Lights of My Life

"Horses, free to be — to one day, fly, without worry." A young woman read. "This is a good book." She pats it on her lap then onto her chair. "Now, lets get you two tucked in."

The woman pulled back the blankets for her children and they hopped and snuggled in. "Tomorrow's a big day. I'd appreciate it if you two behave yourselves. We're going to play a game tomorrow, and it'll be whoever can be quietest the longest." The children nodded and she kissed them on their foreheads.

"Goodnight, babies."

"Goo-night." They rolled over to their sides and watched their mother walk away. The old house creaked with each step. She closed the door just enough for the light outside to peer into the small, dark room.

The windows were left open. The cool breeze smelled like the cherry pies downstairs. Two small, black dresses hung outside the wardrobes, swaying a little with the wind.

Tomorrow will be a long day. And it may rain.

Come morning, the children wiggled awake. They both slid out from under their blankets and stretched. Smiles formed on their faces, for a fresh new day has arrived. They jump up and around on their beds, giggling at each other each time one of them plopped down on their backs. The girl jumped onto her knees and lept to the floor. The brother followed her, and they wobbled and hurried to their mothers room.  "Mum!" "Mommy!" Their first instinct is to jump on her neatly made bed. They ran to it and began to pull up on it, climbing toward the edge for a better grip. Their mother came out from behind her wardrobe. "Nuh-uh." She said, waving her finger and other hand holding a beauitful black, long-sleeve turtleneck dress. Her particular fashion. The children let go and slid down the bedside. She made a silly face to her kids and they giggled. "Where's your outfits?" Their mother asked, raising her arms up to her shoulders. The two littles looked up to her and back to each other, smiled and raced back to their rooms. The tallest jumped up to snatch the raven velvet clothes. And ran back to their mom. "Ah, there they are. Good job!"  She helped them dress. "So, you two be good today. Today will be a long day, but we'll play a game. Do you remember what game?" They shook their heads. "The quiet game..." She put her index finger to her lips, whispering "...shhhh. Whoever's the quietest, gets a treat tonight. When we get back home you can have whatever you want. Ok? And we can watch your favorite movies." The two looked to each other thrilled. "Yeay!" They both yelled happily. "Ok! Let's get to the kitchen quick! And get the car packed and ready." The children and their mother rushed downtairs and had everything prepared to go.

A few hours pass, the smell of pine trees came through the air vents of the car. Fog covered the windows and the children colored them. They drew smilies, snowmen, squigglies and stars. The car went left and pulled into a driveway, passed a gate, and became camouflaged with the lot of snow. The car turned off and the locks clicked. The mother unbuckled, breathed four by four, and got out. She opened her kids doors and unbuckled them out. Closed the doors, she opened her hands, and the children held them tight. Up at the top of a hill they climbed, sat a mahogany box surrounded by a near two dozen people. These people wore a variety of nice, black dresses and suits. Some held umbrellas, one wore white and held a book. As they approached the familiar faces, the elders, the adults, and a few who too, held children, gathered around. Some tried to smile, some cried, many sniffles and much coughing was heard. An older woman, maybe in her late 60's met closer to this little family, three. She handed the mother a small brown, paper box. The older womans breath shallowed and her voice shook. "I'm sorry for your loss." Mother smiled a little and held the womans shoulder.

"Is the grama ok?" Her little boy asked as the older woman walked away.

"She's just sad sweetheart. Sometimes, when you love someone, and grow up together, and you make a lot of memories and live through a lot together. Sometimes.... who you love passes away. They get sick or they get older and they die. It's how it is. The ones who leave, move on, they go somewhere high in the clouds. Where they are happier, stronger, and young." Her daughter stared into the gloomy sky, searching for something. "Who went to the clouds?" She asked. Their mom smiled, a tear came down her cheek. "Your great grandpa is up there. He's with two of my friends now." "Are they ok, too?" Her son wondered, confused. She laughed a little, "Yes. Yes, they're okay. They're so happy. They're safe." She brought her littles closer to her. "Okay. Then, that's good." Her son replied. Her children wrapped their arms around her legs and hugged her as tight as they could.

The afternoon came around, and everyone was now inside a small building. Everyone visited with each other. Some people smiled, some laughed, some cried. Each of them told stories of their own about grandpa; dad; friend. On some tables there served were cheeses and crackers, casseroles and garlic breads. The smell of food alerted the childrens stomachs. They lined up for all the things they desired. Their mother helped them dish up the warm foods and recieved cups of sweet juices. She soon sat her children at a cluttered table by another kid. The two made a mess on their dresses as they ate the amazing food. The kid next to them was on his phone. Doodles were on the paper table cloth drawn with pen. Abstract art and stickfigures were all on his side of the table, and a lot of the images were quite decent. Some were of horses, running wild and free, and some were of cowboys, roping in other horses, steering cattle, and one small drawing was of an American flag.  "Hi." The two smiled to the boy. Their faces covered in red sauce and their lips purple from juice. "I'm LJ." He smiles big and sits on his knees. "Hi LJ. I'm Jason." The boy smiles back. "This is my sister, Monti. She draws sometimes." LJ said, pointing to her. "You know. We really like horses." Little LJ spoke again, leaning onto the table. "What are you drawing right now?"  "I'm drawing you guys."  "Us?" LJ got excited. And shrugged, "That's okay." He leaned back, crossing his arms. Jason laughed.  The children's mom came by to check on them, she put her head between them. "WWhat'ss goin on here?" The two looked up at her. "Jason's drawing us!"  "Is that so. Do you guys want your treats since you've been so good today?"

Monti nodded. "Nah, that's okay." LJ replied, watching Jason draw.

"Okay then. Let's get you something  Monti." She held out her hand and Monti hopped off the chair. They walked over to the long tables to meet a variety of goodies. They all smelled different and looked different from each other. The little girl peaked over the edge and pointed. Her mom picked up the plate, "You want this one?"  "Yeah!" Her little voice spoke, she clapped her hands together. Her mom handed her a fork with the plate of devils food cake. "Ok. Now take it carefully to the table, there." She bowed and pointed out to the table. Her little girl saw and quickly walked over there. Monti got super excited over her very own slice of chocolate cake. It didn't matter if she was happy or sad before. She got it and now she's fallen in love. The evidence on her face proclaimed the delight she'd have with every bite.

(To my future littles: LJ and Monti. I don't know you, and yet you're the loves of my life already. I can't wait to one day, finally meet you two. ♡)