"I gift the remainder of my love to those in need, and I am left with its crumbs- but I savour the taste knowing others are braced."
- Zion Lockwood;
He stroked his mother's hand, as she drifted off to sleep. She had a spell. An outburst. A panic attack.
Now. Now, she was drugged. She was sleepy, she said, as her eyes fluttered shut.
Zion hated when she was medicated. Her whole body acted accordingly. But in her eyes, she was trapped. They carried the same deep brown as Zion's did, and Zion could see it. He saw her- through and through.
"Smile, my dear boy, before life rips it away," his mother whispered. She gave his hand a weak squeeze. But Zion described it as light. Intentional.
Zion's other hand stroked her silk bonnet, which covered her hair.
"Mother, my smile is forever with you," Zion replied.
A weak chuckle escaped her lips. Light chuckle. Intentional.
"My dear boy forever is merely an illusion."
She fell asleep.
She left Zion with those words.
He had read those words before, rephrased.
He stayed by her side. He watched her sleep. He watched her at peace. It was all he wanted for her. If anything- peace.
Happiness comes and goes. Contentment often becomes unsatisfactory. But peace is a battle many fight. An asset many wish to buy. A feeling many chase. Peace is internal, and internally, she was broken.
"There's nothing else we can do son," the doctor said.
Zion shook his head. Zion tried to stop crying.
Anguish took the form of a smile on Zion's lips- his trembling, paling lips.
His head pressed into the doctor's shoulders. He wept. "I'm sorry boy, I really am."
The door opened.
Zion wiped away a tear. A stray tear. A weak tear. Unintentional.
A small girl sauntered into the room. Her afro was the first thing Zion saw- then her radiant face.
She walked to the other side of the bed. Climbed up, and kissed her sleeping mother on the forehead-
"Goodnight Mommy."
Got down. Walked over to Zion. Sat on his lap.
Together they sat.
"She's like a sleeping beauty," she said-
Zion's younger sister. His sun. His angel.
He chuckled lightly. Intentional.
"Yes, she is."
She turned and looked up at the brother she so very much adored.
"Will you read to me Zi?"
He looked at his mother. Then at his sun. He nodded, and they left.
YOU ARE READING
The Strays
Teen Fiction*Disclaimer this is a first, unedited draft; reader's discretion is advised* Guided by letters from the past, after being separated from their other half, The Stray's knitted friendship journey through their last, unknowing summer being as they had...
