Brownie

Dr. Seth Morgan, graduate with a Masters and Ph.D in Veterinary Medicine. Owned his own practice after his elderly mentor had peacefully passed with friends and family nearby. Passing on his equally stout and well-worn and loved office to the young apprentice twenty-three years old who happened to have an odd fascination somewhat off-kilter and unsettling to the rest. Of the man's family who were just a little stiffer whenever he got to talking about the matter.

When he told the elderly man he would be greeted in a beautiful light warm and full of a love inconceivable in this life try as we might to emulate it. Such all-encompassing love, forgiveness, and acceptance.

Asked if there were any other wishes, if he was truly sure, that his family would not appreciate to have the practice.

Dr. Seth Morgan was well-versed when it came to death.

In his office, in his operating room, and in his apartment and childhood home there were pictures of a boy. Blond hair and green eyes, down to the face shape and the way his ring finger was chosen to scratch when nervous an exact copy of Seth however not Seth.

Sixty-six seconds seemed to have made all the difference.

Could it be his younger brother had not had enough air? Had gotten hungry? Perhaps his elder brother would hold his neck too long in the womb? So that for a scant moment his eyes saw what was never meant to be seen. And so came about an affinity for this life, the creatures beyond human vision.

Then again, such experiences didn't explain future sight and surely not telepathy.

Dr. Seth Morgan reminisced often of those teenage years. Fall, the season of change and of the greatest pain, just after his brother succumbed to an unlucky genetic illness. When he'd been laid in a casket! At fourteen he'd been in a casket, in his best suit, and done up in the embalmers' makeup so he didn't look so decrepit and \\dead\\.

In everything he and Drake had been identical.

In adulthood Seth even had a knob on his head similar to one Drake obtained-- thank you Jieum Ban-- on an undead investigation.

The day was one of many in a heavy, humid summer fugue.

His secretary was young, eager, and constantly urgent.

However today her well-kempt, professional appearance was foregone. Hair across her face, cheeks furiously red when she'd unceremoniously thrown his office door open.

"Francine--" he greeted.

"There's a boy here to see you, his puppy's losing a lot of blood!"

And with that he stormed from his seat and into reception.

There were a few patients, some here for consult, but on a singular seat where many threw pitying glances was a boy all alone cradling a quivering mass of mutilated, fuzzy flesh slicked with blood. One of which scabbed over in even, equal scratches across the eye.

"Alright son, just give me the poor thing for now. Fran lead him in and kid," Seth said with warmth.

"Ye-- yeah?" he asked, voice warbled in his tears. Fat teardrops still flowed down his cheeks and snot began to trickle out of his nose.

"I'll need you to be brave for a second. So let's stand up," he complimented the child as he did, who used Seth's shoulder for support, "good you're doing well. Okay so I need your name, the puppy's name and what happened okay. And once that's done Francine can patch you alright."

"But-- but Brownie! He's never been without me before! He-- he needs and I need him!"

"Shhh, shh, I know I know, come on keep going," he urged. "Right now Brownie is fighting really hard and he's going to need help sooner than later."

The boy's breath hitched.

Continuing toward the operating room Seth turned back, smiling at the child. "It'll stress him if he hears you're crying. But I promise, on my job and my title that I'll do all I can. You did the right thing bringing him."

The child thought for just a moment, before his watery eyes set on their resolve.

"He got bit by another dog!"

And so did he. His leg wasn't bleeding anymore but the cut was still long and had stained his whole calf red.

"The owner said he'd gotten that awful monster his shots which yeah is probably true else animal control woulda taken him after he ate a stray cat and Mrs. Warbler's colorful birds."

"Dear," he replied.

"Yeah no kidding."

Turning the door open the boy shouted for the whole building to hear; "I trust you! So you better save him big brother!"

There was no time to think on it or to address the sudden rush that stole the air from his lungs.

What mattered now, was the sweet friend called Brownie.

Gently setting the dog on his side, he flicked on the overhead light.

Turn on the faucet, water boiling hot he washed his hands of the blood.

A pair of gloves snapped as he put them on over his hands.

Mask.

Surgery cap.

Francine had called ahead to have the set-up ready.

Then it means she had seen the child's injury too. That would be a mark positive for her evaluation tonight.

From just what he could see there were several lacerations across the pup's side.

Teeth had punctured the abdomen to the stomach.

They'd clamped down on the poor thing's neck too. He worked on getting a sheet over that so the poor thing could breathe.

Get him on a mask.

One of his interning veterinarians had came back on Francine's call as he readied to make the first incision.

__________________

\\Save him big brother!//

Seth had changed into clean scrubs as he went to face the child.

Seated in Francine's chair, spinning lazily.

His leg had been tightly bandaged and from the extra pink slip he'd been given a prescription for his physician and parents to look into.

