Detachment

[873 Words]
The sun was shining bright outside in the blue sky, birds were chirping, cicadas were doing whatever cicadas do. On the inside, Robert was laying on the couch reading news on his tablet. The news was just a way to ease into sleep really, he deserved it after a tumultuous week of hard work after all. Tina was in the kitchen surely doing something, her occasional clanking of utensils naturally providing beats to the mellow background music of the room.

"Yess, Obsidian!" Came the voice from the couch across Robert's. His nearly 5-year old son Ray was looking intently towards Tina's tablet with a big smile. He was playing one of those games where you mix two things to create something else.

"Well, at least he's not watching some useless video", Robert thought and started drift off to sleep. "No wait!" He woke back up with another thought. That game is just as useless. Technology has started to make humans inept, inept to imagine, to think and to act. And nowadays it starts with children like Ray who cling on to technology as soon as they leave their mother's breasts and with parents like himself who allow for that to happen. Ray should be more active in real things, he should make worlds out of air, an island in a fantasy world, a pirate with an eyepatch and a huge pirate ship. He should draw things, heck, make a paint mixture and splatter it on the walls and on himself if he wishes to do so.

He did those things in his childhood and it is only fair that Ray gets a taste of reality too! And he would make sure of that, what is one off day against the optimal cerebral development of his son? Nothing.

And so Robert ascended from his Comfy seat. "Ray!" He said in a bold voice with a grin on his glowing face, "Get up, we're gonna do some work!" Hence, with Ray on his side Robert ventured into the Garage, his chest puffed up with pride, he felt like he was possessed by the spirit of Columbus himself.

"Why are we here dad?" Ray spoke with his glass eyes darting around the room.

"We, are gonna be making a home for the birdies today, how 'bout that?"

"Really? We can do that?" Ray said in excitement.

"Hah! We will do that!" He couldn't help it, Robert was pitying his son, so small was the world in which his son's mind was locked, all the various possibilities out there and he would never have known about them had he not been there. But now he was, he will become his son's hero, his saviour who will break his cage and expand his world.

"Birdies Birdies..." Ray's chant brought him out of his thoughts.

"Okay son, ready?" He asked smiling.

Ray nodded a big yes.

But the first obstacle came in front of Robert immediately: Where to start. The thing was, he had never worked with wood before, fancied about it but had never actually done it.

The answer came to him after a couple of minutes of thinking in the form of his smartphone. After that it was a matter of seconds to search for a good video tutorial of making a simple one.

Glue, check, markers check, nails check, hammer check, saw check, plywood... He had some from the last restoration work, that should be enough.

So he gathered the things on the table and was about to start off with the markings when it hit him. Something was missing, it was like you were start to cook but there was no spice. "No authenticity..." He murmured.

"Auteen-sity?" Ray asked looking up towards his father.

Robert looked down, smiled and said, "We will do this first."

He brought the plywood down to the garden along with the an old axe from the store room. The axe was not that big but it was heavy, at least heavier than Robert thought it'd be. But he will do this, Chopping wood will be that extra spice he was missing earlier, it could later become some texture or something, or if nothing else, it would provide for his and Ray's amusement at least.

"Do you know how to chop wood Ray?" He asked.

"No!" Ray shouted in excitement.

"Well, its only the coolest thing ever! Watch, and count with me okay?"

"K!!"

The birds and the cicadas were non-existent now, even the winds subdued as if to anticipate Robert's Axe strike. "Okay then!" Robert Raised the Axe up high positioned his legs and had his body strech backwards too.

"One!" He called and instantly felt a tingling sensation going through his whole body.

"One!... Two!!... Three!!!" In his impatience, Ray said it all together.

But Robert was silent, still in the same posture as before.

"Dad?" Ray asked looking at him.

"Ray call mommy."

"What?"

"Call. Mommy! Tina!" *Argh* he dropped the axe on the ground, writhing in agony.

"Did you pull a muscle? Jesus!" Tina came out running.

Robert was eased out of his predicament and swiftly transferred to his couch.

"What about the Bird house Dad?" Ray asked.

"Some other day buddy, some other day."