REMEMBERANCE
"Can't you see what you are doing to our children?"
"I'm providing them with a good life and a good home, like any father would!
In the bedroom, at the end of the hall, two young ducks huddled
together on the bed, trying to ignore the harsh voices of their parents.
The argument hadn't erupted into yelling, but it was teetering on the brink of such an eruption. The older of the two children, a lovely nine-year-old girl, held tightly to her younger brother.
"Why do they argue like this, Debra?" the boy asked, his face wet with tears.
"I don't know, Duke," Debra responded, trying to retain a calm face for the sake of her brother, "I think it's because of what daddy does."
"What does daddy do?" Duke asked.
"Steal," Debra whispered, somewhat afraid of her own knowledge. She had heard her mother yelling once about stealing and about how that was all her father did. Duke cocked his head and looked at her, questioningly, but didn't say anything else. They sat there silently for a few minutes, until Debra suddenly jumped up, electrified with a thought.
"Duke," she whispered, "I've got an idea."
"What?"
"Let's swear to each other that we'll never steal. That way we won't yell at each other like mommy and daddy do."
Duke looked a little uncertain. "Okay," he said, "I swear."
"No, Duke," she insisted, "You have to really mean it!"
"I do mean it, I swear I'll never steal."
"And I swear I never will either," she vowed.
"WHY CAN'T YOU SEE!" their mother yelled, her voice booming through the house like the thunder from a breaking storm.
"YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND," their father yelled back in reply.
"NO, YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND!"
At that moment, the door opened slowly and their younger sister,
Diamond slowly made her way into the other room, tears streaming down her small face. She was dressed in her pajamas and she had a small doll
clutched in her right hand. No doubt, she had been asleep before her
parents had begun yelling.
No words were said. Debra, still holding Duke with her left, held out her right arm and Diamond rushed into her sister's embrace. The three children clung to each other as the argument raged on. Finally, the angry words and accusations seem to die down.
The door to their room once again and their mother stepped inside.
"Debra," she said softly, "Come on honey and get your things. We're
leaving."
"What?" Debra asked as their father walked in.
"Sarah, what are you doing?" he asked his wife.
"What I should of done a long time ago," Sarah replied, "I'm leaving, Pierce, and Debra's coming with me."
"Where are you going mommy?" Diamond asked, fearfully.
"Mommy has to go away for a little while," Sarah told her, "But don't worry, things will work out. Mommy will come back for you."
"Why can't we come?" Duke asked.
"Mommy has to get some things straightened out first," she replied,
"But I will come back."
"No, you're not," Pierce said, "If you walk out of that door, so help me, I'll make sure you never see these kids again."
"You wouldn't?" Sarah asked in surprise.
"Watch me."
"I'll go through court," Sarah insisted, "No judge will give the kids to a thief like you!"
"It will never get to court," Pierce said calmly.
Sarah looked at him, her delicate form shaking with rage. She grabbed Debra's hand, ignoring the child's pleas to stay, and hurried out of the room. Duke listened as he heard the front door slam.
"Why did Mommy leave?" he asked his father.
Pierce sighed and looked at Duke. "Your mother and I just couldn't get along," he said. Then he noticed Duke's tears. "Come on, don't cry. Not a big 6-year-old like you. Things will work out, son, you'll see."
(())(())(())(())(())
Duke awoke with a start, surprised to find he had been dreaming. The events of his mother's leaving were so clear even if he had been only six at the time. He sat up in bed, thinking about the events that followed.
He never talked to his older sister or his mother again, which he
acknowledged was partially his fault. As he grew older, his father had
trained him in the "family trade." At first he had resisted, remembering his vow, but his loyalty and love for his father had eventually convinced him to give in. When his father had vanished, when Duke was seventeen, it was known that he would now lead the Brotherhood of the Blade, but some of the members disagreed, saying he was too young. After fighting for the right to lead, Duke may have lost his eye, but he gained even more respect then his father had.
Debra had become a schoolteacher. Duke had watched her secretly many times entering and leaving the school, but he had never spoken to her. He was too embarrassed that he had broken their childhood vow and too afraid that she was angry.
"Debra," he whispered aloud to the silent room, "If only you could see me now. I've changed. Would you be proud?"
There was no answer. Duke wondered if there ever would be.
The End