THEM – GOLDEN GOOSE

Tyson nervously fixed his tie as he walked next to Aya down a familiar pavement. The cold chill of the winter was the last thing on his mind. The closer they drew to the doors, the more nervous he got, which made Aya nearly burst out in laughter. She quickly rang the bell and, a few moments later, the familiar, middle-aged woman opened the doors and smiled widely as she saw the two. She immediately crossed the doorstep and hugged Aya tightly, causing the latter to smile bitterly.

“Ah, come on mom,” Aya said. “It’s not like we haven’t seen each other in years!”

“Shut up!” the woman said, pulling away and glancing at Tyson. “And you… just because you’ve took her away doesn’t mean you can’t borrow her back from time to time?”

“… sorry.”

“As long as you understand, humph.”

“What am I?!! A freaking toy?!” Aya exclaimed.

“Nonsense! You’re the best toy there ever was!”

“…….”

“Ha ha, come on you two, everyone else is already here and waiting!” Aya’s mom exclaimed as she laughed and went back inside.

Aya and Tyson sighed as they glanced at each other, chuckling. The two followed shortly after and entered the dining room which was already brimming with life. Tyson saw seven people: three men, two women and two kids, excluding Aya’s mom. When the group of five adults noticed Aya, they immediately got up and started greeting her one by one while Tyson stood on the side and remained awkwardly silent.

“So? Is this the boy who finally got you to act like a young woman should?” one of the two women suddenly turned toward Tyson and asked Aya; the woman appeared in her late thirties and had short, brown hair and rather lavish, emerald-green eyes that even left Tyson stunned for a moment.

“Ah, come on aunt Lina,” Aya said, chuckling lightly. “Who else could it be?”

“… do you work out, boy?” one of the three men asked; the map appeared to be similar in age with a woman, but was rather tall – so tall that Tyson had to actually skew his head upward to look the man in the eye. The man also had bulging muscles, causing no small amount of shame to spur inside Tyson’s heart.

“Yeah,” he suddenly said as Aya spat out. “All the time.”

“Really? You don’t look like it.” the man said.

“Hah, that’s because I like to stay low-key, you know, catch them off guard!” Tyson bolstered while Aya did her best not to burst out in laughter. WHAT THE HELL AM I DOING?! He thought all the while.

“Nice!” the man exclaimed. “We should spar sometimes.”

“……..” Tyson stared at the man for a moment. “Are you insane?!! Do I really look like I work out?!! You’d bash my skull in with a single finger of yours!!” OI!!! There was a short moment of silence before everyone suddenly burst out in laughter. Even the tall man couldn’t hold it back as he suddenly bent halfway forward.

“Ha ha ha,” the other woman laughed as she hugged Aya; she was much younger, seemingly in her late twenties, and had rather slender body and long legs, and a long hair to match. “I can finally, ha ha ha, I can see why you chose him… he’s off the hook! Ha ha ha…”

“… aah, trust me, you don’t know the half of it!” Aya said back.

“I’ve never seen someone take such a massive turn in a literal second!” another man spoke; unlike the first, he appeared average, much to Tyson’s relief, and was roughly the age of the beautiful woman. “From a low-key ball-buster, to a terrified kitten! Ha ha ha…”

“Aww, come guys, don’t make fun of him!” Aya’s mom came to meditate the situation, but it was clear she was also barely holding back from laughter. This entire family is evil! Plain evil! Tyson thought, feeling rather bitter. “Ty, dear, ignore them, okay?”

“… aah, whatever,” Tyson said, sighing. He was never one to get hung up over things – especially considering the fact that he’s been living with Aya for so long – so he simply walked over and sat on one of the chairs. “Hey kids, wanna hear a joke?” he suddenly turned toward two kids – a pair of a boy and a girl roughly five years old.

“Sure!!” the two exclaimed, their eyes expectant.

“A rabbit and a deer walk into a bar—“

“What’s a bar?” the boy asked.

“….. it’s, uh, it’s a place where people gather.”

“Like beach?” the girl asked.

“Uh, kind of. But with, you know, roof.”

“What’s a roof?”

“……the thing that covers the house.”

“Ooh!” the boy and the girl exclaimed in unison.

“… you have no clue what it is, do you?” Tyson asked. The two kids simply shook their heads. Tyson glanced back and, sure enough, everyone was still laughing. However, after being scolded by Aya’s mom for a moment, everyone finally sat back down. Tyson quickly learned everyone’s names – the woman Aya called Aunt Lina was actually her mom’s sister, while the muscular, tall man was Lina’s husband, and his name was James. The younger man was Aya mom’s brother, and his name was Eric while the younger lady was his wife, named Jasmine. The last man, who was the youngest of the group and just slightly older than Tyson, was a cousin from someone’s side, and his name was Kurt. The young girl was Lina’s and James’ daughter, Sarah, while the young boy was Eric’s and Jasmine’s son, Simon.

