Secrets

Tears Are Diamonds

Jasper trudged through the rain, soaked to the bone and hoping to god that his electronic devices weren't done for. He hoped to god it wouldn't rain harder, and he hoped to god someone would stop and offer help.

But help didn't come. The cars whizzed by, and he clung to the far edge of the sidewalks to keep from getting splashed with dirty water from the streets. He rubbed his arms and stopped beneath an overpass, listening to the cars whistle and whoosh past him. They couldn't see him in the dark, but at this point asking for a ride from someone would be useless. He was too wet to sit in a car without getting it soaked, and he was already nearly home anyway. And plus, people were giving him strange, evil looks, with twisted, hungry smiles that made him shy away and lower his eyes and walk faster.

He stared at the glowing street signs at the stoplights ahead, reading the names and judging on foot that he would be home in an hour or two. An hour or two of rain. He took his hoodie off and slung it over his shoulder as he unzipped his carry-on. He flipped open the cover and pulled out another jacket, then put that on and zipped it up his chest. He folded the soggy hoodie and carried it in a fist as he zipped his carry-on back up. And just then, as he sighed and began to walk again, a single stroke of luck flashed at the same time the lightning did.

It stopped raining.

Jasper felt tears well up in his eyes as he started walking out from the overpass, lugging his suitcases behind him and wiping the tears away with the side of his arm.

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Jasper reached the edge of his street, seething. He was royally pissed. How could his mother have forgotten him? How could she have forgotten he was coming home today? He was surprised that the water still lingering on him wasn't evaporating off his skin from the way his blood was boiling.

He clenched his teeth as he yanked his suitcase down the damp sidewalk, muttering things to himself in anger. As he came up on his dimly-lit two-story home, his eyes blurred with riled tears. 'She forgot me,' he thought, 'she forgot me.'

With a sullen hand he shoved his house key into the lock and yanked it out as he threw open the door. He was met with the familiar orange glow of the living room lamps, and the usual aroma of sandalwood-scented candles burning on shelves.

He slammed the door behind him and threw his suitcases into the house, yelling, "Mom!"

He heard footsteps clomping down the stairs, a voice saying, "Jasper? I thought... I thought you were--"

Jasper interrupted the voice as his mother made an appearance on the bottom of the staircase. "That I was still in California? I sent you a goddamn text, Mom, you saw it!" he seethed.

"I thought you were reminding me about tomorrow!" she said back, running a hand through her brown, mousy hair. "I'm so sorry, I'm so...sorry..."

"I wrote it on the calendar, Mom! I circled it in red," he snapped, eying her. "And I told you before I left! And you forgot me!"

She covered her face, blubbering as she walked around the end bannister towards him, "I'm sorry, I--"

Jasper walked away from her to the opposite side of the room. "You forgot me. Again. I had to walk here, in the rain, people were giving me looks, Mom. Do you know how that made me feel?"

"No, I--"

"I know you don't!" Jasper felt hot tears in his eyes. "I was alone. Alone, as usual. You weren't there for me. As usual. How could you forget me? How could you forget that I was coming home today?" His voice cracked pathetically, and tears rolled down his pale cheeks, which were now flushing red. "Can't you ever remember something for once in your life, Mom?"