Stories

Windows

Sometimes, a window is the only thing you need to brighten up your day. It could be the bright sunlight against the trees, or maybe the colors of the flowers outside. This seemed to work for me, obviously only when I needed it though.
It was a simple winter day when I figured this out. I was busy playing with my little brother inside, considering the cold weather outside. The bright, warm, fire was burning in the fireplace and we both ran around the room it was in. Both of us were careful to stay away from the hot flame, neither wanting to get burned.
We rarely played with each other anymore, especially after the incident that happened. It really did hurt the family, having to loose our mother. Our father cared for us now, but usually he had to go to work. Sometimes he would have time to spend with us. Sometimes.
My brother bumped into a lamp in our process of chasing and continued to run, which made me jump and almost run into the sharp material. "Jacob, you knocked the lamp over! Dad is gonna get really mad!" I exclaimed to him.
"I-I didn't see it there," he replied. "Maybe we should pick it up."
So, we picked it up, expecting to get yelled at once our father came home. Yet, he never seemed to come home. He was later then usual. This began to have fear grow in my chest. What would we do if he didn't come home?
Every once and a while I would walk up to the door and rest my ear against it, hoping to hear the squish of the snow beneath his boots. Never did I hear it. This made the worry only get worse.
I told my brother to go ahead and go to bed, and to let me stay up so I could wait for our dad. I sat up against the back of the couch. The woods where he hunted was a very dangerous place, and I knew anything could have happened in there. Wolves could've attacked him, or a bear. He may have even starved or gotten lost. Maybe even kidnapped. I began to steer my thoughts to a different direction, hoping that would calm me down.
I began to feel a lot more tired as time went by. I decided to try my last resource before getting to bed, hoping to see his bushy face in the morning. I got on my knees and turned myself around to face the very large window, which looked out to the forest which laid outside. I looked out this already frosted window, only to see a faint light coming out from the spaces between the darkened trees. That must have been our father's lamp.
I watched him crawl out from behind the bunched up trees, holding a large bag over his shoulder and a lamp in his other hand. I jumped with joy and relief and ran to the door, waiting for our dad, covered in snow to come through it. Once he did I hugged him tightly, glad he came home safe.
That's why I like to look out the window of our house. So I can watch our father walk out of the woods safely, getting rid of all my stress.