The Wings Of A Caged Bird | First Draft

chapter 52: family

"Can I make a call?"

The old man sitting at the reception was engrossed in a book. Hearing my question, he moves his gaze to me. Then he nods two times and goes back to the book.

"It might be a long call," I add.

The old man shrugs. So I grab the stool placed beside the counter and bring it closer to where the telephone is. I realized only a few minutes ago that I forgot to charge my phone yesterday, and now the battery is dead. But I didn't want to delay any further, afraid that my mind will trick me into changing my decision one way or the other. So here I am.

I dial the phone number on the cherry red telephone, then put the receiver against my ear, scratching my thumb with my index fingernail.

The call is picked up after three rings.

A sound of clearing throat. "Hello?"

My heart skips a beat, then begins to beat too fast. It's her. It's my mother. And I have suddenly lost all my words.

"Hello? Who is this?"

I need to say something. I need to say something right now, before she hangs up, before I go back to square one, just like I had back when I couldn't go visit Dawn's family. I can't let that happen. I can't.

So I squeeze my eyes shut. With a shaky voice, I muster the courage to say, "Mom, it's me."

Pin-drop silence from the other end. But then, a bit of shuffling. It's like I'm hearing my heartbeats from the receiver. The silence stretches for so long that for one, devastating moment, I actually think that she doesn't want to talk to me anymore.

But then, she says, "Cedar? Is this you?"

"Yes," I reply, tears filling my eyes immediately.

Another silence, but this one is short. "Is this really you?"

"Yes."

"Oh . . . oh, Cedar." I think I hear a sob, but I might be wrong. It might be my wishful thinking. But it might be true. I wait for her to say something. But she doesn't.

I'm not going to let it be that way. I've come all this way, I have to take this chance to convey everything I feel and think to her. But what should I say? Where should I start? What should be my first line?

"Hello?" mom says, her voice weak.

And that's when I know, how I want to start this conversation.

"Mom, how . . . are you?" I ask.

"M-me?" she asks, almost sounding confused.

I hold back my tears. "I heard you-" I gulp. "I heard you got hurt and were in the hospital. How are you now?" Something tells me her getting hurt wasn't an accident.

"Did Dale tell you?" she asks instead, a glimmer of hope in her tone.

"Yes," I reply. Indirectly, at least.

"I . . . I am okay, now. What about you? Cedar, how have you been? All by yourself . . . how . . . all this time . . ." She can't seem to finish her sentences.

"I'm fine too. I did fine by myself." When she doesn't say anything, I add, "I had a lot of adventures, you know?"

"Really?" I can hear a smile in her voice. It makes me want to burst into tears again. "What kind of-" A pause, and then, "what kind of adventures?"

I stare at my lap as I reply, "You won't believe me. But I got on a train. Then I jumped from one carriage to another while it was running. I met an old man with one hand, who gave me a lighter. I travelled on the roof of a bus. Then I got lost in a forest. There I found a waterfall and a pond. And then I fell from a hill into that pond. I thought I would die. But someone saved me. That someone happened to be a classmate of mine. Her name is Tiara. I became close with her family. She had a great family. They took care of me. I became friends with her grandpa. He is a really nice man, you know? H-he had this- this garden shed, which was like a library. And there were soooo m-many books- books in th-there. And then-"