Memoirs Of An Average Person (Part 1)

Welcome to the real world! Follow characters as they encounter the 'dark' side of life. Will you have the strength to follow their journeys?

Memoirs Of An Average Person

Alexander Grim

Part One

The small boy yearns for the toy in the shop window as his mother hurries him down the busy street through the blistering cold and swirling snow. All the while she thinks about how she is even going to feed her growing son. The child is oblivious to what ails his beloved mother when he looks into her eyes and sees the pain deep within. It is November 24^th and Thanksgiving is right around the corner, there is no turkey in the freezer nor any food for that matter. The cold winds cut straight through her thin jacket and chills her small frame in a way unbearable,

“Hurry Timmy, we don't want to be late. Grandma is supposed to come over and bring us a pecan pie. Doesn't that sound nice?” She looks over her shoulder at Timothy and forces and smile while biting back the chill coursing through her. He nods, apparently lost in his own world.

“Mommy, can I ask you something?” The 8 year old boy looks at his mother with a curious look on his face.

“What is that sweetheart?” She lightly tugs his arm to coerce him into walking next to her. He obliges and quickens his step to match hers.

“Well, at school today, there were a couple boys and they were talking about their dads. One boy said that his dad is a cop and the other said his dad is a drunk.” He stops talking as he side steps a squirrel crossing the sidewalk, “What is my dad? And where is he?”

This brings Sheila to a halt, she takes a knee before her son and gently grabs his shoulders and looks into his deep brown, sad eyes, “Son, your dad.....” She takes a deep breath, “Your dad is a salesman. He travels a lot and does what he can to make money. He is a good man. I promise. With that being said, we should really hurry. Grandma is probably already at the apartment waiting on us. We don't want her to get cold do we?”

Timothy shakes his head and Sheila rises back to her feet, only 12 more blocks and then we will be home, she tries to smile at the thought of the warmth awaiting them, if the furnace is working tonight. The true trial will be dealing with her mother and the inevitable lecture that is waiting along with the prospect.

1000 miles away, a half naked man wakes from a drunken stupor and lights up a cigarette as he tries to find an excuse to get out of the bed. The rundown motel room stinks of cheap sex and even cheaper vodka. Alexander looks around the room, still feeling intoxicated and finds his shirt.

Slowly he leaves the bed, butting out his cigarette as he goes and grabs the shirt from the armchair in the corner, “What the hell?” He notices that the small package of Marijuana is missing from his pocket, “That filthy....” He slams his fists into the cushion in frustration and grasps at his shirt, apparently his depth perception still hasn't caught up to him because he misses and his hand crashes into the blinds.

Alexander reaches for another cigarette and remembers that he left them on the bed side table. He curses under his breath and grabs his shirt, this time successfully. After pulling it over his head, he stumbles back to the bed and sits on the edge, looking at the small picture he had earlier pulled from his wallet. He gently strokes the image of a newborn boy and a silent tear creases his aging face and disappears among spilled liquor and ashes lining his dark brown beard.

A few more tears escape from the corners of his eyes as he pulls the 9mm pistol, probably stolen, from the bed side table. He fidgets with the mahogany grip while looking into the picture, as if remembering a better time. Finally he lays the picture next to him on the bed and raises the gun to the left side of his head. By this time his sobs have become an uncontrollable wave of salty tears.

3 blocks from the quaint motel sits a teenage boy, lost in his own world, completely shut off from the world passing around him as he looks at the television screen. Several energy drink cans litter the area around him and his headphones blare the sounds of gunshots and screams. The video game in front of him devours his entire attention. Many long hours of his life are spent in this exact spot and situation, leaving for nothing more than completion of another mission.

This boy's name is Todd and he lives at home with his parents and his younger brother, a younger brother dying for the attention of his older sibling. Unfortunately, Todd has no clue as to this, or anything outside of his video game world for that matter. His dad tries to connect with his son, trying to figure out what he is doing wrong, and his mother longs for the closeness that the two of them once shared, once upon a time, before the video games took over.

The smell of food reaches the teenager's nose and for a brief period, he pauses the game and screams down the hallway to his mother, “Is it time to eat?”

“Yes dear. We're having tacos tonight, is that alright with you?” His mother continues working on the final preparations and hears Todd grunting and groaning as he walks out of his room.

“I guess so, I thought we were ordering pizza. You know I wanted pizza.” Todd sits down in a very displeased manner and begins to pick at the food in front of him.

“I'm sorry, we don't have the money, not with your brother's birthday coming up.” Nancy pours him a glass of soda and takes her seat across from him, “After Thanksgiving, we will go out to eat. How does that sound?” She smiles reassuringly at him and hopes for a positive response for a change.

“Yeah, I just don't see why Daniel's birthday is so important.” Todd takes a nibble off of his taco, pretending not to like it. Daniel looks down at his plate and tries to hide the hurt caused by his brother's comment. Nancy picks up on it and turns her attention to him.

“What's the matter son?”

“Nothing mom.” Daniel smiles at his mom, hoping to hide his emotions, “We can cancel my birthday if we need to.”

“What kind of 6 year old boy doesn't want to have his birthday?” Nancy feels the deep pain of sadness as she picks up on the underlying tone in his voice.

“That sounds like a plan.” Todd says with a smile and suddenly develops an appetite, “Then we can have pizza tomorrow night.” He looks at Daniel with a smug look on his face and wipes taco sauce from his chin.

To Be Continued...

Author's Note

This is the first draft and grammatical errors may be present and will be fixed during the review and editing process. Please keep that in mind as you read this project.