The Awakening

Walking quietly down the aisle, surrounded by people dressed in black, 5 year old Asha sat two pews back from the aitar, confused by what was taking place she sat alongside her mother who steadily began wiping tears from her melancholy eyes. Asha watched her baby brother sleep, so peaceful,  so innocent, nothing could disturb his soft slumber. The preist rose,his elegant silk robes gliding down from the soft cushioned chair unto the floor. Asha, jerking her attention away from her younger brother, she focused onto the priests gravely voice. Straining to hear over the soft mummers and weary cries of gries. She could only catch a few words, the one that stood out the most was , death, why was he talking about it? Who had died? She pulled at her mother's sleeve questioningly "Mama" she whispered with wonder stirring in her voice. Glancing down Asha's mother looked into her bright blue eyes , "What is it my child?" "Where's papa?" Asha searched the crowd for her father. Full of grief Asha's mother simply turned away and shook her head, "papa has gone away, he shall never return."

-

Asha jerked awake,sitting up in her bed she shivered away the sad dream she'd had. glancing around wearily as she thought. This had been the second dream she'd had this week that concerned her father. She wondered if the dreams meant anything. "As if. . " She muttered sarcastically. 

She laid back down, tossing and turning, she couldn't seem to get comfortable. The bed was comfortable enough,but her thoughts keep roaming constantly. Asha closed her eyes and let her thoughts shuffle through her mind. After awhile they settles on her mother, as strong as she was, she knew her mother still missed her father, what wife wouldn't miss her husband? The fact that Asha's mother never wanted to talk about her father showed just how much the pain of him having died pained her. How much longer could she hold on? Asha knew her mother was reaching a breaking point and it worried her each time she thought about it.  Unfortunately  her mother's behavior had started to change, she was becoming increasingly distant , always looking off into space during tasks when she should've been paying attention. Asha had continuously blowed it over, thinking her mother was just so busy at work that some things were stressing her out and she was just distracted.

Recently, things seemed different, Asha's mother had taken to a bad mood, always yelling and throwing fits, she lost her temper quite often. Asha was beginning to wonder if something was truly wrong with her. Settling back against her pillows, she shook her head sadly, she was 16, with so many responsibilities, track, art, and having to watch her little brother she had a full loud to carry upon her back. 

For Asha, taking care of her baby brother Aiden was becoming more of a challenge. He wasn't a particularly difficult child, Aiden was just . . . different. Most children would run and play laugh and tell jokes. Aiden did none of these things, he couldn't speak at all, which made him one of the loneliest children in the fifth grade.

It saddened Asha when she thought of the way her family was. each member was disconnected from the rest, bust she knew that she was the glue that held them all together and nothing, absolutely nothing could melt her down.