Samuel shivered as a cold wind assaulted his body. He had just left the Manta Carlos Community Center after meeting several interesting people. The sheer range of people that seemed to show up in that particular building ranged from normal schoolchildren to even a former minister of the island and with that diversity in characters the interactions between people were quite unpredictable. He musued to himself. The place was unpredictable enough that even he had been intimidated by an apparently undead individual who had called him “politically illiterate”, but he had always had trouble dealing with people who had a certain….. personality. It was to be expected.
He stuck his hands into his pockets as he walked, biting his lower lip in deep thought. His primary stop would be the hospital, but he first directed his slowly wandering feet to a convenience store. Hearing the chiming tone signifying a new person had walked in, he headed straight for the cash registers and what seemed to be the only clerk in the store at the time.
He wordlessly pointed at one of the packs of cigarettes behind the counter before letting out a small sentence.
“May I get a pack of those and a lighter…. Thanks”
After the pack was retrieved, he slowly deposited the necessary funds to the person behind the counter and waited for his change to be counted. After the transaction, he slowly nodded to the cashier and turned to leave, going around the corner he opened up the pack and popped one out and closed the rest before stuffing it into his jacket pocket. He put the white cylinder in between his lips and fumbled with the lighter for a few seconds. His inexperienced hands not managing to strike a spark as the gas escaped the small orifice after a few tries. Eventually, though, the orange-yellow flame appeared and danced on top of the lighter quite jovially, almost unaware that it would be snuffed out any second. The flame was moved to caress the tip of the cigarette, charring it and setting it alight for a few seconds before it was subdued to a small smolder. The tar infused gas rushed into Samuel’s lungs and a small fit of coughs ensued in protest. After the fit of coughs, Samuel wrinkled his nose at the rank stench that the tobacco emitted. He had never liked the smell, but he had picked up the habit from watching his mother.
She had a bad habit of smoking as a mask to not show her stress. It seemed odd at the time for Samuel, who did not know his mother’s circumstances, who didn’t understand why she would be so stressed. He had broached the topic with her several times, urging her to quit. She would just smile, ruffle his hair and say
“Thank you my little Godling, you are always looking after your mama. I’ll think about it. I love you”
Not that she ever would
Now though, Samuel supposed as he loitered in a small alley while his cigarette burned in his mouth, he couldn’t blame her. He would definitely do the same in her position and maybe worse. Sam pushed off a wall and started to make his way towards the hospital.
His footsteps always seemed heavier whenever he made his way to the white halls of the hospital. The smell of the place and the periodic groans of pain made him not particularly want to be there, what almost always disturbed him the most, though, lay in where he was going. His Destination.
Shortly before he got to the hospital, he disposed of his still smoldering cigarette quite quickly as if he had practiced it before and made it into the well-lit interior. He went up to the reception and the nurse that was currently working there gave him a look before giving him a small smile before motioning for him to go up.
He just returned the nod with one of his own as he ascended the stairs to a room that he knew so well. It was a place where long term patients stayed. He slowly opened the room and peered in, looking at the form that lay unmoving on the bed.
Her slender arms were propped in front of her body as her eyes were closed. A small IV drip sat next to her and a small heart rate monitor set off a normal set of blips into the air. The woman looked uncannily like Samuel, if he was pale, had longer hair, and was slightly shorter. She did not seem like she had aged at all since… that day.
That horrible day.
A familiar sense of regret welled up in him as he went and pulled up a seat next to his mother.
“Hi Mom… I’m here again. Have you been doing well?”
The last thing he had done before his mother became like this was yell at her at the top of his lungs.
“I have. I have been working, and school has been going well. I live in my own place and supporting myself like always.”
Of course she didn’t answer.
“I met a few people with similar experiences as you mom, they fixed themselves…. Maybe I can find a way to help you……”
Sam took his mother’s still warm hands and said something that he had been saying ever since he had begun to come to visit his mother.
“I’ll find a way, I promise. Wait for me Mom, I’m here. Don’t give up, I’m here. You know what you always say mom…. If you fall you have to pick yourself up by the bootstraps and keep moving right? Stay true to that and hang in there. I’ll find a way.”
His hands emitted a familiar yellowish glow that seemed to cover his hands and his mother’s.
He then sat there in silence next to his mother, watching over her like a hawk making sure that any seeming discomfort was taken care of.
