In This Crazy World of Ours

Meredith Johnson

"Kayleigh, you're going to be late for school!" 

Meredith slumps down on the bottom step of their staircase. She has already grown weary of calling out her son . Kayleigh Lewis Johnson was conceived when Meredith was only 16 years old. And now she's 24 and has a steady job at a dollar store, but it's not going easy for her. 

She's a single parent, you see. Her boyfriend left her when he found out about her pregnancy. Her parents still support her, but she chose not to accept their help. It's not because of her pride, though. She just wants them to take a rest from all the trouble she has put them through. 

"I'm coming, mommy," Kayleigh shouts back. Seconds later, he jogs down the stairs, dragging his plain black school bag behind him. He kisses Meredith on the forehead. "I'm sorry, mommy. I had to finish my homework and it was really hard."

"Aww, you're my smart little boy." She ruffles his dirty blond hair and kisses him on the forehead too. "But you should've asked for my help." 

Kayleigh shakes his head from side to side. "No, mommy. You're already busy and I don't want my homework to be a burden to you." 

She smiles at him then locks him in a tight hug. Kayleigh is only 8 years old, but he's pretty much a serious person already. 

"One day, mommy," he whispers, "I'm going to repay you." 

Kayleigh always tells that to his mother. And he's serious with that.

FLASHBACK

One time, Meredith caught him talking to a woman and her son into buying his bike. The woman was about to pay Kayleigh when Meredith stopped their transaction. 

"I'm very sorry," she told the woman. "But my son here doesn't know what he's doing." 

The woman smiled good-naturedly at her. "Oh, that's ok. But it would be really nice if we buy that red bike. It's really beautiful and my son here likes it very much." The woman's son, a boy with shaggy black hair and piercing blue eyes like his mother's, nodded eagerly. 

"Oh no, I'm sorry but we're keeping it. But I do know a store that sells a bike like this," she told the woman. And so, she gave them the address of the store, and off they went. 

"You didn't have to," Meredith whispered to her son. She looked him straight in the eye.

Kayleigh avoided her gaze by looking down on the pavement. "I'm sorry, mommy. I just wanted to help you out."

NOW

 A single tear falls down on Meredith's right cheek. She quickly wipes it away. She doesn't want to let her son see her in a vulnerable state. Kayleigh always looked up to her as his heroine. 

"Let's go to school now, shall we?" She gently takes her son by the hand and together, they start their long walk. 

                                                                    ___________________

After walking her son to school, Meredith heads to her room and plops facedown on the bed. She doesn't have work today, so she has all the time to write. 

Oh, did I tell you that Meredith has a degree in creative writing? 

She even graduated Magna Cum Laude but unfortunately, she can't find a publisher that won't bother to change the original plot of her stories. She likes to write about the problems that people face in their everyday lives and turn it into an interesting novel, but in this day and age, people would prefer to watch cheesy love stories that are so impossible to happen than read or watch something that they can actually relate to. 

Meredith sits up and opens the first drawer of her bedside cabinet. She grabs a bulky black notebook inside. She flips it open to a blank page and starts writing. 

Kayleigh amazed me again today, she writes. He stayed up late and even spent half of his preparation time to finish his homework. He could've asked for my help but you know what he said? He told me he doesn't want a single homework to be a burden to me. And yes, he again told me that one day, he's going to repay me. He's the sweetest. And I'd do anything just for him to be happy. I love Kayleigh. He is my life. 

She closes her journal then lies back on her bed again.

And well, she spent the entire day thinking of Kayleigh and his future. 

I won't give up on us. Even if the skies get rough. I'm giving you all my love. I'm still looking up, as Jason Mraz says.