The Parallellists : Genesis

Chapter 3 The Past Never Truly Leaves Us

Jake remembered when he was five years old.

He was lying on bright green grass, the wind blowing in his face as he gazed up at the blue sky above him. He looked beside him and saw his mother smiling down at him.

She was stunning. Her flowing locks of hair hung by her shoulders like freshly lit fire. Her eyes of the deepest jade green gazed down at him full of love and compassion. Her blossom colored lips were shaped in a sideways smile, the way she always looked when she was happy.

"Jake." She said, her voice soft like the pitter patter of rain. "Are you ready to meet your new baby brother?"

She ran a hand over her swollen belly gently. She had been pregnant for nearly nine months, Jake's new brother was due any day now. He already had an older sister, Roxanne, but she was already going to high school. This new child would be closer to Jake's age, so he would have someone to play the games he wanted to play.

Jake nodded. "Mommy, do you think I'll like him?"

His mother laughed, it sounded like a melody to his ears. "Well, it took your sister a while to get used to you. But I'm sure you'll love him the moment you'll see him."

She cautiously lowered herself next to Jake and stroke his hair, taking out loose twigs and leaves. Jake closed his eyes and took in what seemed to be one of the most joyful moments of his life back then.

And then it all ended a couple of weeks later.

Jake was lying in his bed. His new baby brother, Ben, lay in the crib next to him, snoozing peacefully.

It was the middle of the night, but Jake couldn't sleep. Even at a young age, he always had a feeling when something was wrong.

Suddenly, he heard angry voice coming from downstairs. Jake climbed out of bed and crept towards the door.

Then he remembered that Ben would be all alone in the room. He went to the crib and switched on the baby monitor, so that if Ben was in trouble, his mom or dad would be alerted.

Jake went outside his room and tiptoed down the corridor all the way to the top of the stairs.

One of the angry voices sounded like his dad, but the other voice he had never heard before. It was deep and had a thick foreign accent.

"Jake?" A voice from behind him said.

Jake swung around and saw his mom standing in a black sweater, denim jeans, hiking boots and her lucky baseball cap propped on her head. She was carrying a black suitcase like she was going somewhere. Her eyes were all red and puffy, like she had been crying.

"What are you doing up so late?" she asked dropping her bag and kneeling down in front of him, which was really impressive since she had just given birth last week.

"I couldn't sleep, and then I heard voices downstairs. Who's Daddy arguing with?" whispered Jake walking up to his mother and wrapping his arms around her.

He looked at her, but her face was unreadable, and she remained silent for some time, before moving away from him to look him in the eyes. She placed trembling hands on his shoulders.

"My little solar flare,I need you to be a really brave boy. I can't tell you why I'm doing this, but I promise I will explain everything when I come back." Her eyes were watery and her voice started to crack before she pulled him into a tight hug. "Stay up here." She whispered in his ear. "Take care of your Dad and your brother and sister. And remember how much I love you."

She kissed him on the cheek before lifting herself up and picking up her bag. She looked at her son one last time, smiling sadly and went down the stairs.

Jake stood out there in silence. The voices continued to grow louder and louder and then suddenly, they stopped. There was a few minutes of hushed muttering and after that, silence filled the Winslow Residence.

"Mommy said stay upstairs," Jake said to himself,"She didn't say how long I should stay here ..."

With that he glided swiftly down the stairs and into the kitchen. He expected to see his parents and the stranger that was shouting at his dad, but it was nothing like that.

His dad was standing by the door that lead to the garden. He was leaning against the doorframe, his back facing Jake. And he seemed to be ... sobbing.

"Daddy?" Jake squeaked, tugging at his dad's shirt sleeve.

Jake's father jumped and turned around, tears tracing down his cheeks.

"Jake." He said awkwardly looking down at his small son. "Aren't you supposed to be asleep?"

"I couldn't sleep." said Jake looking up at his dad with big green eyes. "Where's Mommy?"

Jake's dad picked him up and held him in his arms. "Mommy had to go away." He said sobbing into his son's shoulder. "She'll be back ... someday."

He squeezed Jake tightly. Jake looked out the open door and saw the two bright lights of a car reversing out of the parking.
*************
Everything turned back to darkness in Jake's mind as he woke up after dreaming about what had happened ten years ago.