"Ma..." The curious boy asked, "When is Da coming back from his hunting trip?"
Tarik's morose mother hesitated, stalling her answer by taking one big gulp from her wine bottle. Tarik intently stared his mother in the eyes with a look of unease. She lightly put her half empty wine bottle on the table. She turned her gaze to the sky, her young son's heart dropped. Thoughts raced through his mind, his head felt heavy. His mother gazed back down at her son, the timid child had glazed eyes.
"Soon..." She said, standing up from her crooked chair. She entered her old farm house, leaving her son on the porch.
He knew she wasn't telling him something, that his father was 4 months late, that Tarik's da was found floating face down in a river. He read the note his mother received, the stupid fucking penitent letter she didn't tell her son about. Tarik felt desolate for the first time in his life, true desolation. He glared at his reflection in the wine bottle sitting in front of him. He looked feeble and inadequate, because he was. He was nothing but a tear drop in a sea of blood and broken hearts.
his hand reached for the bottle, snatching it and pulling it close. He eyed the inside of the bottle closely before taking a giant sip of the putrid substance. As soon as he finished his sip, he made a sour face before coughing dry air out of his lungs. He hated its taste, but the cold numbing sensation that tentacled throughout his body felt relaxing and soothing. He stared into the stars, then landed his gaze in the small field of crops only a short distance from where he sat.
He stood from his chair, hopping off the porch and onto the rough dirt. He followed the narrow path in the field of crops. The tall potatoe plants matched his height perfectly, making him feel hidden an cramped. Either side of him was covered, leaving a tiny gap infront and behind him. A light but hostile growl bellowed from the dense plants. Tarik ignored the sound, sitting down and sinking the rest of the wine down his throat. He took one last look into the glass bottle. Then, he threw it as far as he could.
It lunged from the crops, fiercely barking in Tarik's ear. Tarik looked into his dogs eyes, a tear running down his cheek. The dog whimpered, rubbing up against his owner.
"It's okay, Phoenix," Tarik hugged his dog, "You'll get me one of these days."
He put on a lousy smile, trying to cheer his best friend up. Phoenix opened his mouth, allowing his tongue to flop out. Phoenix sat down, and he shoved his paw onto Tarik's lap. Tarik chuckled, he put his hand on his friends back, rubbing back and forth vigorously.
"At least you won't leave me, right buddy?" Phoenix licked his owners face, then backing away and barking, "You wanna go inside?" Another bark.
Tarik jumped to his feet, stopping and realizing how whoozy he was. Ignoring his clear discomfort, Phoenix ran to Tarik's porch. Tarik took one last deep breath.