Adrian's POV
It's officially been a week since Vito passed. His mother asked me to go to his house so I could help clean out his things. I walked on the crowded sidewalk with my hands deep in the pockets of my pants. As I crossed the evident line of what we call the "East side" and the "West Side" a chill went down my back.
Every now and then I find myself looking behind me, as if checking to see that Vito was there. I know he never will be, but I still check. Old habits die hard right? I walk past the snoring doorman that holds the door to Vito's building wide open.
As I climb the crumbling stairs I can't help but sniffle away the tears as the memories of times spent in this apartment building flood back. I reach the end of the hallway where Vito's apartment is. I knock on the door shoving my key in the lock.
When I walk in I see that his Mom is laying on the floor in the corner scrubbing at the oozing mold. She mutters some obscenities and I crack a smile. She looks up as my steps catch her attention. Pointing to some boxes in the middle of the living room she says something about his stuff being in them.
I walk over to them the rubber soles of my shoes making soft clicking sounds as I take each step. I hold my breath in anticipation when I fold open the lid of the top box. Inside is a bunch of clothes, on the side of the box it says "Clothes." I dig my hands around in the material. As weird as it sounds I dig out an old jacket and hold it to my nose inhaling the lingering scent.
I shove the jacket into my bag and dig into the next box for something. The box says "Musical". Inside there is mostly music books and tuning things and wax for the bow. Nothing unusual. I push that box aside and look into the box that says "Adrian and Vito". Inside are the remnants of our time as friends.
There is a white envelope labeled "Pictures" I flip open the flap and look at the pieces of frozen moments. One shows a smaller Vito covered in sauce and me laughing with a fork and plate in hand. I remember that. It was when Vito's Mom made us some spaghetti for dinner. I had been eating when Vito flung some into my hair. Out of rage I smashed my whole plate into his face, laughing hysterically.
Flash back
"This is really good, Mom!" Vito said scarfing down the stringy pasta in tomato sauce
"Thank you, Vito." She said in response ruffling his mop of dark hair
"Do you like it Adrian?" He asks turning towards me and as he does he flings a clump of the food into my hair. I look at him with anger and disgust.
"Vito!" I shriek holding the dirty piece of hair away from the rest
"Ha-ha," He laughs loudly turning back to his plate. I shake my head, lifting my own plate over his head and scraping the food onto him. He sucked in a deep breath and looked at me with eyes of wonderment and fury.
"You’re welcome." I say laughing so hard my insides felt as if they would explode
"Thank you." He said "May I give you a hug in honor of the deed you have done." He says wrapping his red stained arms around me.
End Flashback
One of the others shows Vito and I at my house. We were playing some game that I had made up with my crazy imagination. Vito and I stared intently at the opposite side of the room. We held our hands as if holding swords. I had my father's tie around my forehead and Vito had lines drawn with lipstick underneath his eyes.
The rest of them were just ones from graduation or classic events through our lives. I dug around farther in the box and found a small doll that had yellow yarn hair and a marker smile. Vito made that for me when I was a little too old for dolls; I don't know how it wound up here. I dig through the rest of the box finding old toys and torn up things from good memories long ago.
I don't realize it until after I am done searching through the box, but I am bawling my eyes out at the sight of all of these memories. I throw the box aside and go to search through the next. Inside there is nothing but weird things from odd end stores that Vito loves.
I look through each box until I reach the last one that says "Other things". I pull open the flaps and peer inside. There is a small shoe box lying on top. I pull it out my mind wondering what could be inside the little package of mystery.
I open the lid and see there is a small bag. I pull it out and the card on the inside says it is addressed to me. The note says:
To: Adrian
I'm always with you. Happy fourteenth birthday
From: Vito
A small tear drips from my eye as I pull out the thing in the bag. It is a charm bracelet. There is a small stringed instrument, a heart, and a flower. I slide it onto my wrist only after thoroughly examining it. I then look back into the box and see a few other things for other people, I give the small bag addressed to his mom to her and walk out of Vito's house saying goodbye.
I go back home and walk through the front door; no one notices I am home. I walk up to my room and lay the precious charm bracelet onto the vanity I curl up into my bed and remember. Every memory that I have tried to block out floods back in, making my head spin and my stomach ache.
Vito is gone but I will always remember him as the kid with the Cello, who changed my life.
YOU ARE READING
One day in Brooklyn
Historical FictionThere is a boy named Vito who lives in an apartment lost in the streets of Brooklyn. It is 1949, just after the war has ended. Vito is suffering grief, his father died in the war. His Father, though he might deny it, held his life together, when Vit...
