D. Pavekla

It was the middle of a neighborhood, a perfectly nice one with calm people...except for one family.

Noise and clamoring filled the house. There was not a single pocket of the rusty, hastily decorated suburban home that did not hold memories of bickering amongst the family. Whether it be in the bedroom, kitchen, or bathroom, it was always about something. Now, in this family, was a young boy named David. At the age of 6, he thought quite like a politician, who wanted peace but had personal motives. He saw his family as the Civil War, only he couldn't tell which side was the Union and which side was the Confederacy. Thus, he thought he could fix it, but only if he had someone to tell who was who.

After school, David spotted a shop on a sparsely populated mini-mall that looked like it was the solution, but he would have to be careful. David pushed open the door of the sketchy-looking shop, with faded letters reading Mr. Pavekla's Meditations: Leading a Peaceful Life. David's eyes narrowed. He'd been taught from a very young age not to trust strange shops, but he really had no choice. This was the only mediator in all of San Felipe. With a skeptical conscience and shrewd mind, he was prepared, no matter what scams were thrown into his face.

While at home, junk was being thrown all over the place. An old lamp with a cracked lightbulb shattered into a million pieces as it narrowly missed a boisterous young child's head who was trying to annoy his hot-tempered older sister in the attic. Meanwhile, their parents were arguing about something at the kitchen table. Multiple hours passed as the same cycle continued over and over again. The disappearance of David was not noticed, and it never would have been if not for D. Pavekla.

David immediately walked into the scent of an incense burner. Surprisingly, the business wasn't bad for such a dilapidated shop. There were actually a few customers in the waiting area with moth-ridden chairs that David did not want to sit on. Luckily, the chairs were full, so David stood at the carpeted area. He was called into an office with Mr. Pavekla himself and what he saw when he pushed the door open astounded him.

The office of D. Pavekla held artifacts, and not just any old feather you could find on the ground. Some of those looked like they could belong in a museum, and most of them looked as if they hadn't been polished in a long time. The man himself was sitting on a fine-grained rocking chair, slowly rocking back and forth. When he saw David, his face brightened. "Ah, my nephew Daniel! What fair wind brings you here?" David did not know how to respond to that. He stuttered for a moment, then regaining his wits, he said, "I'm not Daniel. You must have me confused." D. Pavekla frowned, then plastered a fake smile. "Well, you must be a new client, then. What can I help you with?" "Um...well, you see, my family is having an argument. That, doesn't really cover it, though." Pavekla's brows narrowed. "What do you mean?" David was starting to panic a bit now, not quite sure how to explain his situation to this seemingly old goof. "It's kinda like a war." With that, Pavekla eyes got even smaller. His head leaned forward. "Boy... are you sure you're not Daniel?" David was really infuriated now. He hated being called boy, and he was not Daniel. Pavekla's face brightened again, as if realizing this was, indeed, a client. "Well, regardless, I'll help you out. Can I come next Monday?" David ran through a mental checklist. He shrugged. "Okay. What's the price?" Pavekla put a hand on David's shoulder, as if he were a parental figure. "Just consider this one on the house." Now, David was on the verge of exploding. He certainly did not need support, financial or mental. Somehow, David managed to cool his temper to a reasonable simmer. "Fine." David stormed out the door.

It was finally Monday. David was fifty-percent sure that D. Pavekla was going to be a no-show, but sure enough, a doorbell chimed through the house at exactly 12:00 on the dot. When none of his parents answered the door, David reluctantly swung it open. On the other side of the door, was D. Pavekla.

He was wearing a cheap suit, like posing as a serious businessman. He strode in like a movie star straight to his parents. He stepped in between them and said, "I've been hired to counsel you." At that, both of David's parent's stopped, and immediately started to rant at him. "Who hired you?" "How did you get in?" For once, David's parent's were actually agreeing! However, it still didn't solve the problem of not being at peace. "Ladies, gentlemen, calm down." said Pavekla, while waving his arms. This infuriated David's parents greatly, as they were not used to being treated like kindergarteners. David's dad started marching toward him, but his mom stopped him. "Wait, who even let him in?" They looked around, only to find David timidly sitting in a corner. David shook his head furiously, only for Pavekla to give him a wounded look. David shrugged. "Anyway, what problems are you having?" David's parents looked at each other. "Nothing." At this, David's anger finally broke loose.

