sound behind us. He placed his hand on Yubel's shoulder and transported us to what looked like an alley.

Why am still alive and not her." angrily demanded of Yubel.

"I don't give a damn about her. That is what you said, no?"

"Stop screwing with me!" Cypress looked back at me with eyes that seemed ashamed. "Jake, you're going home." I attempte to deny what he said, but he didn't listen at all. "You shouldn't see anymore. I'm sending you home."

Cypress pushed my chest mildly soft and my head instantly felt odd, as if I was going down and elevator. I closed my eyes to get a grip and when I opened them, I found myself sitting in the grass outside my house. There was no blood on my shirt and my face was clean of tears.

Upset and my face showing it, I quickly ran inside.

"Stop the running." My mom said as she turned to look at me