Hide (a Twin Peaks story)
Friday, 29 April 2016 10:08 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
carose59The first strange thing to ever happen to Dale Bartholomew Cooper—the first thing that he knew wasn't just a dream, or something he imagined, the first almost-tangible thing, was a game of hide-and-seek he played with his brother, Emmett. Dale was eight.
Because Emmett was old, bigger, smarter, faster, Dale seldom won this game; he seldom won any games, unless Emmett let him, and when he did let him, he always wore his patented look of, "Are you happy? I'm letting you win," which took the fun out of it. But Dale had stumbled upon a way of winning hide-and-seek, if they played it in the house. He'd make a lot of noise, as though he was running upstairs, then he'd sneak into the living room closet. Emmett would hear the noise, bypass the closet, and that would give Cooper the few precious extra seconds he needed to get back to base—the living room sofa.
But maybe Emmett had caught on, because as soon as he called out a triumphant "One hundred! Ready or not, here I come!" the door flew open. Emmett's eyes met Dale's, but there was no recognition, no acknowledgement—he might as well have been a coat or a pair of boots. The door slammed shut, and as he heard Emmett's retreating footsteps and shouts of "Deeb! No point hiding, I'm gonna fi-i-ind you!" a succession of emotions invaded Dale: relief, triumph, then disquiet, fear, and finally true terror. Why hadn't Emmett seen him?
He tore the closet door open and dashed out, heading not for the sofa, but for his mother in the kitchen. He attached himself to her like a barnacle, crying uncontrollably.
A moment later Emmett came in, admonished him with a disdainful "That's not hiding," and walked out again. When his mother had Dale sufficiently calmed down, he'd told her what had happened. She looked concerned, and a little angry, called Emmett back to the kitchen and sharply asked him what she'd told him about teasing his little brother.
Emmett looked plain confused. "Wha'd I do?" he asked plaintively.
"You saw me in the closet, but just left me there," Dale told him, but even as he was saying it, he realized it wasn't true, and that was the problem: Emmett really hadn't seen him.
Emmett just stared at him for a second, then he said quickly, "Hey, Deeb, it was just a joke. Can't you take a joke?"
His mother looked from Dale to Emmett for a moment, then told Emmett to apologize for scaring his little brother. Emmett did. But he knew, and Dale knew, that he hadn't really done anything wrong, that he really hadn't seen his brother in the closet. Neither of them knew what it meant. They never talked about it. And from then on, Dale felt his brother move progressively further and further away from him.
Because Emmett was old, bigger, smarter, faster, Dale seldom won this game; he seldom won any games, unless Emmett let him, and when he did let him, he always wore his patented look of, "Are you happy? I'm letting you win," which took the fun out of it. But Dale had stumbled upon a way of winning hide-and-seek, if they played it in the house. He'd make a lot of noise, as though he was running upstairs, then he'd sneak into the living room closet. Emmett would hear the noise, bypass the closet, and that would give Cooper the few precious extra seconds he needed to get back to base—the living room sofa.
But maybe Emmett had caught on, because as soon as he called out a triumphant "One hundred! Ready or not, here I come!" the door flew open. Emmett's eyes met Dale's, but there was no recognition, no acknowledgement—he might as well have been a coat or a pair of boots. The door slammed shut, and as he heard Emmett's retreating footsteps and shouts of "Deeb! No point hiding, I'm gonna fi-i-ind you!" a succession of emotions invaded Dale: relief, triumph, then disquiet, fear, and finally true terror. Why hadn't Emmett seen him?
He tore the closet door open and dashed out, heading not for the sofa, but for his mother in the kitchen. He attached himself to her like a barnacle, crying uncontrollably.
A moment later Emmett came in, admonished him with a disdainful "That's not hiding," and walked out again. When his mother had Dale sufficiently calmed down, he'd told her what had happened. She looked concerned, and a little angry, called Emmett back to the kitchen and sharply asked him what she'd told him about teasing his little brother.
Emmett looked plain confused. "Wha'd I do?" he asked plaintively.
"You saw me in the closet, but just left me there," Dale told him, but even as he was saying it, he realized it wasn't true, and that was the problem: Emmett really hadn't seen him.
Emmett just stared at him for a second, then he said quickly, "Hey, Deeb, it was just a joke. Can't you take a joke?"
His mother looked from Dale to Emmett for a moment, then told Emmett to apologize for scaring his little brother. Emmett did. But he knew, and Dale knew, that he hadn't really done anything wrong, that he really hadn't seen his brother in the closet. Neither of them knew what it meant. They never talked about it. And from then on, Dale felt his brother move progressively further and further away from him.