Hang in there (Jamilton)

1

Alex had grown up with hardship; it practically molded him into the man he was today. Having been born to his mother and a man she had not married he had been shamed since a child, seeing his poor mother going into town and being called names he had not yet learned. When his father left at a young age, when he was still in need of a dad to teach him about the world and ruffle him on the head and tell him 'good job sport'. When him and his mother had fallen ill and leaving him an orphan and a bill for medicine that failed to save his mom. When his closest relative other than his brother decided to end it all one night. When the hurricane ravished his small town almost breaking his small sense of hope, his candle that failed to go out like his brother's. His small little candle that urged him to write down his struggles and leave to America.

But here he stood, his greatest challenge, and maybe the one to break him. Eliza lay before him, weak with a sickness no doctor could help. He had hired one after the other desperately trying to find an answer in this cruel world. But no answers were to be found, and here he stood, watching helplessly as the one thing he loved most in the world slipped away. There was nothing left to be done, he had spent every penny they had saved searching for a way to save her. All to be done was to hold his little flame close as he watch the last weak breath leave her body. He only allowed a single tear to fall, Eliza would have wanted him to stay strong, to fight another day.

He felt himself side to his knees. He grasped her hand and began to ramble.

"Remember that lake you always loved? How every time we walked past that place I would promise you that we would move out of this small apartment and have a nice view of the lake. How we would picnic be the shore and drink wine out of that fancy bottle I found, but we filled it with the cheap stuff I bought around the corner? Every time we did that I would promise you one day we would be dining with kings. How we would take Philip there and you would tell me we would be the happiest family on the block? I'm so sorry Eliza. I'm sorry I broke my promises. But I swear on my life I will make you proud, I'll take good care of Philip while your gone so when he grows up he'll be the most respected man in town"