Free From – Chapter 21 – July 21st

I hope you will join me this month as we JOURNEY each day through our short story. It is about finding FREEDOM in the midst of all the captivating pieces in life that steal our peace which we need FREE FROM!

FREE FROM
July 21, 2021

Ezekiel 36:30-32, ‘”And I will multiply the fruit of your trees and the increase of your fields, so that you need never again bear the reproach of famine among the nations. Then you will remember your evil ways and your deeds that were not good; and you will loathe yourselves in your own sight, for your iniquities and abominations. Not for your sake do I do this,” says the Lord God, “let it be known to you. Be ashamed and confounded for your own ways, [O house of Israel]!”’ (NKJV)

Chapter 21

Nothing stung like betrayal. Legend couldn’t fathom another indictment one human could do to another that carried more of a life sentence with it than betrayal. He was done. Twice now. In a week, no less. Both instances, by the two people he trusted most in his entire life. He tore out of that drive like he had wings not wheels, the cloud of dirt and spraying rocks from his tires coming between he and the silhouette of Buck like a waterfall. He didn’t stop until he rolled into a liquor store parking lot across town, on the rough side of the tracks, where his roots once were planted by the railyard. A sob unearthed itself from his chest. He knew he’d never be any better than where he began. Legends die, and all that springs from that dirt, is ‘Once Upon a Time’ story beginnings and unhappy endings. Old habits die hard. Jack wasn’t gonna be a Gentleman tonight either.
He didn’t stop there. And not after the first DUI; he didn’t even brake. He paused after the second one, back-to-back offenses, but only briefly. Long enough to wonder where his kids were, the scent of Annie faded and almost forgotten. He worked odd jobs when he needed money for booze, and frequented alleys and public restrooms. He bathed in the ocean and showered and scrubbed his clothes at the outdoor beach baths typically meant for washing off the sand and tanning oils used by happy people. He endured the glares and snooty comments made under the breath of wealthy women, then winked and smiled at the kids they warned against the beach bum. He ate when he stopped drinking long enough for his stomach to begin to eat itself. He looked like a sewer rat and smelled like one too. He thought about the good man, the honorable legend, he had been, and questioned why he’d wasted so much time on decency. It cost far more than mere survival, a whole lot more, of everything, especially worth and trust. The chunk life had knocked out of his grasp was astronomically expensive.
One particular fall afternoon, when he had been arguing with the melancholy robe that lay at his feet, begging to be pulled on for internal warmth, he determined he needed to reach out to his children. He heard the sound of school bells and saw crossing guards helping students across intersections and into buses and schoolyards. He knew his were back in session too and suddenly the longing for them was so palatable, he felt like he could taste it, chew it up and swallow even. He parked blocks away so they wouldn’t see his truck in case he chickened out and made his way to the school they both attended. From a long way off, he watched as they each entered the playground, from separate doors, going in opposite directions from one another over their lunch-break. A sob startled him and he felt the memories trickle down his cheeks. He almost couldn’t recognize them. Breize had grown a foot it seemed, long and lithe and willowy, and she wore her friends and her anger like a shield. They swarmed around her and took her terseness like a compliment, it seemed, her classmates frantic to be in her circle. Legend could have sworn she looked his way once, that she saw him, her blue eyes frozen like ice. He buried his head, but out of curiosity then, had to follow Blayze.
The kid wandered the perimeter of the schoolyard, his fingers trailing behind him, tracing the fence. His head hung lower than Legend’s even, and he didn’t pause when some bigger kids came up behind him and began to mimic. Legend could just barely make out the taunts, and he wanted to run to his son and join his team, but the teasing was about him. Legend remembered all to well what that had been like, getting bullied and chanted about because of his loser dad with a chip on his shoulder and a flask in his pocket, having only the guts to settle his grievances with women and little kids. The tears were real now, like a pipe had broken and the water was spraying everywhere, and no one knew where the shutoff valve was kept.
“What’s up, Champ?” Legend had silently made his way close enough so when Blayze rounded the next bend, he could intercept him. At first, it was if he were an apparition and his son didn’t know him. His eyes were wild; his voice frantic. “Dad! You gotta get outta here! Go! Now! If someone sees you, they’ll tell Mom and she’ll call the cops. She’ll have you arrested, Dad. You gotta go. Promise me you’ll go, and you won’t come back!” Blayze turned his back to his dad and that hurt probably worse than the warnings. He ran as fast as he could away from where Legend stood, stunned by what he had just been told. Wait a minute. Annie steps out on him, has an affair, breaks his heart, and he is the one who might get arrested?! Something is terribly wrong with this picture!
Just then the group of boys who’d mocked his son strode through an opening in the fence, so intent on making sure they weren’t seen they were completely unaware of Legend standing nearby. Every pound of rage and resentment that had been building in Legend erupted like a volcano, spewing hot anger like lava. Walking right up to the gang leader, Legend grabbed the kid’s shirt, picking him up to eye level.
“You got a problem with me, kid? Seems like you did since you were telling my boy about it. Let’s you and me settle it here and now since it’s my battle, not his.” His eyes were wide with fear and the power broke something inside of Legend. He threw him to the ground like a piece of trash, and before he snapped, he turned and ran, as cowardly as everyone else he knew.

To Be Continued…