Summer of '92
I could never forget that face, that cute pale little face
"Johnny, say hi to Esca, he's 7 years old, He'll be your little brother from now on." My mother happily said to me one day she came home from work, or at least that's where I thought she came home straight from, it was Tuesday by the way.
"Come on, don't be shy. Why don't you bring him to your room and play?" She emphasized the word 'your' enough for me to get the message Esca would not be here just to pay a visit. He'll sure be staying for long.
"Okay." was all i could say, I could never tell her that a playmate is the least of the things I wanted to have. I am looking forward to having a dog, or maybe a football, but not a playmate. More, a brother.
My mom finally let go of Esca's hand and steered him up the stairs to my room, I gave them space so that they could walk up the stairs ahead of me and I got a better look at his body.
He's so small, even for his age, I imagine myself being in Grade 1 and I could never picture myself being as tiny as this boy in front of me, I am in Grade 4 now and all of my friends would agree with me that no one this age had looked so small even when we were the same age.
He has an overgrown cap of jet-black hair. It was almost impossible to believe how neat his hair looks considering he's a mess from the shoulders down. He's wearing a dirty white shirt (although I'm seriously thinking that the color is literal and not just so named.) and a very loose pair of short shorts that is salvaged by a tattered orange belt and hangs just before his knee cap. His shoes are even more painful to look at, he's wearing black school shoes that looks so dirty I even wondered how my mom let those in considering she's a neat freak. His socks are weird too, they're gray and so old-looking, it has an awful green lining and a logo I'm not familiar with. I made a mental note to give this poor little guy those socks I no longer use at the bottom of my cabinet, they're a bit crowded in there anyway.
"There you go sweetheart, your big brother's room." My mom told Esca as we arrived on the door of my room, my territory. As much as i feel bad about this guy, I so much wanted to scream at both of them to not go inside my room, I may be young but I know the mutual respect on territories known as privacy, this place is mine, my own place in the world. or maybe in this house. i'm slightly trying to be poetic here.
"Hey mom, how about I come inside my room and grab some toys for him to play in his room?" I said as i pointed the empty room in front of mine's, "He'll be sleeping there right?"
"No sweetheart, he'll be sleeping in your room, I plan to use that as a storage room again since David will be living here too. He needs a place to put most of their stuff from their old house." She's actually opening the door to my room while talking, probably ignoring the handwritten sign on my door saying 'Silence Please'. She probably ignored the 'No Entry' sign too.
