Great Compromise

A single mother fast asleep in her comfortable bed is annoyed by her alarm clock and hides under the covers as the clock continues to beep. Although she wakes to a sunny day she knows she has a lot to do as today is monday and her schedule is overwhelmingly full. She finally rolls over to turn the alarm off and she notices it's 5:55 am. Time to wake her son up for school. As she goes into the bathroom to get herself together she yells "Kenny, time for school..get up” she receives no reply. She sits on the toilet as she brushes her teeth and yells again "Kenny, you're gonna be late for school, hurry up before you make me late again too." Still no answer. She rises off the toilet, pulls her shorts up, straightens her hair and thinks to herself this boy is gonna be the death of her. She thinks about the night before they had movie night as a tradition on sundays. She introduced her 13 year old son to the Back To The Future series and he was fascinated by the concept of time travel as it is displayed in the movie series. She spits into the sink and gurgles with water then returns to her room to get dressed and begin her Monday. She leaves her bedroom and walks down the hall to her son's room because she still doesn't hear him up. Kenny, her 13 year old son is starting to get on her nerves. Agitated and frustrated she walks over to his room and gently but angrily knocks at the door. Still there is no answer. She knocks again and presses her ear to the door. Her gentle knocks are responded with silence. She knocks again and she waits by the door. Waiting for an answer from her son she begins to worry. Her mind begins to wonder. “Is he asleep in the room? If he is still asleep, he needs to wake up so he isnt late for school.”

Getting angry now the woman barges in the room. Startled, shocked and afraid she sees her son sitting in the corner with his knees touching his chest, naked staring at the wall. The mother walks over to him, are you okay? Her voice shakes. She can't breathe. She says again. Are you okay? She taps his shoulder and he immediately jumps up from his trance like state. Startled. He kisses and hugs his mom like he hasn't seen her in years and expresses his love for her. He tells her not to leave him again. Misunderstood and afraid she says she didn't go anywhere. He says back to her as he looks deep into her eyes and says “But I did.”

The mother, now in the car, drives her silent son to school. Along the way the boy stares out the window as if reminiscing about a past life. Light pole after light pole filled with “Missing Child” posters. The mother begins to feel uneasy as she looks over at her only son. Wondering to herself “what happened to her son this morning?” He wasn't like his usual self. He was now quiet and very sluggish. She swerves the car to make the next right turn and pulls into a Chick Fil A driveway. Looking over at her son waiting for a reaction she receives nothing. No smile, no laugh, nothing. Now very concerned she pulls the car over and says “Kenny? You know you don't have to have any secrets with me. Whatever happens I will always love you. You're all I got.” She smiles and waits for him to look over at her. He turns to face his mother and says “I think it was a dream but it felt so real.” Confused and looking for understanding she responds “What was a dream?” His eyes begin to tear up as he replies “the past 21 years”.