Seven Years

It was a windy, autumn's day and Tom Kaulitz was limping on the pavement near his neighbourhood, on the way to the cemetery. He was clutching his walking stick in one hand and a bouquet of flowers in the other. At 58 years old, it was no small feat to walk all the way to the cemetery. Each step he took unleashed a pain in his legs as well as in his heart, because he didn't want to go to the cemetery. I'm not ready. He remembered the words the therapist had told him. Happy thoughts. Think happy thoughts. The door in his mind he had tried so hard to seal burst open and a flurry of memories filled his head.

---

"Tom."

Someone was shaking his shoulder, waking him from his sleep.

"Hmmm?"

"Tomi, wake up!"

Tom blinked, and the image of his baby brother crouched beside his bed swam into focus. Bill's eyes were wide open, and he was dressed as though he was going to go out, even though it was the middle of the night. 

"Bill, what are you doing?"

"We're running away."

"What?! Why?"

"I just want to! Let's go!"

Tom's brotherly instincts kicked in.

"But Bill! Where are we gonna go? We don't have any food or stuff, and we're only seven!"

"Let's just go!"

---

Tom had to stifle a laugh. What were they thinking?

---

Tom was running down the pitch, kicking the ball in front of him. The opposing team tried to block him but he dodged them. The cheers from the stands were deafening. He could just about make out his mom's and Bill's voices in the crowd.

Almost there, he told himself. Almost there!

He reached the goal and kicked the ball as hard as he could. SCORE! His team-mates were suddenly all around him, lifting him up into the air, cheering. He had won the game! He looked to the stands and his heart lifted higher. Bill was jumping up and down, cheering his head off, smiling fit to burst, The sight of his brother ecstatic for him made him even happier. Best eleventh birthday ever.

---

Tom started to strum his guitar, and his heart beat wildly when he heard all the screaming. Wow. There must be so many people out there.

The curtains lifted and he couldn't keep from grinning. There must've been thousands of people out there. He locked eyes with Bill, and at that moment, he realized that their dreams had really come true. Bill started to sing: