The life that wasn't lived

He could feel shivers running through his spine. This was it; he’d find out sooner or later. Hale ran back and forth until, his phone started ringing, “hello, hello, yes this is him. “His fingers got weak and pouring in sweat he held the phone, yes! he jumped in excitement I got in! I got in! He looked at the clock and realized everyone was still at work. Hed have to run to the market and tell his parents there. His Grandfather owned a little market area in a small village close by. It wasn’t too big but it paid dues. Hale couldn’t wait to tell his family the big news. His family had struggled so much, all he wanted was to help bring them out of poverty once and for all. When he finally got to the village everyone was packing up the rest of their product and going back home. A lady was struggling to pick up a bag of her morning baked blueberry and banana bread muffins that didn't get sold. “Hi, I can help with that, he picked up the bag and placed it in her wagon, you have a very lovely night she said quietly while handing him a basket with 3 banana bread and one blueberry muffin. Everyone was so generous, even though half the people there were struggling to make ends meet, they helped each other. He finally got to the market his mom mumbling in the back while sweeping, he realized the market looked emptier than usual. He was concerned but immediately assumed they had sold out of what they had for the day. Today they had specials on cheese. They didn’t normally just sell cheese but when they couldn’t afford too much product for their market they bought bulk amounts of any cheese, the farmers where desperate to get rid of. Good day family, He said with a faint smile. They all looked up and smiled. When is it not, his father quietly whispered. He placed his hand on his head and walked off. Looking over at mom her expression completely changed, mom is everything ok, he asks. We don’t sell anything anymore. No one wants cheese. The bills are too high, we can't go on like this, she whispered He could hear his mother's voice break while she spoke. Hale walked a mile to tell them the good news and instead was filled with horrifying news. He didn’t know. His parents always told him they were okay. He was out of time. All the effort to get into medical school to give his family a better life had crumbled to pieces. He turned away from his mom, took a deep breath and grabbed his mother's cold shaky hands. Mom, He carefully spoke, we have a new plan. We're leaving this place. The school that called me today, accepted me, I'm in, I can work before and after my classes. It provides an apartment for the school semester, You and father could leave with me, we can live better. Mother hugged him so tight, her heart beating fast, he could tell she was really worried about everything. But genuinely felt happy for him. I'm so proud of you son. Telling father will be hard, it'll be okay, because of you, mother softly spoke. Moving day was the hardest imagine living somewhere your whole life and packing up only what is dearest to you. Hales parents couldn’t decide whether to leave or take so many of their things. Soon they decided and on they went. Hale luckily had enough money saved for a moving van. The entire ride there hales mom slept, as for his father, he drove the whole way. He seemed to think he owes his son for all the help Hes giving him. Hale however didn’t like seeing his family suffer, he wasn’t counting any favors and he certainly didn’t want to feel praised for it. They arrived at the apartment. Hale wondered whether to sleep in the living area or the bedroom. His parents needed their space. It couldn’t be the worst thing ever. That first day his father stayed up all night circling any job opportunities he could get on the paper. Hale couldn’t set his mind straight all night, he needed to help his parents succeed. While hale went to school, his father worked in a kitchen, taking the trash out and washing the dishes, His mother worked at a bakery, rolling dough all day. Late nights he wondered what had gone wrong, he worked day and night cooking in the same kitchen his father worked at. Had he not asked for more extensions on assignments he wouldn’t have even made it this far in school. Day by day and night by night they worked. One day he came back to his apartment and found his mother crying in the kitchen floor. The house phone was lying next to her, He hurriedly picked the phone up, he had this bad feeling deep in his gut, “Hello, who is this,” Hi, were calling in regard to Robert, we had to get him to the hospital, he had a heart attack at work.” He took a deep breathe “Quickly got all the information he needed and took his mother and rushed out. Once they arrived at the hospital, the doctor took a while to come out and explain what was going on, His mother, shaking in her chair, he comforted her. She had been working so hard to get back on her feet with his father, she hadn't realized he had also been working too hard. His body was weak, no one had the health to go through something like this. The nurse called his mother over and took her in to see him. When she came out her eyes big and red, as sweet as she was, when she spoke her voice had a harsh sound to it. When she walked over to me, she let the words out, “Hes gone, they couldn’t save him, the whole world crushing on them. They finally leave the hospital after a couple hours of talking to the doctor who worked on his father, and not having the energy or will to do anything but wait until nightmare is over. To wake up and realize it wasn’t real. His father was his hero, his mother's world. How could she ever be okay after this? The long working nights after his father's death turned into triple. His mother fell into a deep depression and wouldn’t eat, wouldn’t drink, wouldn't even stay awake long enough to finish telling her to eat. As worried as he was about his mother, he had also received a call from his school, they would be reevaluating his scholarships after all he had been missing a lot to catch up on bills and payments for the funeral expenses. One day when he returned from school, he went into his mother's bedroom and realized she wasn’t there, he knocked on the bathroom door, he noticed the light was on, she had to be in there, when she didn’t answer after a couple knocks, he started to worry more, Hale realized the only way to open the door if no one was answering and the door was locked, was to open it with a something flat, to fit into the lock, he quickly grabbed a penny from his counter, when he turned the knob, the door was heavy to push open, noticing feet on the floor ,he squeezed right thru, His mom was unconscious, he couldn’t blame himself for not being around her since he had to work to provide for the both of them. Waiting at the hospital was nerve wrecking people coming and going while he sat there, after hours, he’d pace back and forth, any signal of a doctor coming his way he’d stand up immediately none came thru, until finally a doctor did stop. The doctor broke the news his mom had gone too long without food or water. They needed to keep her at the hospital to give her fluids and get her to a better state. The doctor told him shed be out the rest of the day since they had given her medicine to treat her depression as well as fluids in her iv. He walked back to his apartment since he had no money for a bus or a taxi, the whole way, he couldn’t stop thinking how bad life got for them so fast, wondering what more he could do to save his mom, since he couldn’t give his father what he deserved, his family had worked so hard all their life, and all they had ever gotten was more grief and poverty. He knew that even all the money in the world wouldn’t fix anything nor would it, make their life better. They had already lost his father, and his mother wouldn’t last any longer if he didn’t help her. He got back to his apartment feeling hungry, angry, tired and anxiously worried. “BBBBBRRRRRINNNNNNNNGGGGGG” Hale opened his eyes, realizing he had fallen asleep, his phone continued ringing until he ran into the kitchen and answered. The hospital was calling about his mom, she had passed away in her sleep that night. The doctors couldn’t understand why, they had done everything in their power to get her healthy, however she was too ill to save. He was alone. He couldn’t help his parents have the life they deserved, if his parents couldn’t have a well-deserved future, why could he. With no hopes or dreams. Only sorrow and dismay. Hale then woke up in a puddle of sweat his clothes soaked beyond belief, it was all a nightmare, still in his village, he released a long thankful breath, as he noticed his mother and father were still alive and well. Dawn it was, he went back to bed hoping for a better dream and a better life.