The Boy Who Carried The World

o.one

o. One

"Try to be a rainbow in someone's cloud" - Kaitlyn W

"Okay." I whisper, blinking. "There once was a young boy who lived in a wooden box. The wooden box looked like any other wooden box you'd see in your day to day, but this one stacked high with abandoned books and all sorts of baubles stuffed in its crevices. This one, dusty little box, contained a community of things forgotten."

"Like the balloon boy" Aspen whispers lightly, her eyes filled with wonder and delight as her mind conjures pictures and scenes of this made up world.

"Like balloon boy." I smile softly, closing my eyes and speaking over the constant thump in my chest, willing it gently to quiet down. "The balloon boy, a small figurine from the 1920's, one of the first toys to ever be made, was easily one of the first ones to be discarded. However everyone in the box called him Abandoned, or rather Ban for short.

"Talk about Hope!!" Aspen prods, drawing her knees closer to herself and tapping her toes softly against the wooden floorboards.

Opening one eye lazily, I look at Aspen and smirk, "Do you want me to tell the story or not? There's no skipping the cut scenes."

Theres a pause, my heart aches a bit, the dull thumping reminding me of the last few months.

"Hope," I breathe softly, "Hope was the vision of everything good and yet everything that could be so bad. She was the wooden girl in the box set, including a family of wooden figurines. She was everything that anyone could ever want or even need, but Ban knew that she was someone that he could never have."

"But he could!!" Aspen protests, reaching up and tugging on the tendrils of my hair

"He couldn't." I say firmly, my mouth set in a grim line, the anxiety in my chest swelling. "He would make bad choices with Hope, and there were rules... in place that would never allow them to be together. She could love him and he would love her, but at the end of the day, he would have to choose to let her go...to save himself"

"You're ruining the story!" Aspen says, tears brimming her eyes as her tiny fists clench into themselves.

"You're right. I'll finish telling you the story some other time...okay?" I breathe out, feeling sleepy.

She nods silently.

"Mom and Dad are crying again." she states simply, her eyes glazed with a degree of emptiness, that she was too young for.

"Come up here" I say lightly, patting the spot on my bed next to me and scooting over a bit to make room for her.

"Atlas..do you ever feel like the world is crumbling?"

There's a beat, then two.

"Crumbling?"

"I feel like...the world is so bad. All we have is little moments of light where we get to be happy in all the darkness."

Sitting up, I smile and ruffle her hair lightly,

"Hey what's with all this deep dark talk kid? Lets go outside and take a walk."

"But its raining outside."

"You're a kid, go out and jump in some puddles or something."

Aspen rolls her eyes and slips off the bed, walking out my door and towards her room.

"Be ready in 10!" I yell out, stretching my long limbs and climbing off my bed, following her faded steps and diverting to the kitchen.

Opening the refrigerator, my stomach lets out a nervous protest.

I stare.

This was impossible. Each breath hurt. Every moment felt like agony and yet here I was; still breathing and still ...here.

I let out a sigh and disinterestedly let the refrigerator door drift closed.

It wasn't supposed to be this way. Or maybe it was. Maybe I was never meant for happiness , the way some people never learn to whistle or ride a bike.

"Readyyy" Aspen sings from the doorway, dancing into the room with her rain boots on and her bright yellow raincoat swishing with every move.

She pauses in front of the couches in the living room and freezes for a second.

"Mom says you should stop looking so sad."

My back tenses,

"Mom is dead. Aspen."

Something bright whirls in the air , in my direction and before I can catch it , hits me directly in the face. I look down, blinking and see it's Aspen's rain cap.

"Hey-" I start to protest only to be met with her red eyed glare, tears threatening to come to the surface

"Y-You can't just say that Atlas! You cant pretend like they aren't right here." She demands gesturing towards the couches

Thump. Thump. Thump.

Damn it. Calm down.

Thump.

"Breathe." I say calmly, exhaling deeply, saying it for both her and me.

I glance at the couches and see the faint,  hollow silhouette of our mother as she lay there unmoving.

"She's..." i pause, walking slowly up to her, her rain cap in my hand and get on a knee so that we're eye level

"She's not there, Aspen. She's gone." I say quietly as I fasten on her rain cap.

Silence.

I feel her small hands grip mine and squeeze gently. And I stand silently, my eyes flitter briefly to the couch on the other end of the room where the fading , ghostlike silhouette of my father sat. His eyes unblinking.

"They're both gone." I confirm quietly

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Short but these are about to get longer and hopefully more interesting as you read. Thanks! Please leave a comment if you've liked it so far