I - James
"James, where are you going? It is nearly almost dark!" My mother looked at me with a tired expression, my younger sister, Anna, standing not far behind her.
"I just need to do a bit of thinking, I'll be back soon." I insisted.
She placed her hand on her forehead and sighed, "Please be safe. I don't need to be worried anymore."
"I will, I promise." I opened the door and stepped out into the warm night. As soon as the door shut, I started running towards town.
My family had been tight on money since we had lost father. Mother worked at a small book store in town, but it didn't make much money so neither did she. She had been looking for other jobs, but they never accepted her. I was seventeen and offered to get a job in town to help the family, but my mother insisted I needed to be young and not to worry.
My father didn't make much money either, but it was more than what we had now. He worked in a coal mine and brought home the majority of the income. He passed away only four months ago. My mother was still upset about it and my sister was there when it happened, so we didn't discuss it much.
I ran along the sidewalks of town and looked among the groups of people laughing and talking as they blurred right past me. I saw my friend Peter and slowed down once I got closer to him. He was leaning against a wall, examining the couples that walked past him.
"There you are, i've been waiting ages." He laughed.
"I didn't take that long!"
"I know, I'm only just messing with you."
"Where's Amos and Simon?"
"Amos I'm not sure of, but Simon's father is home for the night, so he decided to stay home."
"Well...alright."
We walked along the sidewalks of town, changing the subject of what it would be like to get married. The conversation soon died down as the sound of frogs and crickets took over. We were met with a dirt road that had tall trees on either side.
"Follow me, I want to show you something." Peter whispered as if someone would've heard him. He started running down the dirt road, waving for me to follow.
"Don't run so fast!" I yelled.
Peter continued running until town was almost out of sight. I knew my mother wouldn't be happy if I got home late, but I was eager to see what he had to show me. He turned, ducking through trees, and sprinting around bushes. I almost lost sight of him, but he yelled out, so I could follow the sound of his voice. He soon stopped running and I caught up to him.
"Well? What is it?" I asked, out of breath from running so far.
He didn't say anything, but pointed in front of him. I turned to look and saw a beautiful house with a big white gate surroung it. The house had so many windows that I gave up counting. In one of them, I saw a candle flickering. An older lady walked up to it and blew it out, letting the darkness of the night hide one side of the house.
"It's neat, isn't it?" Peter exlaimed.
"It is. I would love to live here." I turned examining the darkness for his face.
We both stood there a couple minutes, examining the side of the house that was still lit up.
"Look." I pointed to a window where a girl was sitting in front of it, looking out into the night sky.
I couldn't see her face very clearly, but I could see that her chin was resting in her hands. Occasionally, she would look down and write something in what I assume was a journal. Then she would look back up at the sky. After a few moments, she got up and walked away from the window where we could no longer see her, just a dark red wall.
"We should head back." Peter whispered.
"Alright."
I didn't want to leave, but I knew better than to upset mother. The house intrigued me for some reason. I wanted to stay and examine it some more, but as more candles were being blown out, it was getting hard to see. I could hear Peter shifting his weight next to me as he started to get restless.
We ran back, the night air hitting me in the face as I saw the town soon come into view. I lived just on the other side and it would be a fairly long walk back. Most people had left town by now and the only ones out were a few couples here and there. We stopped running when our feet made contact with the sidewalk again.
"I'm going to take a shortcut home, i'll see you later James." Peter yelled as he ran off in a different direction.
I waved as I started to run again so I wouldn't be home as late. I soon saw my house and my mother peeking through the window. She had a worried look on her face, but stepped away letting the old curtains cover up the dirty glass. The door opened as I had just stepped foot through the worn out wood gate surrounding the house.
"I was getting worried James, it's late and I wasn't sure if you had gotten lost or if someone took you." She said as she stepped to the side, letting me in.
"Don't worry, i'm fine. I just took a longer walk than usual." I reassured her.
"I'm sorry...just after your father...I'm a bit more worried than usual." She took a deep breath and hugged me.
"I know, but it'll be okay." I pulled away and took her hands in mine.
She smiled and turned to the table which had pork and beans. My sister sat with her hands in her lap and an empty plate in front of her.
"I know we just had it last night, but it's all I can afford at the moment." Mother sighed.
"I don't mind at all." I replied.
I sat down at the table across from Anna, my mother sitting at one end, and an empty chair across from her. I waited for my mother and sister to get food before I did. It tasted the same as it did last night, but that was enough for me. We sat in silence, the sound of insects outside echoing around us. I looked at the empty chair and then back down at my plate. My mind swarmed with thoughts, some being of the house and the others were of my father.
Before he passed, he would invite his friends over for dinner. Mother was never happy about that because the house was always dirty since she never had time to clean it. Everyone would get together around the table and listen as father would tell stories from his childhood or even from his day at work. He always made them interesting and entertaining to listen to. There was always laughter in the room, but now it was just silence. No more laughter. No more stories. No more father.
My sister stood up and took our plates.
"Thank you." Mother smiled at her and kissed both of us goodnight, then walked into her bedroom. As soon as the door shut, Anna started questioning me like she usually did.
"Where did you actually go?" She asked.
"What do you mean?"
I pretended like I didn't know what she was talking about because I knew she would make me take her. Mother would be mad that I went so far from home. She was eleven years old, but was actually quite smart for her age. She could tell how someone was feeling, just by expressions.
"James, I know you didn't just go out to think, where did you actually go?" She demanded as she crossed her arms.
"I really just went out to think, that's all. Now I'm going to bed. Goodnight."
I walked through the small hallway and into my even smaller room. I fell onto my bed and took a deep breath as the sound of insects seemed to get louder. I lay there for a few moments before sleep eventually took over.
