Some Things Never Change

“Now, where is that pow-ahh!”

The sound of boxes and a body falling, quite ungracefully, can be heard.

“…Ow.”

The lights are still on, and yet Damien somehow finds himself sprawled on the floor, betrayed by his own two feet. Pushing himself back onto the appendages that have failed him, Damien continues his hunt for the fuse box. He makes a mental note to do some spring cleaning as he treks through the current labyrinth that was his basement. After some random thoughts decided to pass through, the clumsy soul’s mind started drifting back to the past few hours, and the conversation that led him to his current task.

Linzi, Todd, and Mia have been in town for the past week, and the group has decided to hang out at Damien’s for the last night of being home. The four were joined at the hip when they were kids. Always active, without a dull moment in their friendship. The imaginations they had even surprised their parents. But once they achieved success in their own lives, there wasn’t a chance for any of them to meet up again. After years of only online communication, Damien suggested that the three should take a week to return to their hometown and catch up.

Takeout was ordered, drinks were poured, and laughter echoed off the walls. Each member shared stories from lives after drifting apart. Success and failure, joy and despair, satisfaction, and regret; there was next to nothing left unsaid. After so many years apart, the four companions continued to trust each other as if it was only yesterday that they have met last.

The conversation shifted to their pasts together and the lives they lived as children. The way they would turn into superheroes to protect their own when one of them was in trouble. How they would become business executives, walking to their jobs, instead of dwelling on the aspect that they’re dragging their feet to school. The times where they were no longer kids in a pool, but pirates searching for their next treasure in the open water. If the parents saw less than four people in their child’s room once they were home, it was a rare sight. Damien, Linzi, Todd, and Mia were known for sticking together and taking control of their reality. While there was never a moment a calm among the members, at any point of the day. Their favorite activities took place after dark.

Sleepovers were a weekly occurrence, and sleep was not on the schedule. Movie marathons, with sugar crashing worthy snacks and fairy lights hanging from the ceiling, was the only activity that the quartet would allow the electricity to be on for. After their fill of superheroes and princesses, they would beg the guardians of the week to shut off the power to the house so the real fun could begin.

Hide and seek was usually the first game to be played and would always end with screams of both surprise and joy. The last one hiding would end up picking the next activity. Todd liked to play flashlight freeze tag, though someone usually ends up running into a table. Mia enjoyed performing shadow puppet shows and would come up with the most detailed and surreal stories that leave the rest wanting more. Linzi loved scary stories, but telling them wasn’t common since four paranoid kids sitting in the dark wasn’t the best idea. Damien preferred lying on the balcony with his friends and stare up at the stars. This was usually the last activity since Damien wasn’t the quietest hider, and star watching would result in a pile of overly imaginative children sleeping on the floor.

Nostalgia coats the room. Silence falls over the four adults as they wonder what brought separation to the closest group in town. What happened to the wild adventurers who promised to hunt dragons and find treasure together, forever? The bond between them was as strong as ever. But after the night’s end, the time they spent together would once again turn into memories. Todd suggests making the time they have together worth it. So, they decided to relive happy memories for one night.

With alcohol in their systems, the children within them have resurfaced.

Mia, Todd, and Linzi begged Damien to turn the power off in the house while they stayed behind. Damien was hesitant to venture down to the room where all of his unwanted items ended up. But after he saw how excited the others have become, he quickly changed his mind. The other three discussed what activities to do while he went on his search. But they all knew what will happen.

The night would start with a game of hide and seek, followed by flashlight tag. Mia would dazzle everyone with her puppet show, and Linzi would create creepy stories to scare her friends. At the end of it all, they will go outside and huddle together while watching the stars. They’ll try to stay awake as long as they can, as to not end the one night they have together. But will end up in a pile of overly imaginative adults sleeping on the floor.

Damien smiles as he stumbles through the basement. Though the four would separate once again in the morning, he knew the bond they had would continue on. Even if they never meet again in person, their friendship would be as strong as it was when they were kids. But he had a feeling that after tonight, they’ll end up getting together a lot more.

No matter how old they got, they would always be a team. Always be the superheroes that stuck up for each other, business executives on their way to school, pirates sailing on pool floaties, and night owls that embrace the darkness. They would always be the quartet that took their hometown by storm.

“Where is-”

Damien stops himself when he finds the box that will change the outcome of the night and the future of the group’s friendship for the rest of their adult lives.

“There it is.”