Taken Away

Chapter Four (The Little Chicken Star)

After that little episode, Toby went home and i went to bed. I just stared up at the ceiling, running my fingers over my scars. There was a long jagged one that went down my wrist to my elbow. There were plenty others of little ones all over my body, from that glass that had shattered when the car had crashed. I wish mom was still here. She would bring my chicken soup upstairs and change my bandages. She would sit beside me and tell me all kinds of stories, like war stories that Grandpa had told her. But my favourite one that I always wanted to hear was the story of how she and dad first met. My mom would stay by my bedside, and tell me stories until I fell asleep. It always seemed so magical, the meeting of two people who were meant to be. Forever together. That's how I liked to imagine it.

My mom was a waitress in a pub, working late shifts to pay off her college tuition. She had a boyfriend back then, on the campus. My dad, he was trying to figure out what to do with his life at that point. But he was the pool champion of the pub. No one could beat him. My mom's shift ended at one, and she always liked to play a little pool before she left. My dad usually played every night, trying to find someone who was worthy of a challenge. He left the table for a little while, getting some drinks. My mom took up the table and played against herself. My dad, a little drunk and high on adrenline, challenged my mom to play him. At first she refused, said she had to be somewhere. My dad wouldn't let her go until she played against him. So that's what she did. And she wooped his ass. My dad was impressed by her skill, even if he was drunk. They decided to play doubles together and they were unstoppable. My mom broke up with her boyfriend, falling in love with her teammate. And that's how they met. I wonder if Aaron remember this story. Maybe mom never told it to him. I looked up at my ceiling, plastered with glow in the dark stars. Too bad they didn't work anymore. Mom was a scientist, or used to be. I got up out of bed and looked out my window. She showed me all the consetellations when I was young. Big Dipper, Little Dipper, Sirius. I remembered them all. It made me feel like I was still connected to her in some way. Like she wouldn't ever leave me.

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Flashback

"Look! You see those?" My mom pointed towards the cluster of stars in the night blue sky. I was shivering and mom wrapped a blanket around my arms. There was a swirl of bright blues and tinges of pinks. One shined brighter than any other. I lifted my bare feet and peered into the microscope. I tried to find the stars my mom had pointed to but I got lost in the microscope. "Where mama?" I asked her. I stepped down from the microscope and let her position it to the right place. I let my toes get tangled in the frosty grass as I looked up at the stars. I went back to the microscope and looked through. The little white star that I saw before was now almost as bright as a crisp white shirt. It seemed to pulse like a beacon, each time expanding, trying to give itself more power. "Do you know what that one's called Kit?" She wrapped her arms around my little waist, giving me warmth to my cold, shivering body. I searched through my first grader brain, which was mostly occupied by the pretty colours in the night sky. "Um.........," I started, furrowing my eyebrows in thought. I concentrated hard. "The little chicken?" I asked her, trying to think if it was the right one. She just laughed. "Kit, it's the little Dipper, not the little chicken. This one's called Sirius. Some people always used to get lost, until they started following this star. So if you ever get lost, look for the star. It'll always lead you home," She whispered, like it was a treasured secret that only was to be shared with the two of us. "Promise Kit?" She held out her pinkie finger. I put mine close to it, marveling in how big her finger was compared to mine. "I promise mama," I whispered, letting our secrets get lost in the dark of night.

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