Ark Addams
11-29-2013, 09:45 PM
I remember a time when she made Noah and me happy; she was always good at that. Back then, everything appeared so much more colorful than it looks now. It almost seems that she took the colors with her when she left the house: the green filled waves of the grass, the yellow stalks of the towering cornfields, and the blues and whites of the clouds floating with the sky. All of them were gone.
Every weekday was the same routine as the one before, but they never became tiresome or boring. I remember the adventure would begin after breakfast, and my mother or father would take me to Noah’s house in our red jeep. I normally sat up front when the top of the car was down, even though I was not old enough. The rides on the way were less memorable, but I never grew bored from sitting in that trackless rollercoaster, especially when my father let me change gears for him once. The wind whooshing past my hair on the way to my best friend’s will forever be my favorite part.
“Here we are.” My father would say to me when the house just reached visibility. I never replied, but it was obvious to see when an 8-year-old was excited.
The house was sitting on a hill, overlooking farmlands owned by relatives and neighbors alike. The single-level house was a great sight to see. I loved riding down into a valley, then cruising on back to the top of another hill to reach my friend. I constantly imagined myself as a knight, returning a message to the castle while riding on a metal, four-wheeled horse. Once there, the Queen and the Prince would be awaiting my arrival and then the festivities would commence.
I could see the joy in my friend’s and his mother’s eyes when I came to visit. Both were rather similar looking: He, with black, curly short hair and freckles throughout the face with green eyes resting in the center of his face, and her, towering over my younger self with long, black curly hair, freckles, and green eyes. They were practically the same person, minus the hair, the age, and the gender.
The three of us were like puppies with their mother. We would run around, wrestle, and play through all hours of the day. A great deal of my time spent was with imagination, usually pretend fighting. I usually pictured myself as a power ranger, a ninja, or a knight.
It seemed that Noah and I trained for hours sparring, adventuring, and being heroic. If she was not playing along, Noah’s mother would just watch us or go inside to make food for after the heroes’ long day of saving the kingdom.
She was like a second mother to me. She was there for Noah and me. If we would ever get in a fight, which rarely happened, she would settle it for us in an instant. I remember once I was sick and thought it was the plague from all of my knighthood experiences.
“I will always be with you, Sir Knight.” She said to me with the utmost care in her voice. “Whether or not I am there, I will always be with you both.” I fell asleep in her arms on the couch while Noah was too interested in watching Pokémon.
I understand now what she meant when she said that. I kick myself every time I think about it. I know that I probably would not have been able to do anything about it, regardless if I am eighteen or eight. I will never forget the time that I did not go to Noah’s.
On a day like any other, I woke up, ran downstairs and began to chuck my breakfast down my throat in order to leave quickly. Just before I finished my last bite, my mother stopped me and began talking about Noah’s mother.
“She is very sick.” My mother told me while I tried to finish eating breakfast. “You are going to have to stay here instead of go to Noah’s for a little while.”
I dropped my fork onto the plate and was almost dumbfounded by what my mother had just said. “But we were going to play today.” The confused 8 year old sniveled. “Maybe I can make her feel better if I go anyways.”
“I wish you could, but only time can tell what will happen.”
That was the end of the discussion. She left for work, and my father was working on the house all day. I was not sad that I could not go to my friend’s house, probably because I did not get in trouble and that it was not a punishment. If anything, I was confused. I had no idea of what to do that first day, but more came and I realized that I would not be going back for a while.
Months passed and I never grasped that her illness was so severe until it was too late. We went to go visit her and Noah at the hospital. She was wearing a patient gown and all of her beautiful, long black hair was missing. I knew something was wrong so I did not say anything about it. Noah did not talk much, and I did not grasp why until his mom asked to talk to me alone.
“Jake, do you remember what I told you when you came over and got sick?” She asked the boy while managing a small smile.
The boy thought for a minute, “You said that you would always be with me and Noah, no matter what.” He replied confidently.
“I want you to know that what I said was true, but I might not be able to protect the two of you all the time anymore, so I need you to take care of my son for me.”
I did not understand what she meant, but I saw a tear fall from her pale cheek. “I will always be with you, Madame.” The eight-year-old knight replied to his Queen. The young hero gave her a hug, and left the hospital bed.
I know now that she wanted to speak to me because I was more mature than Noah. After some thought, I realized that she treated me differently. When she needed help with something, I was delegated for the more delicate and time consuming jobs. I was more patient than him.
I hoped every day after leaving the hospital that I never had to take her place in protecting Noah. I didn’t know what that even entailed when she told me. Confusion went in hand in most cases when I thought about what she had instructed. So, instead of worrying about what I might have to do in the future, I went to comfort my best friend.
