Tahn's Tales

Old Soul

Six year old Daniel was so excited. His mom was coming home from the hospital and he was going to have a new baby brother to play with and take care of. His parents had already told him how important it was to be a good big brother, and he was eager to start his new job as the bestest big brother anyone ever had.

His grandfather always told him he had an old soul with his light brown eyes, and quirky smile, but he always thought he looked funny with the weird birthmark across his neck. He wondered if his baby brother would look like him, or have his own weirdness they could share together.

While planning the many adventures they could go on, and the secret club they could have in the big tree outside, a car pulled up in the driveway and he ran to the door in a flash. His babysitter pulled him back to let his mom and dad through, and he was on tiptoes trying to see in the baby carrier, but he couldn’t see anything, it was too high up.

Daniel’s mom and dad were beaming and came to sit on the floor in the living room.

“Come sit with us Daniel.” His mom patted the floor in front of her. “Come meet Kevin.”

He sat indian style, almost bouncing as they turned the carrier around for him to get the first glance at his new sibling.

Time froze as dark brown eyes, almost black, stared up at him. He started screaming when memories flooded his mind. Emotions, feelings, sensations all crowded into the young child who had seen those eyes before. They were the same eyes he saw the night his soul was released. Those same dark eyes that sparkled in glee as they dragged his much older body into an alley. That same smirk that the man wore as he trailed a knife across Daniel’s neck, his blood spraying forward, coating the wall with bright red, almost like the paint he had in his room right this minute.

The baby laughed. Daniel remembered that as well. That laughter in his ear as his body grew cold.

The baby remembered it too.