Epiphany

Upon first sight of the woman the child’s eyes became alight with fire. His usually moonlit world became bright. And although all the demons were still present, they were now easily recognized.

His new home seemed less intriguing to him. Balancing upon wheels in a group of its own kind the metal beast seemed somewhat mediocre to his home. All of the aluminum prisons were the same and he felt somewhat at a crossroad. The other house had some adventure at the very least, while this one had very little character. He could feel the heat when he touched the outside of the home, although it never felt hot. On many occasions the outside of the home was more appeasing to him than the inside.

While on the outside he could view the passersby with a watchful eye and feel as though he had some control over where they were going. To feel like he had some power in the world he was brought into. Often he would pretend to have magical powers, such as that to summon lightening or to read someone’s mind. All around the trailer there was refuse. The remnants of people who had been there previously and had not the decency to clean up the vile disgusting bodily fluids they had left after drunken nights in the town nearby.

A few days of daydreaming outside often left him feeling like he had to have more than what was provided to him. That almost always sent him into the house to observe the woman that had saved him.

She always seemed to be upbeat while not around the man. The happiness that she felt reflected in the general outlook of life of her son. No strange men had ever come to visit and spend the night with her and while he sometimes missed the company he was thankful for the privacy. Often she was over an ironing board that seemed so precariously balanced that he felt it might be inclined to fall eventually, but the woman always assured him that such a thing could never happen.

Singeing his skin the iron seemed to get hotter exponentially as he struggled to pull his hand away. Alas, he could not do so under his own will. The shock of the heat he had never felt before left him in a near panic state, and kept him from removing his hand.

Suddenly the pain lessened and although remnants of it remained, the original quantity of it had diminished. He began to cry. He had not been able to do so before but now he felt the draw to do so.

The sight of his savior forced him to stop. Her loving eyes stared into his soul, as he had done to her many times before. The feeling had always felt new to him, but this time the love he felt was different. A previously impotent feeling of satisfaction filled his tiny body, as he knew that his parents would be there always for him. They would always be present in his soul, when they weren’t always with him in body. And for the first time in his life, the pain stopped. The words he heard next are the first words he can remember his mother uttering to him. "Let’s get you some ice cream."

-Seth Martin