Doing Dirt {edited+completed}

Chapter 5

"Well I was a normal child; had lots of friends, was friendly, went to school and all that. My mother, Emma, was a police officer. She was always involved in small cases and catching low profile criminals, such as burglars, nothing too major." His tone nice and firm.

"She had long brown hair that always shone in the sun and green eyes. They sparkled like the water when there's a sunset. She was my angel. Whenever I had a bad day at school or was just feeling down, she had the best ways to cheer me up." His voice fluctuates to a softer one as he half smiles at the happy memory; his dimples deeper than ever. He really loved his mother. He misses her. She was his world.

He resumes where he left off with a hushed warm tone. "My dad was amazing. We practically did everything together. He always took me to my soccer matches and boxing games. On the weekend, we used to go fishing together and I told him everything. He was a high school teacher, taught 8th grade maths and 9th grade science." Harry's white teeth shine through his glum feeling; he's merry. I slide my hand across the table and comfort him by skimming my fingers across the top of his hand. He cups my hands in his big soft ones and stares at me straight in my hazel orbits.

His green eyes sparkle by the sunshine protruding through the glass window. Harry closes them and tilts his head back gently. I can see his smile widening as he re-lives the golden moments of his past in his head. Squeezing my hand tightly, he comes back to reality and continues on with his story. "Then there's my sister, "He chuckles, "a trouble maker, always seeking attention. I loved her to death. I love her to death. She was never a girly girl and always played sports with me. She was like the perfect sister. She would protect me, being the eldest, and I would protect her. We had our fair share of fights and differences, of course."

His face tenses up slightly, as if there's a haunting story behind the memory of two happy siblings. "She-she," Harry begins to trail off, "she." He can't seem to finish the sentence. The thought might be so drastic he can't remember. Or even worse, can't tell me. Swiftly changing the subject, he begins to talk about his family outings. The cute dimples return. "We went camping out to our local park and dad and I were putting up the tent while mum and Sarah were unpacking the items that we packed. Dad and I made a good team, I held up the poles while dad worked out the whole system. Mum was chasing Sarah around the car trying to tickle her. She was really ticklish and always laughed heaps."

He squeezes my hand just that little bit tighter. I can see joy in his eyes. This was the part of his childhood that was a happy memory. He was joyful that he could remember the times before all the complications occurred. I smile compassionately and my blonde hair lies still on my back. "When everything was set up, mum grabbed the packets of marshmallows out of the bag. By using the sticks, twigs, rocks and leaves I had collected earlier, I made a small campfire. The rocks were places along the edge of it and everything else in the middle."

Harry carefully removes his hands from mine, unlocking them. He illustrates the picture by drawing on the table, fingertips grazing the top leaving faint lines. He draws small circles for the rocks, thick lines for the sticks, thin lines for the twigs and taps the table top carefully creating dots for the leaves. "First mum had a go at lighting the fire; she twisted a stick quickly on a piece of plywood. When that didn't work, dad had a go by smashing two rocks each other harshly. And when that didn't work," Harry pauses and chuckles, "I just lit a match and chucked it on the leaves and twigs."

We both laugh as I stare into his eyes. All this talk about his childhood, well the good times, has made him forget about problems now. I don't think I've ever witnessed him being this cheerful. It's like he's not Harry anymore, as if someone replaced his brain. But he is. He always will be. Always will be my special little Harry. "We huddled around the fire and everyone picked up a clean stick from the ground. The marshmallows were passed around in a bag and everyone reached in and picked out a couple. Easing them on the stick, we held our hands above the campfire."

Harry rubs his hands together and holds them over his plate. He's pretending that the plate of stone cold pancakes is the fire. I join in with him making his smile wider. I'm so glad that he can remember the times when he had a family. Harry resumes his happy story, "As the marshmallows melted, we sang songs around the fire and smiles were everywhere. Everyone was having a blast! Then mum started quoting some old songs making us laugh. She was such a witty character. Always knew what to say and do."

Harry's brown curls sway as he tries to get them away from his face. "We placed the gooey substance in our mouths and chewed with delight. Mum kept stating ~ 'I'll never know how the future will go, but I know that nothing can break this amazing bond that we have together.' She was right. We always worked together to get the job done. We were a family. I had a family. But soon, all of that changed. My world was turned upside down. Everything was distorted and destroyed." I could see that his smile began to fade. Uh oh. This was the part that he wished he didn't remember. His facial expression went from joyful to depressed in a matter of seconds.