The Choir He Wanted, The LIfe He Had

Sunday, October 1, 1934

It was the middle of the night.

The last few weeks had been uneventful. I had gotten better, and the illness I had had was now long gone. The month of September was also gone, and the air was beginning to smell like autumn.

At the moment I was standing at the beginning of the hallway that led from my room to the stairs. The entire house was dark, and I was afraid of the dark, as any young child would be. I wished it was lighter. I needed to use the bathroom badly, but was too afraid to go down the long hallway alone, and so I stood there in indecision. I looked around for something -- a light switch, a flashlight, anything -- but didn't find any sources of light near where I stood.

I whined and shifted from foot to foot. I looked at my parents' bedroom. I knew I shouldn't wake them up, but I wanted to. I looked down the long, dark hallway, and after another moment, I ran into my parents' bedroom.

I jumped onto my parents' bed and crawled between my mother and father. I shook my mother's shoulder and she groaned.

"Mummy, I have to go pee," I whispered. My mother groaned again and rolled over to face me.

"Go downstairs and go pee then," she mumbled. "You're a big boy now. You don't need me to come with you."

"Mummy, I'm scared," I whined. "I don't want to go alone."

My mother sighed, then she sat up and swung her legs over the side of the bed. As she stood up I scrambled off the bed and ran to the door. I waited for her at the door, and when she got to me I ran down the hall and waited for her at the stairs. When she got closer to me there, I ran down the stairs and didn't wait for her before running down the hallway leading to the bathroom. I ran into the bathroom and slammed the door shut, then ran to the toilet.

When I was finished, I opened the door and saw my mother standing in the hallway. I told her I needed to wash my hands and she held me up to the sink.

"Would you like to come shopping with me later?" my mother asked.

"Okay," I said. I didn't really want to, but I knew I had nothing better to do, so I decided I'd go. I finished washing my hands and as I dried them a wave of exhaustion overcame me. I yawned when my mother set me down and rubbed my eyes.

"I'm tired too," my mother said. She pushed me lightly and I walked out of the bathroom and started down the hall.

By the time I got to my room, I was exhausted. I climbed onto my bed and laid down, not even bothering to pull the covers up over myself. I felt my mother lean down and kiss my cheek, then I heard her whisper, "Goodnight Love," and after a few seconds I was fast asleep.

... 

"Mummy, I'm tired!" I whined. We had been shopping for what felt like hours and I was exhausted. I was starting to whine and drag my feet, groaning and even crying as my mother practically dragged me around the store. Now I was about to just give up. I began crying and threw myself on the ground.

"Jack, get up please," my mother said.

"No!" I cried.

"Come on," my mother said. She grabbed my arm and I cried louder as she tried to pull me onto my feet. I went limp, making myself heavier, but that only made my mother try harder. The grip she had on my arm got tighter and I cried out in pain, causing my mother to drop me.

"Jack Merridew, get up right now!" my mother said. I heard her but did nothing. After just a few seconds, my mother sighed.

"All right," she said, "If you don't want to get up, that's fine, but I'm leaving."

My mother began to walk away and I cried harder. I called to her but she didn't look back. I watched her continue to walk away from me and, afraid that she would forget about me, I got up off the floor and ran to her.

"Mummy! Don't leave me!" I sobbed.

"Then come on," my mother said. I grudgingly followed her, sobbing and dragging my feet. By the time my mother was done shopping, she was practically dragging me around the store, and I could tell she was angry with me. While she was paying for the groceries she had gotten, I sat on the floor and sobbed. I was tired and hungry among other things, and I just wanted to go home.

After several minutes, my mother grabbed me by the arm and pulled me to my feet. Though I continued to sob, I willingly followed her out of the store and out to the car. I continued sobbing all the way back to our house, and when we got home, my mother dragged me inside and up to my room.

I knew I was in trouble, but I didn't bother to resist. It only would've made the situation worse for me. I allowed my mother to drag me into my room, and I didn't try to escape when my mother let go of me. Instead, I sat on the floor and cried, still tired and hungry. It was several minutes before I finally calmed down, and when I did I stood up and walked to my bed, then climbed onto it and laid down.

I pulled the covers up over me, then started crying again, though not as hard.

About an hour later, the crying subsided, and I fell asleep. 

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I don't really know why I included this part, but I felt like it was too late to get rid of it entirely, so it's here. Maybe there's something that can be found in this, or maybe it's just an interesting short thing within the story. 

Anyways, hope you're enjoying it so far. I promise once the plot gets moving it'll get better (And if you're already enjoying it, that's great!)