"Oh hey..." any manner of cheer was bluntly dashed at the look. The pity.

And in the solemn way he pulled off the mask.

"I'm sorry son."

"But Seth, you studied. So hard and a whole lot. Vet school's hard."

"Yes it is, but I-- I'm not perfect."

He ignored just how this child knew his name. Perhaps he'd read something.

The tears came even as the boy tried to smile.

Continued and held his voice captive even as he tried to reassure the adult: "thank you. It's-- it's good you tried. You-- You did a good jo-o-o-ob!"

And he broke down.

"Hey, hey its going to be okay. That's alright just let it out, let it out," Seth soothed.

"Do you want a hug?"

"God this body cries too much!" the child screamed.

"Hmm I bet it does," he agreed.

"I wanna hug."

"Thanks big brother," he said into Seth's shirt.

"Okay listen, I can let you see him for a few minutes and then you'll have to call your parents so they can pick you up."

"Don't worry, I don't want to cause you trouble."

"That's good, come on," he said offering his hand.

"So big brother huh," Seth prompted, hopefully to get more information. He was well aware the most likely explanation was simply that he was in a state of distress and the child latched on to Seth for looking like an actual elder brother.

"Yes," he said. "You're my big brother. But I wish we didn't have to actually meet this way. I am really, really sad about Brownie but," the child squeezed tighter, "I've never felt too sad when you're around. Even when I died."

And Seth stopped.

His head went fuzzy and it distinctly felt that he would collapse. What-- no. No way. That was impossible.

But, he still had a child who was severely disturbed or something else wrong.

"I'm so proud of you. I saw all the drawings in your office," the child smiled.

The child with black hair, brown eyes and was Latino for crying out loud! This wasn't-- this wasn't real. Not like ghosts and restless spirits and ESPs were real. He had examples for those!

"Seth, Seth please don't be scared. Y'know I never did meet a reincarnated person so I didn't write about it in any notes or my diary. Hey what did you do with that by the way?"

"You aren't-- kid how long have you been in the sun? Have you eaten? Do you feel any pain besides your leg? Oh," he swallowed away the lump, "I didn't even ask. Does it hurt?"

"Did you get married?"

"That's not important," he said, now employing a much more stern tone. "We're talking about you and listen please just tell me your name."

"Oh, yeah my name's Enzo now. Lorenzo Ortiz."

"Okay, okay and you live around here Enzo?"

"Was it Maria?"

"The Mother Mary?" Seth tried.

"Oh Gods do you call her that? Does she hate it? Well alright, maybe a little less if you guys maybe realized some feelings were there after high school. Or did you reconnect after so many years in that little old town where she had the yellow picket-fence clubhouse?"

"Wh-- what?"

"Hey Seth! Took you long enough so come on tell me, tell me."

"That house--"

The yellow clubhouse that twenty years ago was probably a storage shed in the backyard of a newlywed or newly moved couple. He never did know as much about his friends' childhoods as he should.

What he did know is that in ten years, that yellow picket-fence clubhouse, was for the self-made Occult Club.

"Yeah, yeah," he dismissed. "But seriously how is everyone. Look I'm as surprised as anyone, I couldn't tell you who or what or why, much less even when it was decided for me. They got the math way off making me wait so long. Whoever they are."

"Maria. Maria Schaer?" Seth inquired, "En-- Lorenzo, do you mean Maria Schaer who lived at Blackberry Boulevard when she was-- when she--"

"Since she was born until I assume she moved out for college right? Okay not her then, soooo sweet, artistic Anne Danvers. I read about her, she's doing pretty well for herself as a gallery feature. God if only Mom, well new Mom, had the money for that sort of thing. But, I can always track her down when I'm a teenager."

And in his eye was a strong glint, the shine of a will much bigger than a body that size should feasibly be able to hold.

"Oh and our parents! Seth you haven't been too much trouble since I left right? I mean look at you, if you aren't engaged and girls are still obsessed with you but no surprise though you look like that," and there was an old sense of bitterness in that tone.

Again, completely discordant of a five year old.

"Drake!" he cut into his rambling, because he'd heard scant little about-- about the how that Drake could so helpfully explain.

There was no telling just how much Dr. Seth Morgan could take before clocking out early and hitting-- something. Likely copious amounts of Chinese food and sugar.

"How are you?" he asked quietly. Since for one, his dog had just died. Mauled to death. And he'd brought in the too small critter in alone.

It hadn't set well with him from the start.

"I don't get what you-- you're looking at me really weird. And I-- I can't tell what you're thinking? Is that weird I mean I at least, geez, we were never weird like that but still."

"It's okay. Take your time, this is, this is a lot. For me too."

He had come down to his knee, looking at him straight in the eye and just wanted to keep his hands clapped on this boy's shoulders forever. His clothes were of faded colors, bands with skulls and three sizes too big.

