Friday, May 11, 2015
The final bell reverberated through the air at Lyons Academy. The last light rays sliced through the clouds like a warning. Wade waited across the field for me - his fists clenched, jaw tight - while a ring of students formed a wide circle around us on the grassy field, eyes wide, phones out, but nobody dared to intervene.
" Is this what you want, Kevin?" Wade said, shoulders twitching as if he could feel something was wrong.
"I've had enough of your crap," I snapped, stepping forward. Today, I'mma drop you on your ass! we all know you won't move unless Jackal does!"
That last part stung him. His eyes narrowed to small slits. He rushed me with a wild right hook. I slipped past and landed a quick one-two to his ugly face. Gasps rippled through the crowd as he fell on the grassy field face-first.
He wasn't expecting me to hit back. However, I wasn't the same Kevin anymore.
All the teasing, the being shoved into lockers daily, and all the silent walks home, while clutching my new and old bruises, I had kept this burden for far too long. Just so my mom wouldn't have another thing to worry about me.
But today, the right shoulder strap of my fifty-dollar backpack, the last one my father ever bought me, snapped. It would've never snapped had Wade never tried to take it from me. It was there and then that the burden I carried, which felt like a bowling ball, finally dropped and snapped.
Wade got up to a knee, his lip was busted, a red stream was going down his chin(close enough, welcome back Red Nile River). He got up and charged me again. I started winding up my uppercut to counter him as he got closer.
WHAM!!
He threw a left hook to my ribs; it stung a bit, and I felt myself wince and clench my teeth. Luckily, my uppercut landed right on his jaw, and we both stumbled over. I slowly rose to my feet, and that's when a sharp and loud whistle pierced the air and silenced all the jeering and chaos. The crowd cleared out immediately as staff and the one security guard came rushing in to break it up.
Wade was dragged away, still cursing under his breath. The heat of the battle over and the adrenaline dissipating, leaving me with my good ol' compadre, pain. I grab my backpack and head on to the office.
***
The duplex door creaked as I stepped in, my backpack slung one shoulder. Our place sat on the right half of a two-story duplex, with narrow stairs leading up to our bedrooms and a basement below that Mom kept locked most of the time.
Mom, Lisa Veyron, stood in the kitchen. Her uniform was wrinkled from working double shifts. Her crimson brown eyes looked straight into my soul.
"Kevin," she said. "What happened?"
"Nothing."
She walked closer. "Don't lie to me. The school done called me."
I flinched. "He started it."
Her voice raised, "I don't care who started it. This isn't you."
I raised my voice, "You don't know me like that! You're barely ever home!"
The lighting in the room flickered and shimmered off and on.
Her expression was shocked at the fact that I had raised my voice, but also a hint of concern.
"Kevin, calm down-"
"I tried so hard, Mom, for you! They wouldn't leave me alone! You think I asked to be different? I didn't sign up for any of this!" I yell as I cut her off.
I was expecting a good slap; unfortunately, what I saw next made me wish she had. Mom was clutching her chest like she couldn't breathe.
My angry expression faded. "Mom," I stepped towards her. "Hey Mom- What's wrong?"
She staggered.
Then dropped.
Lights out.
Blackout.
***
The Sirens wailed as the ambulance tore through Omaha streets. I sat beside her in the box, my hands trembling. The medics moved with urgency, speaking in calm and dire voices. Their voices got tuned out in my own terrified thoughts. "I can't lose you, not like this. I'm not ready to be an orphan".
We made it to the Urgent Care hospital, the back doors to the ambulance burst open, shouting, and many officials and techs rushed to my mom's side as she was getting rolled out on the stretcher. I was by her side, gripping her hand until they entered the ER. All at once, I felt a massive hand touch my shoulder. I turned back to see a security officer. He looked of Brazilian descent, his muscles bulging, and he was definitely not flexing.
His brown eyes stared calmly into mine. "You have to wait here while the nurses, techs, and surgeons do their magic."
"But my mom-"
"The security officer dropped to one knee so that he was now eye level with me, "What's your name, champ?"
"Kevin, Kevin Veyron."
"Alright, Kevin, my name is Tony, now I know how you feel, but right now we have our best people working to keep your mom stable. The best thing you can do to help your mom is pray".
