Brother Time

Chapter 1: "Hidden Secret"

The grass crushed under his sandals as Don ran after the kickball. It tumbled over the wet grass and finally halted underneath a shrub. Carefully, Don reached under the thin branches, and grabbed his kickball. (These were the good times) He ran towards the backyard door and locked it behind him. (I can smell the warm bread loaves baking in the oven).

He eagerly arrived at the kitchen, and beamed when he saw his older sister working in the kitchen. Juliette was Don's 15-year-old sister with a kind manner and quiet personality. She was a helper at Hugh's Church down at Good Hills St. and was a devoted mother-figure for Don. Don's parents had died when Juliette was 10 back at Ethiopia due to sicknesses, and Don had just started preschool. They were both registered for a foster home (It wasn't like our home, but we have to accept and move on). From this point on, these two embracde their new lives and ventured forward on the American soil.

"Juliette, have you been making something?" Don asked as he pulled back a wooden chair, and it screeched terribly. He winced, and promised himself to tell their foster mother to buy a new table set.

"I baked a new loaf of rye bread. It smells delicious." Juliette looked as if she was lost in her thoughts, her hand swimming aimlessly through the drawer of utensils, but seconds later she retrieved a knife.

"Juliette, is something on your mind?"

"Ah, no. It's nothing." she said with a smile as she was cutting the rye bread out of the pan. She started to pout when the knife started leaving scratch marks on the pan, "I can never get this loaf cleanly out of this pan. Look at the other times I've attempted to get the bread out!" she gestured to the dark stains peeking from the sides of the bread.

"I want to help." Don offered and hopped out of the seat. He took the pan from his sister and laid a small finger beneath the pan. Feeling the vigorating warmth on his skin, he gave the pan to her and grabbed two more small pans from the lower cabinets. His sister watched on with curiosity as he laid the loafpan on top of the two small pans adjacent to each other, "This way the bread can cool faster and you can easily take out the bread."

"Very nice trick, Don," his sister complimented, impressed, "where did you learn it from?"

"I have an American friend whose mother is a very great baker. I told her about your love to bake, and she gave me advice."

"Ah, I see, now have you finished your homework? Tommorow is Monday."

"I have not even started it." Don mused with growing eyes of realization.

"It's alright, I know your lesson in school is easy, you'll finish it in less than an hour." she said, and Don left the kitchen. He went upstairs to their bedroom, a single unit but harboring two small beds for the siblings. He was in no hurry when grabbing the sheets of assignments and did them normally as usually, and in 50 minutes he had done all his homework.

"Math, science, and English seemed to be very easy last week." Don thought to himself. He looked at the time: it wasn't too far in the afternoon, "Maybe I have time to go to Matt's house and tutor him like he wanted." He climbed downstairs and greeted his foster parents, Mr. and Mrs. Greene.

"Don, where are you going alone at this time?" Mrs. Greene asked, a chubby lady with brown curly hair who obviously loved the color green. Her green-shadowed eyes eyed him curiously.

"I am going to a friend's house to help him with his homework. It is not very far."

Mrs. Greene sighed, "Alright, just be back by 7:30, okay?" Don nodded and exited the house, giving Mr. Greene, a slim middle-aged man with a bushy coffee moustache who was coming from work late , a greeting.

~~~

After about an hour or so, when the birds hushed and the crickets came out, Don arrived home and got ready for bed, but not before watching his favorite TV show "The Starwatchers". He loved the distant space which never touched the end of anything and he loved astronomy and glittering planets. Science, including Science-Fiction, were one of his favorite subjects, but even more was his love for history, including ancient times and the 18th century in the United States. The thought of learning the hardships and situations his ancestors went through during the slavery times fascinated, yet he felt enormous pity for them.

Thirty minutes was over, and Mr. Greene came out of the downstairs bathroom, "Don, have you done what you needed to do?" Mr. Greene wasn't as cautious as Mrs. Greene, showing no concern when seeing Don coming alone from his friend's house. But his wife always described him as a teddy in heart.

"Yes I have, sir. I was going to bed now. Good night." Mr. Greene nodded and they walked past each other, Don going upstairs. After he cleansed himself and wore his nightwear, he walked quietly in the room, not wanting to wake his sister up, snoring softly in a bed.

Don adjusted himself under the covers, but once he closed his eyes, he heard a small clink on the window. He sat up and walked over to the window, and he backed up when a Coke bottle cap hit the window again. He looked down and saw a young man outside his house, waving at him. Don couldn't make out his clothes and face since there were no street lights in his road, but his brilliant smile shone like moonlight. When Don rubbed his eyes to get a closer look, he was simply gone, "It must have been a bug and I was imagining things." he whispered to himself. He shrugged and went back to bed.