Liam
He understood why people called it 'The Windy City', maybe not in the exact way they hoped the title came off to others, but his own idea still coincided with the nickname. The city was, well, always windy: all the time. There wouldn't be a moment of peace from Mother Nature's cool breath; not in the stale summer days or the lifeless winter nights. A breeze was constantly present. Of course, the endless supply of black tiled skyscrapers and their floors of windows never helped the matter. Walking down the streets of the business park was an open invitation to a brutal awakening enforced by directionless motion. And yet, for as many times as his papers were lost to the streets or his hair swept wildly from its kempt state, Liam still enjoyed the freelance feeling of the wind against his cheeks.
The amount of afternoons he walked into the quaint apartment with a rosy hue against his sun-tanned face were abundant, almost each one with a childish grin adorning the colors of nature. His mother made joking comments about his appearance the times that Liam arrived later than her or when she managed to escape the office early. It was when the scents of freshly cooked meals drifted underneath the cracks of the door into the musty hallway that the smile upon his lips became genuine instead of forced to brighten her day. He knew that she struggled and wanted to repay the benefits after everything she did in his name, considering his father had no interest in the subject. They were looking past the shadows to the light with each other as stable ground.
Liam was close with his mother before his father left, but the separation interlaced them with string that wouldn't be broken until one left for a place of eternal peace. Some of the kids he grew up with poked fun at the fact that he still yelled a 'Love you, mom' anytime he set foot out of the apartment. The older he grew, the less he commented on the jabs; he slowly understood that they were brought up by the frail bond they felt with their own mothers. When he described the moments to his parent, she excused herself to the bathroom for a minute; Liam knew she spent those seconds crying.
At one point, he considered taking a visit to the rent-to-hire therapist at the school he attended to uncover the reason why he never 'peaked' like his other classmates. It was when he stared up at the glow in the dark stars on his ceiling that the answer shot across on a comet; he got to the plateau years sooner than his classmates and friends. As time altered Liam, it skipped the personality that he perfected at a young age, prompted by the trauma of experiencing adulthood too early. His hair grew darker, more like his fathers, but he still felt the thrill of watching the sky's colors change. His eyes deepened with wisdom, but he still enjoyed the swings at the kiddie park. His face slimmed to hint at the bones underneath, but he still questioned endlessly at answers served on a platter. Even though his life never touched perfection, Liam cherished it as though it hugged the concept and stole a piece of the soul.
Liam frequently lost focus on his tasks and had to force himself back to the set of homework problems sitting patiently on the sheet of paper on his bed waiting for his fervent pencil to mark them. Fortunately they belonged to the subject of physics which he blew through without a glance back or a care to listen to the words spewed by the teacher. His mother scolded him for not offering his full attention during the hour but quickly followed with an apology for their circumstances that forced him into public school instead of the advanced classes of the pristine institution a block further. It took a while for Liam to accept that his privileges were limited because one person couldn't handle responsibility for their problem, but he learned to accept that disappointment was a better friend than satisfaction.
The blank spaces regarding the applications of relativity against aerodynamics, a worksheet specifically for the most advanced student, became full in minutes before the sunset began to hit the glass of the buildings. It was Liam's favorite time of day and he made sure to finish or delay all activities to experience it. He loved to sit and lean against the wall underneath the single window of his small room to watch as rays of golden light bounced off the glass and lit up the streets below. When the sky morphed from its simple blue adorned with puffs of white to a blended array of orange hues with pink undertones, the clouds touched a new personality to follow their guide while the moon took over with its surplus of sparkling children.