All not good.

"I am fine so please don't look like that. Teachers have been giving me those looks too and some of my Mom's sisters. They've been acting mean and I don't know why."

Drake crossed his arms, face in an epic pout. So that even when choked up and ready to explode Seth let out a small, watery laugh.

"Well then can you tell me, honestly, why you chose that shirt? It's way too big."

He looked down and then back at his brother as if he'd asked something quite stupid.

"I-- I liked it. I dunno I didn't before but I guess I do now. Oh one of my cousins, he plays his guitar all the time at his house. Said he played riffs in my ears from when I was one."

"Hah. Okay, okay you're a cool cat. And should I--"

He pointed at Drake's tiny ear. "Do you hear ringing or anything? How does my voice sound to you when I--" he drew out his lips into long, rounded vowels.

"Completely silly. I never noticed just how silly doctors were. Hey, do you think I could have been a good doctor? I mean most kids I handled were already dead..."

"I think you'd have been an excellent caretaker whatever way you chose to do it. If that was what you would have settled on."

"Did you ever get that spa off the ground?"

"Don't you even," he started, only for Drake to laugh. "I'm well alright I'm not sorry but I'll stop."

"So practically a little brother in this life then?"

Patting his head, Seth started to stand. Only for his knee to creak and a girly squeak to force itself out in response.

"GAaaggh."

It took more time than he'd care to think about to get back up so they could see the last of Brownie.

"What happened, did you get a bypass from an eighty year old or something Seth?"

"No," he snipped, "that's just what happens when you're middle aged."

"Don't let Mom and Dad hear you."

"No kidding."

"You seriously thought though, that my parents don't treat me right did you?"

"You have to admit wouldn't you? How many kids did you see that looked lost and abandoned that were actually dead?"

"Okay I see the point-- except I'm not."

"Not anymore."

"I came alone because home was too far and Mom would have asked too many questions. It would have-- it would have taken too long," Drake wrung his shirt, gazing down at it with melancholic eyes half closed a bit like his puppy.

Gently Seth unclamped his brother's hands from his shirt. "Just breathe alright. Listen we can wait in reception or we can spend some brother time in my office," he made sure to keep his voice somewhat muted, temps and assistants as well as the other two senior vets were walking around, "anyway we don't have to--"

"It's okay. I do want to. Please."

"Okay."

Drake gently caressed the dog's head, fingers just over where the eye had scarred.

His voice choked up. "I really, really loved him. He was actually what helped me remember stuff. I'd found him while walking with my friends, he was filthy, full of nicks and fleas too. My parents had to deep clean my clothes."

Seth simply stood in silence. Securely standing over him as he grieved.

"He'd almost bitten, until, I remembered somehow. To let him sniff, to speak slowly and gently and stay very still until it was ready to come out. Because you studied on that stuff. I remembered how you named your puppy Shadow! Since you found him at night and you almost missed him when walking to the bus or to home?"

"To home," Seth said. "And Shadow he, he passed away too. Just a year ago, maybe they'll meet each other."

"Yeah!"

Hand on his back they stood there awhile. And much like handling a puppy Seth was silent and he was attentive to any body language, any prompt to ask when.

All at his own pace.

When Drake was ready he turned for the doorway. "Let me tell Mom about you and you can meet her, she takes real good care of me. Promise."

"I'd like that."

Only a ruckus preceded their exit.

What sounded vaguely like a woman's voice.

Until both Francine and another older looking lady burst in. The latter scooped up Lorenzo in her arms.

"Hay mi cielo me distes un ambolismo. Que estabas pensando con ese perro talludo y por Dios ni llamastes, bueno no sabes el numero," she scolded, yet all the while nuzzling him close to her chest.

"Thank you sir, and I'm sorry if he's caused a fuss or caused a disturbance," she rounded, in a thick accent that Seth could only guess might have been Cuban of all things.

"No senora, era una alegria. La cosa es su perrito--"

"Si donde esta el pobrecito?"

"Ahi. Perdoname."

"Ay hiciste todo lo posible estoy segura."

Seth couldn't help the degree of confusion but answered in the affirmative anyway.

"Si perdon, my English. Isn't good yet."

"No worry at all," Seth assured, "but senora may I speak on something? Your son-- Lorenzo--" and his face just twisted. Because much as he was now Lorenzo Ortiz he was also Drake. His Drake. His twin.

"Te dijo entonces. Esa historia de la otra vida y el gemelo."

"Senora, me dijo de su perrito, como el mio. Me dijo de mis amigas."

"Una obsesion, casi enfermo de esta clinica desde que podia leer."

"Leer. Read?"

"Desde que tenia tres. Veterinario-- vet-- su palabra favorita."