Memories

The bear-hatted baby wiggled in the bearded man's arms as he walked through the forest. "Alright, this seems as good a place as any." The man unceremoniously dropped his child on the forest floor, with the baby miraculously unharmed. "Okay, kid. See ya never!" As the grown human walked away, his smiling baby obliviously followed. "Oh, come on, kid, can't you take a hint?" He walked faster, and the chubby baby followed, until he was knocked down by a kick in the stomach from his father's boot. "Are you 'special' or something, kid? Don't you get it? I. Don't. Want. You." The little human had no idea what to do, so he screamed and cried as he watched the only person he had ever known in his short life disappear into the forest. And he kept screaming and crying and screaming and crying and screaming and crying…

"Daddydon'tleavemeplease!" Finn the Human woke with a start. His face covered in sweat, tears soon followed. His brother, Jake, not only having the advanced hearing of a dog, but also a sort of sixth sense that told him when his brother was crying, woke up and saw his brother, sitting up in bed, his face full of tears. "Hey, buddy. Another nightmare? About your dad?" "Yeah, but this time, I think it was, like, a repressed memory or something. I was a baby again, and he left me in the woods, and he told me he didn't want me. He…he kicked me, Jake!" "Oh, Finn, buddy…" was all the magic dog could say as he stretched his arms out to pull his brother into a hug. "You don't have to worry about that jerkwad anymore. You're safe here." "It's not that, Jake. I'm not scared of him. It's just that I don't know why." "Why what?" "Why did he leave me, Jake?"

The dog thought about what to say, then decided it would take more than just simple reassurances to help his brother this time. "Hey, Finn, it's one in the morning, which is usually when I get up to make ice cream and guacamole sandwiches anyway, so why don't you come downstairs with me and we can talk about this?" "Uh, okay. Sure, man."

A minute later, in the kitchen, Jake was already on his fifth ice cream and guacamole sandwich, while Finn stared down at his plate. "Too upset to eat, huh?" "Yeah, uh, that's why I can't eat this delicious-looking…food. But I'm starting to wonder about my dad. I don't wanna rip his arm off anymore; I just want to know why he didn't want me. I mean, maybe he had a good reason…" "Whoa, whoa, whoa! There is no good reason for doing what he did!" "I dunno, dude. Prubs had a pretty good reason for sending Lemongrab away." "That's different, Finn. She gave him his own castle and a bunch of servants to keep him company. It's not her fault he scared them off. Besides, Lemongrab was a flippin' psycho who ate people and stuff. He was a horrible person, but you, well you're Finn! You're the nicest guy I know! What good reason could anybody have for wanting to get rid of you?!"

"Well, I'm really dumb, for one thing. Plus I'm loud, and I mess stuff up all the time, and I only bathe, like, once a month. I'm a huge jerk, and I hurt people without realizing it. I'm really weird and creepy, too. Sometimes, I don't know why anyone would want me." Jake was speechless at first. He had known Finn since they were babies, and he had been there for his brother whenever he needed it. But in all those years, he had never heard Finn express this much doubt and self-hatred. He wondered how long Finn had kept it inside. "Finn, you can't think about yourself like that. You're no jerk, and you're not dumb either. And your hygiene may not be the best, but you're not weird or creepy. You just gotta tell yourself, 'I'm Finn the Human, Glob damn it, and if my dad doesn't appreciate that, that's his loss!' He's the jerk, and it doesn't matter what he thinks, because your family's right here!"

"Yeah. My family…Thanks, man. I feel a lot better. You know, I'm really glad you're my brother." "Me too, Finn, me too. Come on, Finn, let's get back to bed." Once they did, Finn had a very different dream, although it was another memory.

The bear-hatted baby had no idea what to do. He had been running through the halls of his new house. He liked it there. It was nice and warm, and all the people there were nice to him and never kicked him. But now, he had tripped and fallen over a toy, and now his leg hurt and there was red stuff coming out that he had never seen before. He screamed and cried and screamed and cried and…

"There you are, kiddo! What happened, did you hurt yourself?" The little human couldn't speak yet, so he pointed at his leg and cried some more. "Well, that's no reason to cry." The fedora-wearing dog told his newly adopted child as he placed a bandage over the scrape. "It's a badge of honor to scrape yourself up while exploring! It means your one step closer to becoming a true adventurer like your old man! You really like going on adventures, don't you?" The little baby gurgled happily. "Yep, I bet your gonna grow up to be a real brave guy. You're a special kid, you know. You're a little gift from Glob, and you're a part of our family now! I'm proud of you, son!"

Being a baby, little Finn didn't fully understand everything the dog told him, but for some reason, it made him feel very happy. So happy, in fact, that he wanted to say something to express it. He had never spoken before. He had tried, but only baby gibberish that no one but him understood came out. This time, he thought hard, reached into the depths of his little baby brain, and let out a word he understood, which he hoped Joshua did too. "Daddy!"