Round 4: Fish

Aurelia Fish is an Elder. Her grandson Dmitri Fish is a Teen, and her granddaughter Dzika Fish is a Child.

* * *

At first Dmitri didn’t know what to do after Liss’s decision. Deep down, he had really been expecting her to come to her senses and choose him, and despite what he had told Ellis, at first he was tempted to step up his efforts and win her back. He tried to stay away from her, but he couldn’t – their friendship had shaped so much of his time here in Wanderer’s Cove that he wasn’t even sure what to do with himself if he didn’t have her to talk to.

But as time went on, and he saw her less frequently, he realized that he was over it. He still felt a twinge whenever he saw her, and probably always would, but he had survived worse pain than this. He still had his grandmother, and his sister, and the frustration of school was as comfortingly familiar as ever. He settled into a new routine, one that was much like his old one except with fewer visits to Liss’s house. Maybe one day he would be able to be friends with her the way they used to be, without feeling that mix of attraction and resentment at the back of his mind, but until that day came, it was better for both of them if they spent less time together. He used his extra free time to focus more on his schoolwork, and was surprised when he found himself with a report card that made his grandmother raise her eyebrows in approval instead of lecturing him about all the time he spent playing video games.

Still, he couldn’t deny that there was an element of revenge involved when he asked Liss's younger sister Izzy on a date.

He didn’t want to do anything to interfere with Liss and Izzy’s relationship. He didn’t actually go out with Izzy until she told him, in her earnest way, that she had talked to Liss about it and she had said it was fine. But he did hope that somewhere in Liss’s mind, the thought of him with Izzy would make her regret what she had given up.

But when they finally went on that date, he realized how much he actually enjoyed Izzy’s company. She had always been around in the background of his friendship with Liss – she even used to have a crush on him when they were younger. But Liss had always overshadowed her. Now, though, he wondered how he had gone so long without getting to know her as a person, instead of just as Liss’s sister. She was a paradox – rebellious in some ways, adorably naïve in others – and she had a genuinely good heart that showed through in everything she said and did. She was nothing like her sister, but for the first time Dmitri began to think that maybe he didn’t want someone like Liss.

Maybe he wanted someone whose heart balanced out his head. Maybe he wanted someone who would treat him well because she couldn’t help but do otherwise.

Maybe he wanted someone whose kisses weren’t about drama or inner conflict – they were just about him.

Dmitri tried to keep his new relationship a secret from his grandmother. She hadn’t even been happy about his relationship with Liss; Dmitri could guess how she would react to seeing him with someone like Izzy, with her dyed hair and leather pants. When his grandmother was at work, though, he and Izzy took full advantage of the empty house.

Dzika was not at all happy about this new development. She looked up to her grandmother more than anyone in the world, and Izzy was everything her grandmother had warned her not to be. She had never liked having Izzy around, and that was before Izzy started dating her brother. Dmitri had never seen Dzika be rude to anyone, ever, except for Izzy.

Dzika kept threatening to tell their grandmother about their relationship, but he managed to keep buying her off with candy. She was getting older, though, and that wouldn’t work for much longer.

One morning, as Aurelia was getting out of bed, she felt something strange happening. It was as if she could no longer keep hold of her own body. As if from a distance, she watched herself collapse to the floor.

She had tried to hold on as long as she could for her grandchildren, but she had lived a long life, and her body simply couldn’t keep going any longer. She had no regrets; the only thing she wished was that she could have lived long enough to see Dmitri grow up.

Dzika was about as resilient as any kid could be, but Aurelia’s death was a hard blow even for her. After she had lost her parents, her grandmother had taken care of her and nurtured her talents and made her into the person she had become. Without her around, the house just felt empty.

But Dmitri didn’t have the luxury of letting himself collapse with grief. Given how close he was to graduation, ordinarily it would just be a matter of signing the paperwork that would allow him to live on his own, but there was Dzika to consider. He had to prove that he would be able to provide a good home for her, or she would be sent to live with foster parents.

He found a job as quickly as he could. From now on, he would be spending his afternoons painting houses. It wasn’t anything like he had imagined his first job would be, but it paid better than anything else he could find. Right now, taking care of Dzika – and keeping their family together – had to be his highest priority.

Luckily, his latest report card was even better than the last, and his teachers all gave him glowing recommendations. The child welfare inspector who came by to meet with him couldn’t find anything to complain about. He signed the papers, and Dzika was allowed to keep living with him.

Dmitri had to get used to doing all the things that his grandmother had taken care of before, like cooking meals. If it had only been him, he might have just eaten cereal for dinner every night, but every time he considered it, he could hear his grandmother’s voice in his mind berating him for feeding such a poor diet to a growing child. Grilled cheese probably wasn't much better, but he did what he could.