Free From – Chapter 6 – July 6th

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 6, 2021

Psalm 68:5-6, ‘A father to the fatherless, a defender to the widows, is God in His holy dwelling. God sets the lonely in families, He leads out the prisoners with singing; but the rebellious live in a sun-scorched land.’ (NIV)

Chapter 6

He glanced down at the small child who was draped across his lap like a rag doll. His gaze lingered as he watched a drama play across the interior of the boy’s eyelids. They moved like an action movie, and his lips twitched, and every so often, his body shuddered with a sob or a sigh. He was having a sword fight with a demon only he could see, or sadly, maybe it was with a parent. Legend knew all about that although he had blocked those memories pretty successfully over the years. At least he knew the kid was still alive as he slept the sleep of the dead; you know, with all his movement and noises.
The sun had crawled behind the buildings, surely hiding in the alleys like all the other hot-headed thugs would be this time of day. It hadn’t cooled anything off if that’s what you were thinking, he muttered to himself. The air was so thick it clung to his skin, reminded him of chunks of butter refusing to be churned. He had stared down every angle of the walks and streets around him for hours, summoning a caring parent with his imagination who would recognize the small heap on his lap, and care so much for the boy, they’d accuse him of snatching their child and threaten to haul him off to the police. That is, as soon as they got their son home to a warm meal and a hot bath and a soft bed. He’d take it as long as the road led to a home for this boy.
What was he going to do with the kid, he began to ponder? It actually was becoming a concern. Much earlier in the heat of the sun-scorched sidewalk, when he had raced to the rescue of said child, he never imagined he would still be toying with his hair, guessing his nightmares and worrying someone wouldn’t come for him. But the more he worried about it, the more distressed he became, uneasy someone would come. If that person hadn’t come before now there was an intolerant reason why, and that usually meant, drinking and drugs, or trouble, or simply, they didn’t care enough to notice the kid was missing, or perhaps sleeping off a week-long bender. All those negatives would never add up to anything positive no matter how one spun the bottle.
The little boy stirred and whimpered and shrunk even smaller on his lap. Legend felt stymied. He couldn’t even care for himself well; how could he care for a child? He hadn’t eaten in days and that wasn’t just an accident; that happened more times than it didn’t happen. He didn’t bathe except in city sinks and, it embarrassed him to say it aloud, town fountains. Nothing like a dry drunk; you stopped caring. Concern for what people thought dried up with the booze, but the need still coursed through the veins, burning like a forest fire, the need for acceptance and approval as strong as the withdrawals that rattle one’s cage. One thing, though; yup, Legend realized, he hadn’t thought about himself once, not once had he been depressed due to his own plight since he’d noticed…
Suddenly, his little champ sat straight up, almost hitting Legend in the nose with his head. A howl escaped from the little guy’s lips but only momentarily until he looked around, glancing up at Legend’s face. Legend could see recognition dawn; the boy remembered him, falling silent. He blinked and his eyes were the size of golden tokens, but a knife shot through Legend’s heart. Now that the sun had crawled into hiding for another day, and he no longer had to squint, he realized the eyes staring back at him were his eyes, electric blue, so electric blue, it hurt to look into them, so blue they seemed fake. A bittersweet reminder of the piercing blue eyes of his daughter years upon years ago hung like heat around his head.
Just then, he felt the threadbare arms of the little boy wrap around his neck, and his face burrowed in his chest. Tiny whimpers reached his ears as he began to shake. Awkwardly, Legend patted his back and stroked his hair. It had been a long time since he had cared for a child, but the memories were flooding in like a dam had been released.

To Be Continued…