A Short Story : 'Now An Orphan'

“You never really get over it,” she said. “I just think about what his life would have been like. It just left a hole in my heart.”

“That’s ok I’ll help you.” My mom said as she could tell I was scared.

My mum began to understand me, and said, I am sorry I don't want you to feel that bad.

Tonight he wouldn’t get much sleep. He hugged his arms to his chest and let his teeth chatter. He hadn’t been this cold since he had nearly drowned trying to escape more than a year ago. “It’s warmer in the cabin if you want.” Called Peter’s hesitant voice.”

“So how did you sleep?” I asked. “Like babies.” Adams said. “You ready?” I asked.

“This is all my fault, if I would have been there then maybe the baby wouldn’t have died.” I said, starting to sob.

“I...I don’t know. Sometimes I wish dad would just come back. And other times I wish he was never alive. He left us, to suffer with an alcoholic mother, while he’s probably living a good life with another wife who’s 20 years younger than him.” I rolled up my sleeve, tracing the scars on my wrist. We stared at the passing cars, hoping one of those was mom’s.

I pulled my sweater tighter trying to lock out the cold weather; I should have listened to my mom about this. “Wear your jacket, Farah, It’s going to be a cold one!” Her words echoed in the back of my head like an endless loop; I knew something like this would happen. I started power walking in attempt to get to my warm, cozy bed as fast as I could, almost there.

“Ugh…”, Jackie sighed, “Joe...They killed my parents. My parents are dead”. I was in complete shock. I had no idea something so tragic had occurred. I just thought that Jackie was overreacting about something minor as she usually does.

“It is going to be okay, we will get through this as a family.” Mom said, softly.

For a moment, they shared silence as her soft yellow dress tattered in the breeze. The angle of his chin and the tears in his eyes told her that he likely knew about her grandma. “I'm so awfully sorry about your abuelita. So sorry.”

“So, since your father and his father didn’t have a couch or extra blankets, Dad told me to sleep in his bed while he slept on the floor. I told him no, so he set up a divider; I took the wall, he took the edge.” Mom rested her arm on the counter and sucked in a gulp of air.

There wasn't anything to do but talk. So the two talked quietly about the past. After the sun went down, they decided to sleep. The rock hard floor was very uncomfortable, and they both were still awake when the guard came up to check on the

I climbed our stairs around midnight, carefully and quietly. I knew Ben had already been asleep for a while and I didn 't want to wake him up. I had just fed Brode and needed to get him all swaddled up before laying him down to sleep. As I placed my sweet son on the bed, wide-eyed and with a crooked smile, I starred at him and began to weep.

"I'm here all night," he replied and I told him the story beginning with my family finishing the tour of Cliff Palace. After listening for about 20 minutes, he said I could go rest in the back room, and he would call my parents. I saw a small cot and laid down. In minutes, I was asleep.