It's the day after Jeff lost his wife. They are living in the country in England. Alan wants to know what's happened to his mum, Jeff and Scott have trouble coming to terms with it so Virgil steps in. Scott is the oldest, then John, then Virgil, then Gordon and the youngest is Alan in this story. Please enjoy. There may be a few errors and I've tried to iron them out.
Alan had a restless nights sleep. He had tossed and turned unable to settle as there had been so much activity during the night. He awoke to find it a bright Saturday morning. It was 10 O'Clock, when normally Jeff had everyone up by 8 O'Clock, he knew something was wrong. He then remembered Mum didn't come back last night before he went to bed like she promised. Bleary eyed and tossled hair he went looking for his family. He found Scott, trying to put on a brave face for his brothers but was ready to erupt. Alan had often seen Scott look like this when he was mad...mainly at him for being disturbed while he worked. He was sitting next to Virgil on the double piano stall, while John was sitting with Gordon, reading him a story. He noticed that Virgil sat at the piano playing a very sad piece that Alan didn't know the name of. He turned to Jeff, an expectant look on his boyish face.
"Were's mummy? She said she'd say good night to me" He asked them. Jeff looked down at his feet, sighed and spoke, his voice unnaturally soft.
"Mum is not coming back, she has gone Alan" He said gently unsure how to explain death to a child. How do you explain to a child that there mother is never going to return?.
"For how long?" Alan asked, not quite understanding this, thinking his mummy had just gone away for a bit.
"Forever" Jeff replied sadly
"Why? Did we do something wrong? Was it because I broke her flower pot?" Alan looked curiously at Jeff. Virgil took over at this stage, walked over to Alan and picked him. Virgil was a very unusual 13 year old boy, he had a passion for art, music and style but also a very caring mother hen nature unlike other guys his age.
"No son, it was her time to go. She's sleeping forever" Jeff tried to say again, he was never one to comfort, he didn't know how. Lucille had been the one to do that.
"I don't want her to be gone. Why is she gone?" Alan tried agin, struggling out of Virgil's grasp
"It was her time to go to heaven" Jeff tried to tell him How could he explain this to Alan?
"Why? Why? Why?" Alan pestered while Virgil tried to quieten him, worried that he would set off Scott. Virgil had noticed Scott was ticking like a time bomb. The death weighing it's already to heavy burden for an 18 year old.
"She's dead Alan! She died last night! She's never coming back!!" Scott had lost his patience at this point so racked with grief. Alan had tears in his eyes and stopped struggling against Virgil and instead buried his head in his shoulder. Scott walked off in a huff to get some air on the balcony followed by his stern looking father who was slightly disappointed by his son but could understand his behavior.
"Is she really gone?" Alan asked Virgil, tears in his eyes
"Yes, she is, would you like me to tell you were she is?" Virgil asked Alan
"She's dead" Alan answered, his lip quivering again. Death was a scary idea to a five year old.
"Her body maybe but her soul soars free as a bird. What you like to hear about it?" Virgil tried gently to do some damage control, he had always been there to counter balance Scott.
"OK, is mummy like a bird?" Alan asked curious now, he loved Virgil's stories. Virgil's imagination could take him to the moon and beyond. He was a dreamer, despite his serious demeaner.
Virgil sat Alan beside him, and curiosity getting the better of Gordon sat down in front of Virgil to listen. John took this opportunity to go to the toilet while Virgil had control. John may have been the the second eldest but even he had trouble understandig death. I mean when your 15 death is scary, really scary because you can't see it coming.
"Well she's an angel. You know about God right" Virgil asked them thinking as to how best to tell his story to make Angel's appeal to little boys.
"The big man in the sky?" Gordon answered pointing up "Who flies were daddy flies?"
"Yes, the big man in the sky, he needed another Angel and chose mum because she was kind, beautiful and sweet. She was taken on a white cloud, that sparkled with stars, she was dressed in a long white dress which glistened in the sun light, a sparkly white dress"
John came in at his point. He and Scott were both smart and gifted in all things academic, he normally got on well with Scott, aside form this he was very different from Scott. He believed in things beyond this world. He liked Virgil's stories and his imagination was always taking him on wonderful adventures.
"Now he chose her because she can sing, dance, paint and brighten up the room with her smile. He needs people like mum to help him look after everyone including us. She still floats around here, when you feel the wind in your hair, It's her hand touching you, telling you she's there" Virgil continued, his eyes met John's for a moment
"If he wanted an Angel who could paint, draw, play the piano, sing and dance, why didn't he chose you?" Alan asked innocently.
John took a deep breath to see what Virgil's response would be, Virgil didn't looked phased by the question, his laid back attitude coming in handy at this present time. He was just pleased that Alan was so interested and had stopped crying.
"Well I can play the piano and paint, but I'm not as good as mum, I can care for people but not like mum, I can't dance very well and I think he thought I'd look silly is a long, white dress with sparkles, don't you?" He said with a mocking smile
Alan and Gordon both smiled at this and John let out the breath he was holding, smiling also at Virgil's attempt at humour.
