Our Own Angels

Chapter 1

Our life forever changed when we lost her.

Tonight, it happened again. I woke to the sounds of screaming and the shattering of glass downstairs. I open my bedroom door and walk down the hall to my brother's room. He was tucked inside his bed. Under his blankets, he is dreaming away the world. Slowly, I walk up to him and gently wake him up from his slumber. He turned his body to face me and his glossy, green eyes stared up at me with confusion.

"Hey buddy..do you want to go to our favorite place?" I rub his back to comfort him. He rubbed his eyes and then another piece of glass was thrown and shattered downstairs. He sat up and propped himself up on the bed.

"Why are they fighting again?" Eli asks me as I take him into my arms. He grabbed his small stuffed animal as I grabbed my phone, keys, and my DVD player and stuffed them into my small black backpack. This question replayed in my head multiple times and I still don't have an answer.

"Ro...mommy and daddy never fought like that before." Eli says as he strokes my hair as I carry him down the stairs quietly. That is true. My mother and father were the happiest people I knew in the world. I still remember the days we would go on picnics every Sunday afternoon after church like it was yesterday. I remember our birthday parties and how my parents would have competitions on me and Eli's birthdays. Every year, they would compete with each other to see who could make us the best cake. Mom would win most of the time but Dad tried his best. My mother was the baker and my father was the chef. But as I walk down the stairs, the sight in front of me brought me back to reality. I held back my tears as I held Eli's head down so he wouldn't have to witness what I had too. All of our family pictures, glass cups, and our glass table were all shattered on our wooden floor. I let go of Eli's head to open the door and I heard Eli begin to sob softly.

"It's going to be okay Eli.." I try to get him to stop crying by rubbing his back up and down as I carry him outside to my car. I was relieved that my father and stepmother were too into their arguement to even notice me leave the house with Eli. I sat Eli in his booster seat and buckled him up. I started my car and inserted Eli's favorite CD, The Disney Classics. I looked into my rear view mirror and I see Eli fighting the urge to sleep.

"I'll wake you up when we get there okay? For now just close your eyes and go to sleep." I tell Eli as I drive away from our so-called home.

I checked the time on the car radio and it read, "4:12." We've been driving for almost an hour and a half and Eli fell back to sleep. I quietly hum the songs playing on the CD and kept on driving under the stars. This place was quite far but I've visited so many times that I can drive there in my sleep. Moments, later we reached our destination and I parked my car and hopped out. I take in the fresh air and close my eyes to listen to the sound of the trees dancing with the wind. I unbuckle Eli and gently wake him. As soon as he woke up, his eyes lit up with excitement. This is by far our favorite place in the world.

"Yay! We're here!" Getting to see his face light up with amazement is one of the many reasons why I enjoy waking up everyday. His sleepy voice mixed with excitement fills me with joy and he hops out of the car and grabs our basket. Since we come here very often, we keep a basket hidden in a tree cavity filled with stuff to occupy us for the time being. This place could easily be one of the most beautiful places to visit on Earth. I never believed in places like these because I only see them in my dreams. It's starts off with a small field filled with vibrant green grass. Not the grass that feels like sharp blades cutting you, but the opposite. The type of grass that feels like soft petals that are cool to the touch. There are multiple Oak trees lined in a U-shape like a border and in the middle, stands a large Angel Oak tree. In the dark, it might seem frightening but when the sun rises, and the light seeps between the large branches, it can easily be one of the most beautiful moments I could ever experience in my life. You can't recognize it's true beauty in the dark, but you have to be patient and wait for the light to shine upon it. Then, there's a small shallow pond behind the Angel Oak. The water is as clear as crystal and cool as a cucumber. In the summer, Eli and I would swim here regularly to cool off our bodies from the hot sun. In the winter, we would wait for the coldest time of the year and wait for the water to freeze over to ice skate. This is where I taught Eli how to swim and ice skate. At night, my mother and I used to come here, lay on the grass, and stare at the night sky. She showed me different constellations and told me stories about them. In the morning, we would come again at dawn and watch the the sunrise.