Eventually though, he got up.
“I have to go mom, but I’ll be back. Don’t be too lonely without me.”
He turned and left.
He needed a drink.
He might know where to find one. An apparently newer establishment that had just been opened by an aforementioned previous Minister
Fin
He stuck his hands into his pockets as he walked, biting his lower lip in deep thought. His primary stop would be the hospital, but he first directed his slowly wandering feet to a convenience store. Hearing the chiming tone signifying a new person had walked in, he headed straight for the cash registers and what seemed to be the only clerk in the store at the time.
He wordlessly pointed at one of the packs of cigarettes behind the counter before letting out a small sentence.
“May I get a pack of those and a lighter…. Thanks”
After the pack was retrieved, he slowly deposited the necessary funds to the person behind the counter and waited for his change to be counted. After the transaction, he slowly nodded to the cashier and turned to leave, going around the corner he opened up the pack and popped one out and closed the rest before stuffing it into his jacket pocket. He put the white cylinder in between his lips and fumbled with the lighter for a few seconds. His inexperienced hands not managing to strike a spark as the gas escaped the small orifice after a few tries. Eventually, though, the orange-yellow flame appeared and danced on top of the lighter quite jovially, almost unaware that it would be snuffed out any second. The flame was moved to caress the tip of the cigarette, charring it and setting it alight for a few seconds before it was subdued to a small smolder. The tar infused gas rushed into Samuel’s lungs and a small fit of coughs ensued in protest. After the fit of coughs, Samuel wrinkled his nose at the rank stench that the tobacco emitted. He had never liked the smell, but he had picked up the habit from watching his mother.
She had a bad habit of smoking as a mask to not show her stress. It seemed odd at the time for Samuel, who did not know his mother’s circumstances, who didn’t understand why she would be so stressed. He had broached the topic with her several times, urging her to quit. She would just smile, ruffle his hair and say
“Thank you my little Godling, you are always looking after your mama. I’ll think about it. I love you”
Not that she ever would
Now though, Samuel supposed as he loitered in a small alley while his cigarette burned in his mouth, he couldn’t blame her. He would definitely do the same in her position and maybe worse. Sam pushed off a wall and started to make his way towards the hospital.
His footsteps always seemed heavier whenever he made his way to the white halls of the hospital. The smell of the place and the periodic groans of pain made him not particularly want to be there, what almost always disturbed him the most, though, lay in where he was going. His Destination.
Shortly before he got to the hospital, he disposed of his still smoldering cigarette quite quickly as if he had practiced it before and made it into the well-lit interior. He went up to the reception and the nurse that was currently working there gave him a look before giving him a small smile before motioning for him to go up.
He just returned the nod with one of his own as he ascended the stairs to a room that he knew so well. It was a place where long term patients stayed. He slowly opened the room and peered in, looking at the form that lay unmoving on the bed.
Her slender arms were propped in front of her body as her eyes were closed. A small IV drip sat next to her and a small heart rate monitor set off a normal set of blips into the air. The woman looked uncannily like Samuel, if he was pale, had longer hair, and was slightly shorter. She did not seem like she had aged at all since… that day.
That horrible day.
A familiar sense of regret welled up in him as he went and pulled up a seat next to his mother.
“Hi Mom… I’m here again. Have you been doing well?”
The last thing he had done before his mother became like this was yell at her at the top of his lungs.
“I have. I have been working, and school has been going well. I live in my own place and supporting myself like always.”
Of course she didn’t answer.
“I met a few people with similar experiences as you mom, they fixed themselves…. Maybe I can find a way to help you……”
Sam took his mother’s still warm hands and said something that he had been saying ever since he had begun to come to visit his mother.
“I’ll find a way, I promise. Wait for me Mom, I’m here. Don’t give up, I’m here. You know what you always say mom…. If you fall you have to pick yourself up by the bootstraps and keep moving right? Stay true to that and hang in there. I’ll find a way.”
His hands emitted a familiar yellowish glow that seemed to cover his hands and his mother’s.
He then sat there in silence next to his mother, watching over her like a hawk making sure that any seeming discomfort was taken care of.
Eventually though, he got up.
“I have to go mom, but I’ll be back. Don’t be too lonely without me.”
He turned and left.
He needed a drink.
He might know where to find one. An apparently newer establishment that had just been opened by an aforementioned previous Minister
Fin
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