~Home is where you make it ~ LF2021

James pulled the warm blankets over his small 8 year old body up to his neck. They were a bit dusty from being unused for who knows how long. He hugged the teddy bear that he had found on the bed too. It was soft and brown and half the size of him. It's face bore the forlorn look of many nights spent alone. He wondered how many kisses the fuzzy nose had felt, and how many secrets the worn ears had heard before it had been left behind.
The rest of the room had been undisturbed when James had opened the door and claimed this room as his...just for awhile. They never stayed long in one place. It was too dangerous. And though James had found many rooms similar to this one, this is the first night he actually felt something that he might call home.
He heard the muffled voices of the grown ups talking downstairs. Mostly he heard his mother , her voice raising in pitch against his uncle.
"It's too soon to make the trek. We could hold out another week at least. Give James time to rest up before we go." He heard her say loud and clear.
"Nora, you can't baby him anymore. There's no place in this world for that now." Uncle Max was stern. James didn't like it when they argued. He tried to be good. He tried to keep up no matter how much they walked. But he was so tired.
Max raised his voice louder ...
"The night's are getting too cold. If we wait we could get caught up in the frost and then what? We can't put everyone in jeopardy. We have to make the trip south tomorrow ." And with that, he slammed his fist on the table.
There were mumblings of agreement within the rest of the group. James heard his mother sigh in defeat. " Ok, I'll go tell him."
Her soft footsteps barely creaked the floorboards of the old staircase. Opening the door to the small bedroom, she saw James, wide eyed, clutching the old stuffed toy.
She knew he had overheard, and he knew what she was going to say. So she hugged him tight and whispered in his ear instead, " My big brave boy, I know you can do this."
"Momma," James whispered back..."When will we have a house we can stay in, and not leave? People used to do that didn't they? "
Nora briefly smiled at her son, "Someday buddy, when it's safe again." Then her face changed to look worried and concerned. James knew by now, even at his young age, not to ask anymore questions when momma looked worried.
She kissed him gently on the forehead, and quickly left the room.
He watched the last sliver of light disappear as she closed the door behind her. He didn't want to walk more just yet. His legs hurt. His feet were blistered from the shoes that his momma found in another house but that didn't fit quite right. As he looked around the darkness of the room, his eyes adjusted and focussed on everything the previous child had left behind.
There was a shelf of books, a desk and chair , some pictures on the walls of dragons and odd looking creatures and people he couldn't identify.
He wanted to look at the books. Just the pictures. He could read a few words but not many. He wanted to know stories of the time before. He was so little when the falling happened that he knew almost nothing about life beforehand. Momma wouldn't talk about it. She said it was better to not know, so he wouldn't miss anything and be sad. But he was sad.
He remembered being little and momma smiling at him all the time, and laughing at the silly little things he did. But that was the only happy memory from before. Momma doesn't laugh anymore.
He knew he should be sleeping, but he was anxious. Carefully he climbed out of bed and walked over to the window. The harvest moon was glowing bright in the sky. If he opened it just enough to illuminate the room, but not enough to raise suspicion should he be seen from anyone outside, he could explore his surroundings a bit. Leaning on a large cushion that covered a big wooden box, he carefully opened the window frame just a bit, enough that he could clearly see everything in the room now.
He noticed that the box under the cushion had a latch, that he easily opened.
The cushion fell backwards towards the window, as James cautiously opened the lid. The light from outside was partially blocked, but he could still see that the window box was full of many different things.
Pictures, toys, books...papers of drawings, clothing, and shoes! So many shoes!
He picked up a picture and tried in the darkness to analyze the people it portrayed. There were two grownups, and one boy, a bit bigger than he was, but not much. They looked happy. Smiling. Their clothes did not look dirty or torn. They didn't look hungry. James had seen pictures of other people before, but not many. Momma said people stopped using paper pictures long before he was born. When the falling happened, all the other pictures disappeared .
He rummaged through the shoes and found a bright blue pair with matching laces. He slid the worn out socks off his feet and tried them on. His blisters stung a bit, but the new shoes fit better than the old ones.There was a red pair as well. He decided he wanted both. He closed the lid, and set his sights elsewhere.
Carefully crawling across the floor to the closet, he reached up and turned the knob slowly, hoping the door wouldn't squeak when it opened.
Inside was almost empty. .but for a few clothes and much to the delight of James, a backpack. A bigger one than his too!
He grabbed the pack and went to work.
His soiled clothes he swapped out for those he found in the closet. There were extra socks and two sweaters. He stuffed those into the backpack with the red shoes. Next, he took everything out of his small pack and put it into the bigger one. Still lots of room inside.
He looked over at the bookshelf. He knew it was not practical to carry books....but maybe just one, with lots of pictures.
He slid a thin book down inside behind the clothing. Still plenty of room. From inside the window box, he chose a small toy green car. He had seen many of these while walking, but none of them moved anymore.
And lastly, he looked over at the bed....
The bear was staring at him, packing up things that didn't belong to him. Was it sad? Upset to be left behind when the other boy left without it? Or worse?
James pulled one of the sweaters out of the pack, and carefully wrapped the bear with it, then stuffed it all back in.
Surprisingly the pack was still not full. But he was little, and he knew it would get heavy the more he walked. If they found food on the way, Uncle Max expected him to carry his own.
He looked at the bed one more time and decided that one of the blankets was perfect to bring as well. It was fuzzy and warm. He rolled it up like he had seen the grownups do. And using the laces from his old, too small shoes, tied the blanket onto his newfound backpack. Now he wouldn't have to share with Momma when they were outside.
There were no more voices beneath him and he was tired now. Crawling back under the covers, sleep came quickly.

