I'm Leaving

             He inhaled the air around him deeply just like a man inhaling for the first time. The air in this place was different from where he had left to come here. He lifted his head to stare at the cloudless blue sky which never failed to enthrall him when he was a young boy. As he closed his eyes, he could not only listen to the beating of the waves but he could also feel the waves beating against the wall below him, the sea water splashing his face. He thought he can never feel like this anymore.

             He grabbed his bagpack after spending a while staring at the sky. Some people who passed by, stared at him weirdly. This was a very small town in California where everyone knew the in-and-out of the town and he was an unfamiliar face to them. What they did not know was he had lived here before when he was a boy.

       He pressed the doorbell when he found himself in front of the house he had missed so much. He waited for a few seconds before he heard a girl's voice yelling, "Coming!"

          The door swung open and a beautiful girl stood in the doorway. Her lips were spread into wide grin when she saw him. She had changed physically. Her cheekbone were higher, her curves were obvious now. She quickly moved forward and wrapped her arms around his waist, tears of joy flowing down her cheeks. He smiled too, and patted her head gently and with ease as she was a head shorter than him.

          After she had released him, she shouted into the house to call her family. "Looks who is here!" She declared happily. She took him by the arm and led him into the house. His eyes swept around the house easily, recalling that the furniture around the house had not been moved at all.

         "Jose?" A rough yet gentle voice sounded in the hallway. Jose's eyes met the eyes of the man who called him. The man was big and tall with tattoos all over his left arm. He was a hoodlum back when he was a teenager.

          Jose dropped his bag on the floor and closed the distance between him and the man. He gave the man a big bear hug and said, "Father."

           "Jose?" Another voice came in the hallway, but this was more childlike.

           "Come on,Fed." The girl who greeted Jose waved at the boy who had his head emerged out of the corner.

            "It's not Fed!" The boy grumbled as he quickly ran to Jose and hugged him.

         "Hey Federick!" Jose laughed and carried him in his arms when their father released him. Jose lifted Federick off the floor and swung him like a ragged doll. "Where is mama?"

         Federick glanced over his shoulder and pointed behind him. Jose who was carrying Federick walked towards the kitchen with the girl trailing behind them like bodyguard. A woman in her forties was standing in front of the sink with her back to them, washing plates.

          "Mama." Federick and the girl said in unison. Both gave each other a quick joking sneer when Jose put Federick back on the ground. He was coming close to shedding tears when their mother turned to the sound of Federick's and the girl's call. "I called first, Karolina." Federick said loftily.

          "What is it with both of you again?" Mama asked as she wiped her hands on the apron she was wearing before looking up to see them. She gasped in surprise and let the fact that her eldest son who had been gone for ten years was back, standing perfectly in front of her eyes to sink in her mind. She practically ran up to him despite her injured left ankle, which cannot be cured as this was a hereditary disease. She hugged him and sobbed noiselessly.

            After Karolina led Jose to his room and let him have his time to do his unpacking, the whole family was sitting in the living room, talking and laughing while Federick was playing cards by himself. Jose cast a glance at his younger brother. Federick had also changed a lot. His jaw was sharper and his Adam's apple was growing in his throat. Jose could see Federick's muscles as he flexed them when he played his cards. Jose knew that he will be as tall as him when he reached 15 years old.