Terry stared out at the setting sun. He still had yet to text his mom about staying in the cabin overnight. His hair was flowing beside his face and all he could think about was the past. Terry had a bad habit of slipping into the past. He was too afraid of the present and hated thinking about the future.

 "Look at that, Teresa..." 

 He remembered his old name as his mind drifted back to when he was a child.

 "George, Teresa, look!" His mother called towards his father. "Terry." George replied. Penelope, Terry's mother, looked confused for a moment. "I... What?" 

 "His name is Terry. Our son." He answered, "Remember?"

 Penelope's eyes went wide as she hugged the young boy. "Right- Oh my goodness, dear- I'm so sorry! Mommy has a bad memory!"

 George laughed as Terry wheezed from the tight embrace. "Penny... The sunset is really gorgeous." Said, George. "I know." She responded. "Like usual. But it feels different today..." Penelope ruffled her son's hair as she stared out at the sunset. They stood from the edge of their deck by the coast. George reached for Penelope's hand and laid it on top of hers. 

 Terry, who was barely tall enough, lifted himself onto the railing, standing on a higher part of it to get a better view. "Wow!" He cried, "It's so pretty!..." 

 His father wrapped an arm around his son, and his mother did the same. 

 "It sure is." He said.

 "Your grandpa would have loved to see this."

 "Grandpa John?" Terry inquired.

 "Yeah. He was a real sucker for beauty in nature. That's why he became an artist... But then again, he's probably seen thousands of sunsets in his life. This... This probably wouldn't be anything special." George sighed, and Penelope rubbed his back. They didn't exchange words.

 "Maybe we'll go fishing one day." He began again, "Like we used to."

 Terry nodded. "That would be super fun!" He exclaimed, his eyes widened with passion and happiness.

 "George." Penelope jumped in, "But... Didn't... Didn't John-"

 "Yeah, but I want our son to experience things. Real, true things. Skills, and places."

 Penelope sighed and looked back to the horizon, which had almost entirely devoured the sun by now. "I understand." She remarked.

Terry, while being confused, just smiled, and ignored it.  He was never told where Grandpa had gone...

  Terry remembered. He remembered his childhood in detail. He remembered his grandpa, and he remembered fishing. He could smell, even taste the fresh air from back then. It somehow wasn't the same now. Something had changed. 

 "Enjoying the view?" A voice joined him under the blanketed sky which was finally revealing the stars. He turned his head to see Kiley. While Jesse was who he considered his best friend, Kiley was his longest friend. 

 "Yeah. It's nice."

 Kiley moved to stand beside him, their hair tucked into a messy bun.  "So... Do you like your birthday present...?"

 Terry smiled at them, and then at the last crack of the sun disappearing. "Yeah." He said. "Thanks."

 Kiley cocked an eyebrow and leaned against the deck. "So... You don't like it?"

 "No! No- no- no! Sorry, I'm just... Lost in thought... I love it! I promise."

 Kiley smiled in acceptance and laid their head on Terry's shoulder. "That's good." They exhaled out. "I was worried this wouldn't click with you. But I'm happy it did... You remember the old man, right? John? Of course, you remember him, he's your grandpa."

 "Just thinking about him, actually." 

 "Oh."

 "I haven't been fishing in a while."

 "No, you haven't. Maybe we should go tomorrow."

 "Maybe." He sighed, and continued, "I've been pretty tired lately."

 "Me too."

 Terry laughed lightly. "You actually have a reason. Are your parents still bugging you about the 'they' thing?"

 "It's better, but Dad still calls me 'she' because he says it's too confusing. I understand, but I wish he would make an effort."

 Terry nodded and looked back out at the now darkened sky. His eyes traced over the stars, finding as many constellations as he could.

 "Orion." He said abruptly.

 "What?"

 "Orion. I can see Orion. Usually, you don't see him at this time of year."

 "Oh... Oh yeah. I see him too... That's neat... Er... Terry, were you listening?"

 "Yeah." He looked back to Kiley and smiled. "I'm listening."

 "Okay... Just checking." Kiley slowly wrapped their arm around Terry's arm. They sighed and leaned into Terry's shorter stature. 

 "I miss you guys." They said with a tainted breath.

 "I know." 

 "Do you miss me?"

 Terry went silent and then looked at them. "Always." He said. "Always."