(Continued next post)

When James awoke, his toes were touching the end of the bed. He was still sore and tired from the journey here.
He heard no sound downstairs, or outside. Only silence. The sun was shining in the window, through the much faded curtains ,and flecks of dust glinted with morning light while floating through the air.
It took him a few minutes to reorientate himself and his whereabouts.
Home.
He searched for it for so many years.
He had walked so far away, with the grownups to be safe. Away from the dangers of those that remained after the falling. But the danger had passed long ago, and so had Momma and Uncle Max.
He opened the large rucksack that he had been carrying over a year....and unwrapped from a worn blanket, the old brown stuffed toy, barely intact , but still worthy of being a treasured keepsake. He placed it on the bed where he had found it many years ago. This is where it belonged. This is where he belonged. This is where one story ends, and a new one begins.

THE END

a reply to: AccessDenied

A lot of emotions and feelings came through out of your story.

Your ending; " He placed it on the bed where he had found it many years ago. This is where it belonged. This is where he belonged. This is where one story ends, and a new one begins. "

Nice.


Good Luck in the Contest!
Johnny

originally posted by: JohnnyAnonymous
a reply to: AccessDenied

A lot of emotions and feelings came through out of your story.

Your ending; " He placed it on the bed where he had found it many years ago. This is where it belonged. This is where he belonged. This is where one story ends, and a new one begins. "

Nice.


Good Luck in the Contest!
Johnny

Glad you enjoyed it.
James became a character in my mind and wouldn't let up till I told his story. For the record, my story is just for fun. Not an entry. I can't in good conscience enter a contest I chose the theme for. Unfair in my mind.

a reply to: AccessDenied

This is most excellent.

My husband and I have a friend named James who’s parents sent him to boarding school at a young age and your story reminded me of the loneliness he experienced. He is still a wounded soul as a adult. I know your story is not about a kid being sent to boarding school; it just brought his stories to the forefront of my mind.

This is a beautiful story. I really enjoyed it, because it had a flow that drew me into the story, and captured my attention. Wonderful. Just a suggestion....... in the future, go ahead and make hard paragraphs. It gives your eyes a place to rest and for your brain to take on the next section. That's a good thing. ;o) Well done!!!

a reply to: AccessDenied

a reply to: AccessDenied

What a wonderful story!

It is melancholic and intriguing. The reader lives the experience along with James, seeing and feeling as he does; empathising with his innocence and dismay. Good decision not explaining what the Falling was about, as it stimulates curiosity. The ending has closure of that dark past, yet hope for a brighter future. An emotional adventure, indeed.

Well done S&F

Thank you everyone for reading and for your kind words, despite the formatting glitch of my post.
James played on my mind for a couple of weeks just building himself up as a character, and nagging at me to write his story. I'm so glad it was well received as this genre is totally out of my comfort zone.

a reply to: AccessDenied

Good one! Got a little misty near the end!

originally posted by: oddscreenname
a reply to: AccessDenied

Good one! Got a little misty near the end!

❤

a reply to: AccessDenied

Very well written and evoked emotion in me, which if you knew me, does not easily happen.
Wish I had just a pinch of your talent!

originally posted by: Kreeate
a reply to: AccessDenied

Very well written and evoked emotion in me, which if you knew me, does not easily happen.
Wish I had just a pinch of your talent!

Thank you so much. Very sweet of you to say.

👌😊🌟 🚩

originally posted by: Compendium
👌😊🌟 🚩

Thank you for reading!

a reply to: AccessDenied

Loved that one and written well. It was easy to picture the scene and put yourself in his shoes.

originally posted by: merkins
a reply to: AccessDenied

Loved that one and written well. It was easy to picture the scene and put yourself in his shoes.

Thank you! I really tried to convey it that way.

A brilliant story, but I'd just like to ask: what exactly was "the falling"?

originally posted by: Moonstar7
A brilliant story, but I'd just like to ask: what exactly was "the falling"?

Left open for interpretation.