Your Fall

Family Secret

"Hello, Mom!" You place your notebook on the table by the door and make your way into the seating area of the living quarters. Your mother looks up from the papers in front of her, sharing a small smile with you as you sit on the couch next to her.

"Hey sweetie, how was class?" You finish taking off your sweatshirt while your mother shifts on the couch to wrap her arm around your shoulders. Before you throw your jacket you make sure to grab the folded paper from your pocket and hold it in your hands, calmly caressing the precious memory in your grasp.

"Ended in a heated debate," you lean into your mother, wrapping your arms around her waist. Her chuckle echoes in the small, dim-lit room making both you and the couch wiggle with each bout of a laugh.

"Let me guess," she shifts again on the couch to look over at the papers again, "Raven." You shake your head and lean back into the cushion of the well-used couch.

"She did ask the initial question but it was Aimee Tol," you lean over to see a few analyzing pictures of some of the plants that your mother takes care of, "do you remember her?" Your mother absentmindedly shakes her head. "She's the one who argued with the Chancellor Jaha about some septic systems lacking proper care in front of a crowd mourning their loss grandfather."

"Oh yes, her father passed away last year right?" You nod your head. "What was the debate about?" You take a deep inhale and roll up the sleeves of your shirt.

"The lack of quality living in the Sky Box," you shift in your seat to look around the small room seeing that the light in your parents' room is off, "Aimee disagreed."

"Sounds like Raven had her work cut out for her in that argument." Both you and your mother laugh at the very truthful fact.

"You could say that," your attention shifts back to the papers that have raptured your mother's attention since you entered your small home 10 minutes ago, "What are you looking at?"

"There is a possible chance of the blight in a few plants, so I am looking over the health of a few plants around the ones that were affected to see if the blight possibly spread." The shifting of paper seems to make the small space seem even emptier than it is. You bite your lip, nervously gnawing on your lower lip.

"What plants were affected?" Your mother looks at you with a knowing glance.

"Don't worry, the evening primrose was not affected. I have already checked," she begins to stack the papers in three distinct piles on the table in front of us, "And I thought I told you to stop chewing on your lip, it is a bad habit."

"Sorry," you shake out your hands to try and get rid of any anxiety you feel, "and thank goodness. So where is Dad?"

"He is with Cayen and his family right now doing his daily..."

"Checkup, got it," you help her finish her sentence, knowing how hard the subject can be on your mother, "and you're sure that everything is okay at work."

"Honey, you need to stop worrying. Cayen is getting better with the primrose oil and no one has noticed anything." You nod feeling the anxiety crackle in the room along with the sounds of the stacks being neatly combined.

"He told me that he hasn't moved on the medical list," you lean to the side towards your mother, taking comfort in her sweat scent of dirt and pollen.

"Yes, I was talking with Abby and with the few drugs we have here that can treat his condition, it is unlikely that he will receive anything in the next two years." You open your eyes and move away quickly. After a few moments of your mouth agape speechless, you are able to put words to your thoughts.

"I get that life isn't fair but he is my age, only 15, and there is only so much the oil can do especially with the low dose that you guys can sn-"

"How is the tattoo." You look down at the single arrow on your arm which you had been absentmindedly stroking. Sighing, knowing your mother is trying to change the subject, you let the conversation move along.

"Cayen's is actually healing faster than mine," a small smile plays along your lips as you trace the simple arrow following the bloodlines beneath your skin.

"That's good," she finishes shuffling and stacking the three stacks of papers and stands up from the couch, "what would you like for dinner."

"Oh, I actually made plans with Raven and Cayen to eat dinner together. I would actually like to rest before I leave in about 45 minutes." Your mother nods and moves the papers to one of the dilapidated side tables in the room.

"Okay, I'll be in my room cleaning up if you need anything," she leans down and calmly kissed your forehead before making her way to the only other room of the living space.

"Thanks, mom," you exhale loudly and slowly swing your legs onto the other side of the couch, curling up on your side. You look at the slightly crumpled drawing in your hand of the deer sketch that you and Cayen worked on, feeling your eyelids grow heavy and a sweet quiet taking over your body and mind. You feel a weight spread on your curled frame and assume it is your mother placing a small light blanket on you as you drift off from reality.