Flying through the night sky the little bird dove and lifted as it chased its frightened prey. The silvery moonlight danced on the bird’s petite yet intricate feathers, each moving and changing direction as the bird danced creating an endless pattern of reflected light. The deadly dances lasted hours upon hours throughout the night. Silence only penetrated by the barely audible snap of the birds claws closing around its unlucky midnight snack. As soon as the first licks of light peaked over the stagnant mountain tops did the bird’s plight come to an end. The little bird would disappear into the still dark forest to rest, only returning when the tired earth seemingly swallowed the sun giving way to the night. Each and every night Perry watched the little bird carry out its chaotic yet oddly peaceful ritual. His eyes would follow the bird but his mind would wander; meandering across his hopes and dreams, daily activities and most frequent of all, his mother. Perry had nothing better to do for his condition left him fully rested and awake with only an hour of sleep each night. The summer had always been and easier time for Perry to cope with his unusual sleeping habits. Day by day, week by week, month by month he followed the same schedule until the summer had finally run its course. After his mother went to bed promptly at nine pm Perry slept for his allotted one hour and would commence watching the little bird, his eyes glued to the action taking place outside. Perry’s mother, Colina, worked nearly nine hours a day slaving away at her tedious job at Hawkes Law Firm on the other side of town. The job was high paying in cash and stress. Colina’s only relief was sleep and the time she spent with her son each night before bed. Soon she would have to part with her son for the summer would be over in less than a week. At summers end , Perry would return to the city to live with his father and attend school. He had been selected to attend a K-12 charter school. The long school hours followed by dangerous amounts of homework kept Perry busy well into the night. Unlike his mother, who he would see at schedule times, Perry’s father was never home. He could be gone on business’ trips for weeks on end only to return while Perry was at school. By the time he arrived home, another note would be plastered to the refrigerator giving another excuse for his absence. Perry was glad his birthday was at beginning of summer, sparing him a lonely evening. Despite all of this, he loved having the house all to himself and was completely capable of managing his survival when forced to live without his mother. But something had changed this summer between Perry and his mother. She was becoming increasingly distant, opting to go to bed earlier and earlier every night. He could see the mournful way she looked at him and had heard her crying to herself multiple times throughout the summer. Perry feared that he was becoming a burden to her already demanding lifestyle. As much as it saddened him he believed that his departure to the city would allow his mother to return to her usual tired yet still giddy self. Colina was tired. So very tired. Physically, mentally, spiritually. She couldn’t see any direction or purpose in her life and she knew that she was failing her son. She wasn’t blind and saw how her son longingly glanced at her, begging for her to be responsive, but she could only look away. Colina supposed she was unfit to be a mother and would not ruin her son any more than she already had. Perry was the only thing tethering her to worldly life and even that bond was beginning to tear apart. She didn’t know how much longer she could go on for. But the summer was not over yet and both Perry and Colina had at least one more night, Colinas Birthday, to make up for lost time or at least façade their happiness together.
It was quarter of seven and Perry was ecstatic. He wanted everything to be perfect when his other arrived home and they could celebrate Colinas birthday together. Decorations were up, the cake was baked and frosted and her favorite television series- The Facts of Life- was queued up set on a marathon. Even Perry’s mysterious father had left a voice message wishing Colina a happy day. All that was left to do was wait for his mother to come home.
Submitted March 04, 2015 at 03:35AM by Storyteller12345 http://ift.tt/1DHEOj6 ShortStoriesCritique
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