A Tale To Tell

Story of a child's love for his mother.

      Infinite mothers tell of their love for their children. Even the concept of a mother’s love is a profound force. But in this bond, a child’s love for their mother is just as strong.

     There was a young boy named Josh. He had grown up with next to nothing. He was the youngest of three, and with an alcoholic father, Josh’s mother had quite a struggle raising three kids. He had always admired the way she carried herself with grace and class, and she was an amazing mother. No matter how stressed she was sometimes, they could always confide in her comforting eyes. She would often tell scary stories all night long. Sometimes, even on a school night, they would get lost in tales about the spirits of African slaves and dead swamis and then everyone would wake up late the next morning and the battle for the bathroom would begin.  

     She really knew how to brighten a sad situation. Every so often, they would have little house-parties, just the four of them, where there was always loud singing that potentially scared the neighbors. The silver lining to their lives was made of small moments that made them forget that their father was never at home, and even when he was, they’d wish he wasn’t.

     At the age of eighteen, Josh came to realize that things change as do people. He had devoted his childhood to making sure his mother was never lonely. Although the pull of adolescent deviancy took its toll on their relationship, he still tried. As he began to mature, he started realizing changes in his mother. She moved slower, she couldn’t get up as easily, and she appeared to be a bit fragile as she aged gracefully. A cold shiver of reality raged its way up his spine as he could suddenly see that he may not have her someday. He had always thought that he could handle grief, but he never thought about losing his mother. He just had to make sure that she was as happy as could be for the rest of her life.

     He introduced her to a very unusual kind of music. There were flutes and pipes, whistles and orchestras, vocals and instrumentals. Some songs were the jolliest tunes she had ever heard, and some took her on endless mental adventures. He had made many compact disks with the best songs he could find. The lyrics told stories of tragic loves and ancient quests as the musical notes painted the scenes. He procured a list of the saddest movies he could find and would often have movie-nights where she made the best popcorn ever. There was always a little too much salt, but he loved it no other way.

     As time passed, her grey-headed crown of beauty made itself more noticeable. But she always held a warm smile, falsely reassuring her children that she would never leave their side.

     One Saturday night, Josh had been drinking all night, trying in vain to drown his sorrows. His mind was almost completely engulfed in thought when he realized that, as of late, he’d been spending less time with his mom. Maybe it was hard for him to grasp the thought that she was going with time. He knew that he had been neglecting her, he was barely ever at home, and they rarely ever watched sad movies together anymore. He abruptly got up and, without saying a word to his associates, walked right out of the bar as if he had been run over by an epiphany.

     He had a twenty-minute walk to get to his house from the bar, but the road seemed to have been moving with him and he felt like he might never get home to his mother. The poorly lit street was dead silent, and he paced towards his home as the hairs on the back of his neck stood erect. He was just about five houses away from his and, with home in sight, he walked faster. Abruptly, he came to a stop at the glimpse of a shadow. There was someone behind, maybe they had pulled behind him from a side street.

     As he turned, before he could place the face, he felt a sharp agony piercing through his soul, coming in from his gut. Drifting in and out of consciousness as liquid pain poured out of him, he could feel his pockets being emptied. Then it was over. The robber was gone and Josh sat there, leaning against a wall, baring infinite pain but holding no strength to show it. He began thinking of his mother. She was his best friend and he was hers, they told each other everything, and he harassed her constantly. Who would she talk to? Who would annoy her? Who would play music for her? His mind swirled through a million memories as he waited to die, just for the pain to stop.

     She couldn’t believe it at first. It couldn’t possibly be true. How could it. Sweet was the absence of reality before the truth kicked in. “No. Please, no don’t leave me.” Pain, fear, rage and many more emotions flowed into her and mixed like dangerous chemicals. She had always thought and hoped that she would die before any of her children. And she wished she had. It had been someone with whom he played as a child, a friend. The utter betrayal, added to the loss, made the world seem to be a place not worth living in. And was that it? Was that all she had left? She had a few songs that held him to her. She missed the way he sang, crazy and jolly like he was on stage. She would treasure every bad note. She would hold on to every untouchable moment.    

Author's Note

I've been trying a lot of new thing with this one. So feedback is greatly appreciated.

Reviews

[Usman Muhammad]

Most important thing is the message you have conveyed through this story.
The relation you established between him and his mother is very touching.
You have a nice way of playing with words and I admire you for that.
Well done.
From your profile, it seems you are a poet and maybe this is your first attempt on short story.
You should try writing short stories more and more. You are very good at it.

[Kristan A. Mohammed]

Thanks a lot for your interpretation. If you liked this, then you child check out Arms Length which is mixed with poems and stories. It's not come yet tho. And I'll definitely be checking out your work cause apparently you have taste.

[Usman Muhammad]

Yeah, I will soon check it out. Thanks for recommendation