“So, Ty, Aya tells me that you’re actually teaching at the university?” Aya’s mom asked as the diner was finally set up and everyone started eating.

“Yup.” Tyson said, stuffing a chicken’s wing and ripping the meat off the bones as though it was his house.

“Not bad, workout guy!” the tall James snickered lightly. “How’s it going?”

“… hey, I’ll have you know that if I get serious about it, I’d have your body within a week!” Tyson said. “It’s going great, actually.”

“Wow, I didn’t know you could sporadically grow thirty centimeters within a week!” Eric said, snickering. “You have to tell me your secret, Ty!”

“Oh, I forgot about that,” Tyson said, completely serious. “Eh, I’d rather eat junk food anyway.”

“He adapts rather quickly,” Jasmine said, chuckling lightly. “He’s not nearly as awkward as you, Aya.”

“Wait, Aya’s awkward?!” Tyson suddenly exclaimed, startling everyone. “Oh, I’ve gotta hear this.”

“Nothing to hear,” Aya quickly said. “So, how’s everyone?”

“When James and I were getting married—“

“Hey, aunt Lina! Please!” Aya interrupted, but Lina merely shooed her away as she continued talking with Tyson.

“So, when we were getting married,” Lina continued. “Young Aya over here was supposed to be the flower girl. However, she didn’t know how many people would be there. So, when she was walking behind us, she got really, really nervous, tripped over, ripped her dress, and then continued walking. Only to trip over yet again, hit her head, and get a nosebleed. Then she started crying and suddenly screamed ‘There are too many people, I can’t see in front of me!’”

“Pft… ha ha ha ha,” Tyson, alongside everyone except Aya, suddenly burst out in laughter. “How come you never told me this story, sweetie?” Tyson turned to Aya and asked. The latter glared at him for a moment before replying.

“How come you never told me the ‘Golden Goose’ story?” she asked.

“Who told you that?!!” Tyson exclaimed, the look of terror on his face.

“He he, wouldn’t you like to know?”

“What Golden Goose story?” everyone wondered.

“If you tell them, you and I are done!” Tyson exclaimed.

“So, when our little Ty here was even littler,” Aya completely ignored him and began talking. “He had this imaginary friend he called Goose. So, one day, his mom got fed up of him talking to this ‘Goose’ and told him that if he wanted to convince her this ‘Goose’ exists, he needs to show her golden eggs, because Goose can lay golden eggs.”

“….” Tyson buried his head in shame even deeper.

“Anyway, the problem was that his mom thought he was talking to an actual goose, not a person called Goose. So, to prove her wrong, our little Ty here bought golden paint, found a stray dog and fed him until, you know, eggs came out, then painted it golden and gave it to his mom, saying ‘See? Goose is real!’.” there was a moment of silence as everyone slowly grasped what Aya meant, before the entire room once again roared out in laughter.

“Oh my God, ha ha ha!” Eric exclaimed. “I literally have to invent a time machine just so I can go back and look at his mom’s face, ha ha ha!”

“I’ll invest into it!” James echoed the sentiment.

“I’ll give you the best HD camera from my store,” Kurt joined in as well. “So make sure you capture every detail!”

“Ha ha ha ha…”

“Aah, even if you knew it, isn’t that something that should stay between us?” Tyson looked at Aya like a wounded puppy. “You know, trust and everything?”

“What am I? Your shrink?” Aya asked, still laughing. “You’ve blasted off half the stories I told you to random kids on fucking LoL. This is at least staying within the family.”

“Heh,” Tyson snickered. “It’s so cute you think it’s only half the stories.”

“……what the hell are you doing the nights when I go to bed early?!!”

“Wouldn’t you like to know…”

“That’s it, I’m cutting you off from the internet!” Aya exclaimed.

“Hey!! I’m paying the bill for the internet!”

“…..fine, I’ll just cut the electricity then.” Aya said.

“Humph, fine, then I’ll cut the water.”

“Then I’ll cut the breakfast.”

“Then I’ll cut the dinner!” Tyson said.

“Are they always like this?” Jasmine asked while Aya and Tyson continued fighting.

“Aah, yup,” Aya’s mom said, smiling warmly. “Ever since they got together, she’s been like this.”

“She’s really lively,” James said. “I thought she’d be… you know…”

“Hah,” Aya’s mom chuckled for a moment as she glanced at Tyson. “We can thank him.”

“Aah, makes me really miss the youth,” Lina said, smiling lightly. “Look at them go. It’s like they’re doing a stand-up routine.”

“…the worst part is that they’re both serious.” Aya’s mom said.

“Mom, mom.” young Simon suddenly pulled Jasmine’s sleeve with a wondrous look in his eyes.

“What is it, do you need to go pee-pee?” Jasmine asked gently.

“Aa,” the young boy shook his head. “What’s a Golden Goose?”

“Pft… ha ha ha ha…”

The small house was filled with echoing laughter deep into the night as the snow slowly piled atop its roof, and half-full moon glistened ever-so-coldly high up in the sky.