How blessed am I to have a shelter
It keeps me warm in summer and winter
People might think that it's not enough
But I have to look at the bright side, no matter how tough
The water may be cold
And the door may be knocked out
But we need to hold
Hold on and never doubt
Doubt what god had planned for us
For he knows what's right
We just need to pray more, and fight
One look at my little siblings
And hope fills my lungs
Putting a smile on my face
As I look at the torn sweater my brother tugs
The picture on the wall may be wonky a little bit
And home may be a room and a half
But we manage to get food and on it we fed
Always surrounded by the innocent warming laughs
Yes, times get dark sometimes
We have loads of breakdowns
But on our feet we must stay standing
During times of black and browns
Cause at the end of the day
Who do we have except for each other
The passing by care,
But not enough to bother.
----------------------------------------------
"cheater!" my sister calls out my brother.
"I didn't cheat ask Amy! Amy did I cheat?" inquired Sam, my little brother.
"No he didn't cheat Kylie" I answer exasperated, it's been a long day and the last thing I need is my two siblings fighting over a card game.
"liar liar you're both liars!" screams Kylie and storms out of the room, I could hear her complaining and being the drama queen she is in the next room as if she were here, after all these two and a half rooms were our home.
Not 10 seconds later, my mom joins us, hand in hand with Kylie who was wearing a smirking triumphant face on.
"Now Sam, Amy, do not bother your little sister, and don't cheat that's not nice!" mom tries to sound as frightening as possible for the sake of Kylie. Kylie just stands there hands together on her chest with an innocent sort of look, that little devil. Sam looks bewildered at me then back again at mom but doesn't say anything, he's old enough to know that mom's only trying to ease Kylie down. But he still looks frustrated so he picks up his game and heads to our room, closing the door angrily behind him.
"you should go sleep Kay it's getting late, give mama a sweet kiss and be a good girl yeah?" mom kneels down to face Kylie, Kylie does as mom says and heads to the room after Sam, skipping happily as she enters.
When the door behind her is fully shut, mom sits down on the sofa in front of me, head in her hands, I study the wrinkles that are now sort of visible, my stomach gives a twist.
"you okay mom?" I ask casually, she looks up at me and smiles, somehow I can feel that she's hiding something, I don't want to push her but at the same time, if it's a financial problem, I must know because I can help, and she knows it.
"dad got fired from work today" she blurts out. Silence fills the space between us and my mind wanders to many places I didn't know existed. Fired? Fired. Should I be mad? Sorry? Calm? Okay about it? I don't know. But the thing is, I'm not feeling anything at all.
"what now?" is all I ask. Surely, he's going to look for another job, but in the meantime, I should try to get a second job, they hire young people like me much faster than they do old people.
"Your dad has a job offer, but it will cost us all, and you need to know about it." She says and my stomach twists.
"I'm all ears" I urge her.
"Your uncle contacted us last week, saying that he's got a great position for your dad in his company in Chicago, but all of us will have to move with him there, your uncle says he had arranged a place for us already, it's not much but it's definitely better than this, what do you think?"
Chicago? My heart bursts with joy but I do not make it obvious, why wouldn't I want to move from this miserable place we call home? A new fresh start for me and my family where my dad has a sustainable job and we all have a home. That's what I've always dreamed about.
"mom that's good news! That's amazing! I – I – hell yeah!" I get off of the floor and join my mom on the sofa, she turns and faces me.
"Are you sure you're okay with this? It might be forever" she asks cupping my hands with hers.
"that's what I've always wanted," I assure her and she hugs me tightly. after a while, she breaks out, kisses me on the forehead and heads to her room. Sam and Kylie will be over the moon.
I make my way to my room but eavesdrop before entering to hear the sounds of giggles and low laughter, but the second I push open the door silence washes over, only two small shifting figures under the blankets trying to pretend to be asleep, I smile to myself at the sight and go lay on my bed. I lay still, letting all my muscles and body soak loosely in the rigid mattress. Nothing but the sound of breathing is audible, so relaxing, I think to myself as a small smile peaks its way to my face.
"noo! Are you nuts" a voice breaks the silence; I sit up straight eyebrows furrowed. What the hell?
YOU ARE READING
cross roads, cross fingers (completed)
Teen FictionA short story about feeling so small and suffocated in such a big overwhelming world, about how each and every single soul is going through some obstacles in life and probably thinks they are the only ones. We have 3 girls: Amren, a timid basic gir...