No one can ever prepare for what had happened. Regardless of when or how something happens, it will still affect people in different ways and times than any other person. Noah and I were never going to be ready for what was to come. In September of 2004, Noah and I lost a mother. I then understood why Rita told me to care for him, because unlike me, one little boy did not have any mothers left.
Every weekday was the same routine as the one before, but they never became tiresome or boring. I remember the adventure would begin after breakfast, and my mother or father would take me to Noah’s house in our red jeep. I normally sat up front when the top of the car was down, even though I was not old enough. The rides on the way were less memorable, but I never grew bored from sitting in that trackless rollercoaster, especially when my father let me change gears for him once. The wind whooshing past my hair on the way to my best friend’s will forever be my favorite part.
“Here we are.” My father would say to me when the house just reached visibility. I never replied, but it was obvious to see when an 8-year-old was excited.
The house was sitting on a hill, overlooking farmlands owned by relatives and neighbors alike. The single-level house was a great sight to see. I loved riding down into a valley, then cruising on back to the top of another hill to reach my friend. I constantly imagined myself as a knight, returning a message to the castle while riding on a metal, four-wheeled horse. Once there, the Queen and the Prince would be awaiting my arrival and then the festivities would commence.
I could see the joy in my friend’s and his mother’s eyes when I came to visit. Both were rather similar looking: He, with black, curly short hair and freckles throughout the face with green eyes resting in the center of his face, and her, towering over my younger self with long, black curly hair, freckles, and green eyes. They were practically the same person, minus the hair, the age, and the gender.
The three of us were like puppies with their mother. We would run around, wrestle, and play through all hours of the day. A great deal of my time spent was with imagination, usually pretend fighting. I usually pictured myself as a power ranger, a ninja, or a knight.
It seemed that Noah and I trained for hours sparring, adventuring, and being heroic. If she was not playing along, Noah’s mother would just watch us or go inside to make food for after the heroes’ long day of saving the kingdom.
She was like a second mother to me. She was there for Noah and me. If we would ever get in a fight, which rarely happened, she would settle it for us in an instant. I remember once I was sick and thought it was the plague from all of my knighthood experiences.
“I will always be with you, Sir Knight.” She said to me with the utmost care in her voice. “Whether or not I am there, I will always be with you both.” I fell asleep in her arms on the couch while Noah was too interested in watching Pokémon.
I understand now what she meant when she said that. I kick myself every time I think about it. I know that I probably would not have been able to do anything about it, regardless if I am eighteen or eight. I will never forget the time that I did not go to Noah’s.
On a day like any other, I woke up, ran downstairs and began to chuck my breakfast down my throat in order to leave quickly. Just before I finished my last bite, my mother stopped me and began talking about Noah’s mother.
“She is very sick.” My mother told me while I tried to finish eating breakfast. “You are going to have to stay here instead of go to Noah’s for a little while.”
I dropped my fork onto the plate and was almost dumbfounded by what my mother had just said. “But we were going to play today.” The confused 8 year old sniveled. “Maybe I can make her feel better if I go anyways.”
“I wish you could, but only time can tell what will happen.”
That was the end of the discussion. She left for work, and my father was working on the house all day. I was not sad that I could not go to my friend’s house, probably because I did not get in trouble and that it was not a punishment. If anything, I was confused. I had no idea of what to do that first day, but more came and I realized that I would not be going back for a while.
Months passed and I never grasped that her illness was so severe until it was too late. We went to go visit her and Noah at the hospital. She was wearing a patient gown and all of her beautiful, long black hair was missing. I knew something was wrong so I did not say anything about it. Noah did not talk much, and I did not grasp why until his mom asked to talk to me alone.
“Jake, do you remember what I told you when you came over and got sick?” She asked the boy while managing a small smile.
The boy thought for a minute, “You said that you would always be with me and Noah, no matter what.” He replied confidently.
“I want you to know that what I said was true, but I might not be able to protect the two of you all the time anymore, so I need you to take care of my son for me.”
I did not understand what she meant, but I saw a tear fall from her pale cheek. “I will always be with you, Madame.” The eight-year-old knight replied to his Queen. The young hero gave her a hug, and left the hospital bed.
I know now that she wanted to speak to me because I was more mature than Noah. After some thought, I realized that she treated me differently. When she needed help with something, I was delegated for the more delicate and time consuming jobs. I was more patient than him.
I hoped every day after leaving the hospital that I never had to take her place in protecting Noah. I didn’t know what that even entailed when she told me. Confusion went in hand in most cases when I thought about what she had instructed. So, instead of worrying about what I might have to do in the future, I went to comfort my best friend.
No one can ever prepare for what had happened. Regardless of when or how something happens, it will still affect people in different ways and times than any other person. Noah and I were never going to be ready for what was to come. In September of 2004, Noah and I lost a mother. I then understood why Rita told me to care for him, because unlike me, one little boy did not have any mothers left.