Taylor's eyes widened with horror as a tidal wave of toys, games, action figures, and barbies came pouring out of what he now realized was a closet. The avalanche of childhood made such an ear-deafening nouse, everyone in the house rushed to the location; except for Walker, who was out on an errand. Diana was the first to reach him, but it was not long before everyone else could see Taylor buried under the massive clutter.
"What happened?!" everyone shouted in unison.
"I thought this door led somewhere; I don't know. I thought it was the bathroom..." Taylor said dizzily.
"Now Taylor! If you wanted to play with me, all you had to do was ask, silly goose!" retorted Mackenzie in all seriousness.
"But...I - Oh, forget it, you're right I should have asked you." Tay said laughing.
"Zac began digging to free Tay. "Wow! I can't believe we still have this! I have been looking everywhere for it!" Zac exclaimed, picking up an old video game. Immediately, he forgot about his brother and left everyone else to help Tay out of the mess while he went off to play.
Momentarily, a cry could be heard from Zoe's room screaming for food. Diana rushed off to feed her.
It took everyone else a while to clean up the closet and put everything back neatly to prevent a similar incident from happening.
Time passed rapidly and Taylor decided to take a shower. He ran his hand through his stringy, unwashed hair. The steamy moisture engulfed him as he breathed a sigh of relief. The hot pellets of water made contact with his skin, making him feel ten times better than he had earlier.
Not long after Taylor finished his shower, Walker entered with a few boxes of warm, appetizing pizzas. The family ate dinner and Taylor excused himself earlier than the other members of his family.
All of a sudden his knees felt weak; they were so weak he felt he couldn't stand. Sleep danced across his eyelinds as he struggled with all he had to stay awake. He couldn't understand why he was feeling so drwosy; he had slept half of the day, anyway. It felt almost like a foreign, compelling force drawing him in like a magnet. He realized there was no use in fighting it, so he threw in the towel and slowly trudged upstairs, dragging his fete as each one hit a new step.
Once he carelessly shut the door, he was not conscious of any move he made. The poor boy looked like he had downed one too many drinks as he wobbled and staggered over to his bed. He didn't even bother to change out of his clothes. He crawled beneath the warm, cozy sheets and fell asleep instantly when his head connected with the pillow.
Meanwhile, downstairs the Hanson family still sat at the table, discussing life over desert.
"Are you sure he's okay, mom? He seems distant...so distant..." Zac said, concentrating intensely on the invisible particles in front of him.
"Well Zac, dear, Taylor isn't the same Taylor we are all used to. Of course he seems different; he doesn't know how he fits in right now," Walker explained while shooting an unnoticed glance of sympathy in his wife's direction.
"No, dad. It's not that. You don't understand. I didn't think you would. It feels like someone is stealing his soul. Little by little, his emotional state is crumbling. Soon, all we'll have is a wandering body." Zac said with wide, brown eyes.
"Oh, come on, don't be ridiculous. You know that's not possible. Things will work out," Isaac said, somewhat returning the stability that had for a moment ceased to exist. They finished their ice cream in silence. They all knew Zac had some truth somewhere...even the little ones. They also knew there was nothing they could do, so they pushed the thoughts aside and ate in silence.