"Pray? To what"
" To your god, the stars, whatever you believe in for her safety and return, but for now, I must guide you to the seats in the waiting room".
He took me to a room with several windows and many seats. The room itself was vacant, surprisingly. The walls were colored a sky blue, with numerous uplifting quotes about hope and the importance of never giving in to despair.
"Alright, one of the techs will come get you when your mom is stable. I have to go back".
As he left, I stared out into the afternoon sky filled with gray clouds as it lightly drizzled. I recalled the few times my mom prayed; she was out on the balcony, looking at the stars and the vast night sky. Her hands were together near her chest each time. I clasped my palms together 🤲 and looked up at the rainy, cloudy sky where only the moon was somewhat visible. I was at a loss; my mother never taught me how to pray and ask or even start to communicate with a higher being. However, my mom needed me, and I wasn't gonna let her down by some stupid excuse like not having experience. "Hey whoever or whatever is out there in the big stars and vast expanse of space its me Kevin Veyron, my mom is in the hospital and she is the hardest working person I know she raised a troublemaker like me through thick and thin she deserves a son or daughter more peaceful than me, its prolly cause I'm far from ordinary, but you know what I don't care", I begin to tear up. "I'll give up everything if it means I can be with her for just a little longer, please don't take away my light".
***
A few hours later...
"Young man"
I looked up to see a man in the whole surgeon fit with sky blue scrubs.
"She'll be alright, she just had a mild heart attack, luckily you called it in quick."
I sigh in relief
"Do you wish to see your mother?"
"Yes, I do."
We walk into the room, and I run to my mother's side. She gripped my hand as I held hers.
Her voice was tired and weak." Promise me... you'll stop fighting. That you'll stay outta trouble".
I could barely say the words. " I promise, I won't let this happen again, I'll do better."
She sighed in relief, "I love you, Kevin, times infinity," She said before she blacked out.
I looked out the window of her room and saw the red sunset sky slowly get consumed by the indigo-shaded night sky. That night, I made a promise, not just for ma, but for myself as well. No more recklessness. No more lashing out. I'd become strong not out of rage. I'd walk the right path no matter how bad it got in school.
Most importantly, no one would ever make me feel powerless again.
Later that same night, long after the doctors had left, Kevin passed out in a chair beside his mother's hospital bed. His breathing was so sound and peaceful.
Unlike his mother, Lisa stared at the ceiling, her thoughts spiraling. Her phone buzzed quietly in her pocket. She took it out, hesitating when she saw the caller ID. Jason
She answered the call, whispering not to wake Kevin.
"Why are you calling?"
"You know why," Jason replied calmly. "He awakened, didn't he?"
Lisa's silence was answer enough.
"I felt it too," he continued, "the Tao within him awakened, his pressure, if left unchecked, could easily unalive any of those that aren't awakened. The boy is loved by the Tao, Lisa. You can't keep holding him back."
Lisa's voice tightened. "He's just a kid."
"He's much more than that. There's a high chance he can be one of the seven. A warrior. An elemental child chosen to end all battles and save what remains of our realms."
"I don't care," she said, voice trembling. "He's my son, all I have left."
"The Tao favors him; one must not fight against the flow but rather go with it. We need him. His flow is of lightning, seeing how your heart stopped -
Lisa ended the phone call, and she glanced at Kevin, softly rubbing her hand across his smooth afro. His face looked so peaceful, too innocent for the life that was ahead of him.
Fate is cruel. And my son... he doesn't deserve to go down a path like ours.
Tears streamed down her face as she whispered," Oh, Leo, what do I do?
Nothing but silence returned her question.
Lisa gets out of bed and goes toward the window, looking at the vast night sky.
She clasped her palms together in a prayer.
"Oh, ancestors watch over my son, Kevin Leonardo Veyron, for his path will be full of hardships; may his path be smoother than mine or his father's, for we are to blame for trying to control his destiny. May he follow in the steps of the legendary Miyamoto Musashi. Allow him to see beyond the duality of good and evil and see the harmony that flows around this world. May the Tao guide us to the best future."
After she completed her prayer, thunder boomed, followed by lightning marking the end of peaceful, innocent times.