"Nothing!? Nothing!? All you've done for the past ten years of my life is argue in an infinite cycle. You've barely fed me, and I've had to run out and buy supplies on my own! When we have school events, you're too "busy" to do anything! You're not even parents at all! You're just two morons who act like they don't have kids! That's why my younger brother and older sister is a wreck, because of you! You, you, you!"

Hearing this, the parents were astounded. The quiet kid, David, was yelling at his own parents? At the time, his words hadn't sunk in, but the sister and the brother were at the staircase and they were on the verge of tears. Meanwhile, D. Pavekla just smiled. "I'll be back tomorrow." David didn't complain.

The next morning, David felt as if some weight had lifted off his chest, as if he had said what he needed to say. He went to school with a light feeling in his heart, and had a great day. When he went home, he, once again, recalled walking right into an incense burner's fragrant fumes. The living room had been utterly transformed, turning from a modern, slightly messy room to something right out of the jungle. Lanterns had been hung up, the floor was covered with palm leaves, and the walls had fake flowers you might find at a fancy restaurant. In the middle of the room, two yoga mats were placed on the floor, which David's parents were sitting on. In the middle was a raised platform, like a very low table. Sitting on the platform, with two pear-shaped incense burners beside him, was D. Pavekla.

When Pavekla saw David, he smiled warmly. "Ah, David! Would you like to join us?" "It's really great." chimed his mom. "I agree." his dad added. "Uh...no thanks." stuttered David. His parents shrugged, and David quickly ran into his room and shut the door, breathing heavily. What is happening? He thought. There's no way...in just one day...Who is D. Pavekla? He nervously walked back down the stairs, where his sister and brother ambushed him. "What is it?" he asked them. They held out a small present box with green paint. "We wanted to give this to you for, you know, what you did yesterday." his brother said. David's heart seemed to form a new area, one with Family crystallized in the center. "Thanks." he said, but that didn't really cover it. He could feel tears forming in his eyes, but he held them back. He took the box and ran back to his room. Maybe tomorrow. I'll talk to them tomorrow.

The next day, David woke up with a mission in his heart and a clear goal. He zipped through the day and made it back home in a blur. Pavekla and his parents were meditating, and he didn't want to disturb them, but he had too if he wanted to know. David cleared his throat, and his parents and Pavekla looked at him. David mustered up the courage to say, "Mr. Pavekla, can I talk to you?" Pavekla showed no signs of confusion or understanding but instead responded with a "Sure." He stood up and nodded to David's parents. "Keep meditating." David's parents nodded and returned to the lotus pose. Pavekla walked over to David and whispered, "What did you want to talk to me about?" "Um...well, you see, I'm not sure how you made them stop arguing so quickly. How did you do it? I want to do what you did once you stop coming." Pavekla shrugged. "I used a strategy as old as the animals. They say even two battling wild beasts will work together to expel an interloper." David nodded. "Right, but that's a one-time thing. What about the meditation?" Pavekla shrugged again. "Sometimes, people just need some peace in their lives to experience how great it is. All those evil men trying to use others to do their bidding have never experienced happiness, so they don't know what it's like for themselves, much less other people." David's mind cleared. Why was this actually making sense? He took a deep breath. "So, how can I experience peace?"

Pavekla gave him a sad smile. "There are lots of things I could say, but the most important is love. This may sound cheesy to you, but you haven't been loved, have you?" David had been in the middle of rolling his eyes, but now tears were starting to well up. Not once in his six years of life had he been loved. The strange feeling he had felt yesterday when he had received that present was love.

Pavekla waved his hands around. "There are lots of people that can give you love, but your parents are one of the most important. Not only that, but you need your entire family to loved, and thus be at peace. You can never achieve something with one person alone." Now, David was almost freely crying, and it took all his willpower to hold it back. "I can start you on the right path, but you need to have to hold out long enough that your parents start loving you. That is how you feel at peace, that you have people who you belong with."

David let the tears spill from his eyes.

D. Pavekla left the house the next day. David was eternally grateful, but Pavekla refused to accept any gifts or thanks. He said that it was great enough to fix a broken family. David ran up the stairs into his room right after Pavekla had left. He'd been saving the present until now. His family gathered around to watch, which made him almost cry again. He tore off the ribbon and carefully opened the plastic box. Inside, was a cardboard heart with red color pencil that read Keep being strong. I'm proud of you. Your brother, sister, mom, dad, and David Pavekla.