Chapter 2

Four.

Four represents the years my mom cried.

Four represents the years since I smiled.

Four represents the years since my dad took his last breath.

Four represents death.

I can still remember the day my dad died. I can still see the face of my dad's murderer. I can still hear the gun shot. I remember everything.

Every night, I relive that horrible memory. The terror. The pain. The sadness. The devastation.

My life has fallen into an endless pit of never ending sadness since he passed away. We couldn't pay for our old house because my dad used to work while my mom stayed at home. So, now we live in a rented apartment. It's very small. Not a lot of room. In fact, there's only one bedroom. So, I have to sleep on the couch.

Everything has changed except for one thing.

School.

School has never been a happy memory but it was by far the worst when I was in grade 6. In grade 2, people tried to avoid me. But in grade 6, I'm being bullied. Physically and mentally. Everyday. School ends at 3:45 pm now. So by the time I get home it's around 4 pm.

Lucky for me, it's a Sunday.

I grabbed my sweater, since it was spring, and I opened our apartment door. I walked down the stairs and I left the building. We have a park right next to our apartment building. I sat on a bench and looked around.

Every Sunday, I would go to the park and watch as happy families walk by, smiling and laughing. Creepy? Possibly. But seeing other children smiling and laughing with their parents made me happy. They're just so innocent. They don't know how quickly someone you love can leave your life. I miss my father. I miss him a lot. I wish that it could be me laughing with my mom and dad. But I know that won't happen. My father was gone. And he wasn't coming back. My eyes started to tear up and I started to cry.

"Yeah. Me too." My mom was standing right behind me; she sat down on the bench, right next to me, "I miss your father as well."

I put my head on my mom's shoulder, "It's just not fair. We were only trying to get some ice cream."

My mom consoled me, "I know. Wrong place, wrong time." My mom's eyes landed on a patch of growing clovers. "Just a case of bad luck…" She walked off the bench and started to look over the clovers.

I wiped my eyes with my sleeve, "Mom, what are you doing?"

She turned her head back to me, "Finding a four leaf clover."

I asked, "Why?"

My mom looked at me with hope in her eyes, "Don't you know? If you find a four leaf clover, you get a wish."

Seems ridiculous, right? But I was desperate to get my father back. I quickly joined my mother and started to look. I ripped some of the ground but I was always disappointed to discover that it was truly just a three leafs clover. My mom smiled as she picked one off the ground.

"Found one." My mom closed her eyes; after a couple of seconds, she opened them and plucked each leaf one by one.

I asked, "What did you wish for?"

She faced me, "I can't tell you. Or else it won't come true."

I begged, "Please!"

She shook her head and laughed, "I don't want to jinx it, sweetie!"

I sighed, "Fine."

She stood up while brushing the dirt off her knees, "C'mon. Let's go home."

I looked up at her as she offered her hand.

I nodded and grabbed her hand, "Ok."

We walked home holding hands. And for the first time, in four years, I smiled. Little did I know, my smile wasn't going to last.