"Well she flies on a white cloud pulled by green fire breathing dragon and beautiful white unicorn" He elaborated further, his imagination taking his further, delving into what the boys like to comfort them that mum was having a good time.
"Dragon's? She gets to ride Dragon's? Wow, I want a dragon ride" Alan said, always one for speed, he loved nothing than to pretend he was racing around the track in a mini go cart.
"Maybe one day you'll get one, she can also swim in the deep blue clouds, they are like the sea, only they are not cold but warm all the time, and she races around on her white cloud above us" Virgil tried to add things in she knew would be a comfort and joy to his youngest brothers.
"I want to be an angel" Alan liked the idea of riding very fast. Virgil realised what was happening but kept his voice calm, taking control again of the story
"You have to be chosen, you have to help other people and be good. When he thinks you are ready, he will chose you. Besides do you really want to wear a long, white, sparkly dress?" He said again.
"No! It would look silly, so she rides with dragons on a chariot, helping people who are in trouble?" Gordon summarised
"She's a hero then, isn't she, that's why he chose her because she's a hero too" Virgil continued
"Can we be hero's like her?" Alan asked, his eyes shining bright with the idea of being a hero, rescueing people and wearing a long red cape with a big A on the back of it.
"Yes you can, do you know what hero's do?" Virgil continued, wondering hoe far he could push this story
"Fly?" Alan asked
"Dive for treasure?" Gordon asked
"Drive really fast in really big cars?"Alan continued
"Not yet. Not when they are so young. They do everyday things, like when they are told to have a bath, they do it, when they are told to do there homework they do it, When they are told to eat their greens to make them big and strong they do it. It's the simple things that make them a hero" Virgil said meeting John's eyes with a small grin.
Gordon may not have brought this idea, his eyes skeptical but Alan lapped it up like a man dying of thirst
"So she is always there for us?" Alan clarified "As ur own special super hero? Do we have like a beacon or light to call her like batman?"
"No, But she knows when we need help. She can see everything from Heaven. She will help us when we need it. She'll protect us." Virgil went on
John joined in, just as Scott and Jeff came in after hearing the story. A star gazer, he believed the stars could answer many questions and this was one of them.
"You remember Virgil said her dress was white and sparkly, later tonight go to the balcony and look at the stars, when ever you feel alone, look at the stars, she will always be there to guide you and protect you, she is the sun, the wind, the rain, the sky and the snow" John continued,his eyes met Virgil's and he smiled reassuringly. John had been strangly poetic but then it did involve the stars. Alan saw his dad come in and ran up to him to tell him the story and that everything would be alright.
"Virgil explained it to me, mummy was taken to be an angel and help people in trouble. I want to be like her, Virgil says that if I be good and do my chores I can be a hero. Can I have a cape when I do my chores so I can feel like a super hero?" He continued with his rapid toungue.
"I'll ask you grandma to make you one tomorrow" Jeff replied, quite relieved he didn't need to sepak to his son about death.
"Did you know she flies on a chariot pulled by a dragon and unicorn? She sings and dances" Alan continued with a grin
"Yes son. I need to go finish some work, Grandma will get you some lunch" Jeff replied quietly
Scott pulled John over to the corner. He had always admired John's maturity.
"He said that dragons and unicorns pulled her? She raced around, Alan's favourite thing, and swims whenever she wants to, Gordon's favourite thing, they might think about dying!" He was paniced slightly, everything out of his control at the moment.
"Hush Scott, Virgil was very senesible and I wouldn't worry. None of them want to be angels, they would have to wear a white, sparkley dress" John said with a smile
"I still don't like it, why couldn't he just tell them the truth?" Scott asked surprised at John's humourours response.
"How do you know he didn't?" John asked looking at an annoyed Scott, one eyebrow raisedtioningly.
"Come on you don't believe in Angels do you?" He asked John, then realised it was a silly question, they lived in the sky supposidly and if it was in the sky, John was a believer.
"I believe in UFO's. Why should Angels be any different? No one knows what happens when we die.." John replied trying to pacify his older brother.
"Virgil's 13, why can't he face the truth, his old enough" Scott continued annoyed
"He does know the truth, look Gordon can barely understand it, Alan doesn't stand a chance." John replied. He was very smart and creative like Virgil.
"When we stop imagining things, we lose a part of ourselves. If we always face reality, our inner child dies and our inner child is what keeps us going. You are now being forced to grow up and look after us, you need your inner child more than any of us Scott" John replied before leaving his brother to his thoughts.
As Scott watched Alan flying around the room, well pretending to. He watched Virgil who had begun to play again, this time an upbeat tune like the chant for a super hero. His dad disappeared and John had sat down with Gordon and they were looking at pictures of fish. He realised he was now in charge, Dad would be there but he now had to look after his brothers and while this scarred him, He found some comfort in the idea that his brothers may be more at peace with Virgil's stories of an Angel wearing a sparkly white dress. Scott cooled down quickly looking at his brother's calm responses. Virgil was right, his mum was a hero just like her sons would be.