The Metaphorical Key Book II- Forge the Path

"Happy birthday to you..."

The words were empty. No one was happy.

Aiden wondered briefly if he liked it that way.

Yes, he decided that he did. Nobody should be happy. Curtis was dead.

The cake in front of him hadn't had any candles placed on it, at Aiden's request. He swallowed and waved his hand listlessly, his eyes glossy and staring into nowhere.

Dulcie forced a smile and motioned for Pollux to take the knife.

"So, Pollux, since we've decided you're the only one who can use a knife without chopping off your fingers, you'll be cutting the cake. Remember, though, the cake isn't an enemy. We want it to be edible. Cake is supposed to be edible. I'm sure you remember our last birthday?"

Pollux laughed. Humourlessly.

"Bryson made this for us, right?"

"Right. Surprisingly sentimental, seemed honestly upset about Curtis. He always struck me as a bit gruff. He didn't seem to be any more than acquaintances with Curtis."

Pollux nodded, biting his lip as he cut into the cake.

"Well, uh, happy birthday Aiden?"

"You don't have to pretend, you know."

Pollux flinched and nearly dropped the plate he was holding, instead gingerly setting it down in front of Aiden.

"Pretend what?"

Aiden bolted up from his seat and slammed his hands down on the table, yanking the pale pink and white tablecloth back as he lurched forwards.

"You don't have to pretend that you're okay that Curtis is dead!"

His voice cracked horribly, and a sob tore its way out of his throat like a clawed hand dragging its way to his mouth.

Pollux lunged across the table to stop everything from falling off, and he pulled the tablecloth over to his end while Dulcie spoke, grasping one of Aiden's hands in her own and rubbing the back.

"Aiden... it's not okay that Curtis died. The way he died was terrible and I wouldn't wish that on very many people. Not even my parents."

She paused for a second and tugged at her shirt collar.

"Great, I made it about me now."

She sighed.

"Look, what I'm saying is that... we're all upset. I don't know what to do about it right now, and I can't undo his death, nobody can. But I guess... sometimes it's nice to just have somebody to be sad with? You're not alone, Aiden. You don't have to do this to yourself."

She shook his hand when he didn't respond, as if trying to rouse Aiden from a deep sleep.

"Now come on. Let yourself be happy."

Aiden forced a smile. It was shaky and for one moment, he thought that Dulcie would never let go of his hand, but eventually, she did.

Pollux set everything back down on the table and pushed the largest piece of cake to Aiden.

"Enjoy yourself, okay? There's a counsellor here, Dulcie and I are already going, you should go too."

Aiden nodded and bit down hard into the cake to avoid the choked sob he'd been holding back from escaping.

---

Aiden supposed that he enjoyed his birthday. He felt guilty, though.

The cake was wonderful. It reminded him of a violet in bloom. He wasn't quite sure how to explain the taste to himself - all he could come up with was that it tasted like the colour purple, which he supposed didn't make too much sense,