3838 Walnut Street Pt. 01

"Nice to meet you, I'm Joe." Joe shook Abshir's hand, and then reached his hand out to Hani. She shook it tentatively. Joe tried not to stare at her hijab. It wasn't that unusual in New York, he supposed. He stuffed his hands back in his pockets and looked back at Abshir. "Your name rhymes. I like it." He offered an awkward smile.

"Thanks." Abshir smiled back.

Hani turned her head and rolled her eyes.

"So, I guess my mom is showing around your parents." Joe turned and looked over at the olds. Abshir and Hani's mother was wearing a hajib, too. "What do you want to see first?"

"Can you tell us about the art in the lobby?" Abshir looked thoughtfully at the nearby depiction of a partially clothed man and woman talking to a creature with the head of a wolf, but the body of a man. No, they aren't talking to it. They're making an offering. He couldn't tell what was in the bundle they held out to it. Behind the wolf-headed man, a tall, zaftig woman stood in robes, giving the offering a beatific smile.

"Nope. I can't tell you anything." Joe followed Abshir's gaze and shivered. "I just walk past them as quickly as I can." He turned away from the art. "How about the laundry room?" Waving them out of the lobby, he led them toward the basement.

By the time Joe was showing them around the 12^th floor, all three teenagers were more relaxed. They cracked a few jokes. Joe offered to introduce them to his friends if they ended up at his school. When he found out they liked video games, he invited them over if they moved in down the hall. He even offered to help them move.

The Dahir twins were now hoping they got apartment 12E.

~~

September 26, 1993: Apartment 12C, the Kwon family

"Hey, Brian. Wait up!" Rosalin waved her hand, but Brian didn't see her as he walked out the front door. She hustled across the lobby after him, chuckling to herself. She was too old to be chasing teenage guys around. It's not like my fiancé would mind. I'm only befriending Brian Kwon to find a missing family.

The doorman opened the door for her. "Thank you, James." Rosalin smiled at the doorman and raced past. She was immediately accosted by the echoing sounds of construction, car horns, and people. So many people.

Looking to the left, she spotted Brian's black hair disappearing through the throng of people on the sidewalk. Rosalin crossed her arms over her chest so people wouldn't see her bouncing through her sweater. It took her less than a minute to catch up to Brian. She tapped him on the shoulder, and he turned toward her with a smile.

"Oh, hey, Rosalin." Brian removed the headphones for his Walkman and pressed stop on the cassette.

"I'm headed this way. I'll walk with you." Rosalin fell in next to him as they strolled down Walnut Street. "What are you listening to?"

"Nirvana." Brian glanced at her to judge her reaction.

"Oh... rad... I love them," she lied. Rosalin had heard them on the radio and thought they were a little melodramatic.

"Cool... cool." Brian nodded and smiled. "Where are you going?"

"I'm meeting my fiancé at the library," she said. "How about you?"

"Band practice at a friend's place." He lifted up his trumpet case for her to see. "Isn't the library the other way?"

"Oh, I just wanted to catch up with you for a minute." She patted him on the shoulder.

Brian hoped he wasn't blushing too profusely. He tried to swallow the goofy grin that wanted to plaster itself on his face. "Sure," he said cooly.

"Hey, Brian, have you noticed anything odd about the building? Maybe heard anything weird about former tenants?" She studied him with side-eye.

"Yeah, actually." Brian adjusted the trumpet case in his hand. "I did notice something odd."

Rosalin's heart sped up. Finally, I'm about to get a clue.

"There's this freakish mold growing in the laundry room." He turned left down the next street, and she stayed right by his side.

"Oh, really?" Rosalin deflated. Not much of a clue. "I didn't notice it."

"You wouldn't unless you were there with the lights off." Brian thrust out his jaw, proud of the observation. "It's bioluminescent or something. It glows faintly red in the dark. I like to listen to music with the lights off, so when Mom made me go dump a few loads in the washing machines, I turned off the lights and..."

"That's... rad... Brian. Maybe you can show me sometime?" Rosalin patted his shoulder again. She would definitely not be going to the basement with the lights off. Not with him or anyone else. Even if he was a sweet kid. "Okay, gotta go. I'll check ya later." She peeled off down the stairs to a subway entrance.

"Bye, Rosalin." Brian waved but she was already gone. He thought things over in his head as he walked along. He was pretty sure he'd never tell a soul, but there were a few other weird things about 3838 Walnut. For example, how hungry he'd been since moving there. And how he couldn't stop thinking about how hot his mother was. But maybe the building had nothing to do with it. Maybe he was just starting a very late growth spurt? He wouldn't mind that. And his body was coursing with hormones. Maybe he was just fixating on his mom because she was always around. It wasn't like he didn't find other women hot. Rosalin was awesome. And...

"Shit." Brian was suddenly popping a boner. And it hurt! He knelt next to a fire hydrant and pretended to tie his shoes while surreptitiously adjusting his dick. His erections had been really painful lately. Another odd thing that he was sure he'd never tell anyone about.