Childhood Memories

Part 1

Innocence Lost

By Nick Maro

The sound of the shotgun blast sent the young girl running into the kitchen. She watched the body of the blood covered woman fall to the dirty, food littered kitchen floor. The young girl watched her father put the gun into his mouth and pull the trigger. She covered her ears from the noise. The man's body fell and the shotgun landed on his lap.

The girl ran to the body of her mother and hugged it. "Mommy? Get up, Mommy. Please get up." She buried her face in her mother's chest and wished for her to wake up. She felt tears start to form but none fell. Time seemed to stand still as she hugged her mother's body. The girl felt a hand touch her shoulder. Her mother was alive! She had been brought her back to life.

Smiling, the young girl turned to greet her resurrected mother. Her face fell into a frown when she saw a police officer crouched before her. He was young and had a kind face. Not mean like her father's was. He spoke to her in a soft voice. "Honey, can you come with me? Everything will be fine. What's your name, sweetie?"

"You're not my mommy. I'm not supposed t'talk ta strangers." She turned back to her mother's body.

The officer let his head fall. "I'm not a stranger, honey. I'm a police officer. You can talk to police officers. We're the good guys."

"Daddy always said police off'cers were worthless idiots and not ta trust any of them." The little girl said without looking at him.

"Wonderful," the officer mumbled under his breath. "Jessica! I need you in here."

A young officer with dark auburn hair came running in. "What is it Alex? Oh my God!" she gasped when she saw the bodies and mess. "I wasn't expecting this."

"Down here, Jess. We have a witness of sorts." Alex looked up at his partner. "Little girl. Age about seven or eight. Trouble is she won't talk to anyone. She's been told not to talk to strangers." He straightened up and pulled Jessica to the side but kept the girl in view. He lowered his voice slightly. "Her father told her to not to trust police officers. Maybe you could work the magic you have with kids. Hell, even my kids listen to you, Jess."

"I'll see what I can do." Jessica readjusted her hat and walked into the kitchen. She crouched behind the young girl. "Hi, sweetie, my name is Jessica Edwards. I'm your Aunt Jessica. Your mommy wanted me to come and get you. She wanted me to tell you that she's okay and wants me to take care of you. But she forgot to tell me your name. What is it, honey?"

The girl turned her head slowly and brushed the hair from her face. "Roxanne Pelligrini. But ev'ryone calls me Roxy. Is my mommy alright? Really alright?"

Jessica moved closer to Roxy with her arms stretched outward for the little girl. She gave her a sad smile and nodded. "Yeah, really alright. Now come here and give your aunt a hug." Roxy leapt into Jessica's arms where she hugged her tightly. Her long denied tears finally fell on Jessica's shoulder. "It's okay Roxy. Everything is going to be fine."

Alex put his hand on Jessica's shoulder. "I swear, Jess, you have a rare gift there. You could sweet talk a charging rhino out of attacking. Take young Roxy down to the car I'll wait for back up here. Good work there, Jess. Good work."

Darkness engulfed the massive mansion. The time was a little after one in the morning and the boy peeked through the crack of his parent's bedroom. He tried as hard as he could to keep quiet. His mother and father were fighting again. Over the past few weeks it was becoming steadily worse. His mother screamed and threw a pillow at his father again.

"God dammit Harvey, you told me you broke it off with her! But you didn't, Harv! You didn't! You bought her and her fucking kids a house! On top of that you've been sending her a weekly allowance for groceries and other bills! Let the waitress take care of herself! You have a family here. It wouldn't kill you to spend some time with David and Phyllis. You're becoming like your father." The blonde woman paced the room and stopped by the fireplace.

"Evelyn, I'm just helping Vanessa out. It's a tough time for her now. The restaurant she works for is laying people off left and right. Besides, she's your best friend. You said that you'd help her out if she ever needed it. Well she needs our help now. Why are you being so stubborn about this?" Harvey pleaded with his wife.

Evelyn threw a vase at Harvey which he easily dodged. "She was my best friend in college! She was my best friend until you slept with her six years ago. For six fucking years you lied and said that you weren't involved anymore. Well fuck you, Harvey Gabor!" She turned from him and began crying. "I'm leaving you. I'm taking David and leaving. I don't want any money. I have some put away in a personal account. I made it before we married. This is good bye, Harvey. No more lies. No more deceit."

David watched his father try to talk his mother into staying as she was packing a bag. David quietly left the door to his parent's room and quickly ran back to the room he shared with his fraternal twin sister. He wiped the tears from his eyes and put some toys into his pillowcase. He didn't want to wake his sleeping sister.

Feeling he was forgetting something, David looked on his sister's dresser. He took the picture and the picture frame off the dresser and stuffed it deep in the pillowcase. He heard his mother approaching his room and he began to change out of his pajamas. She opened the door as he was pulling his shirt on.

Evelyn smiled at him. "You were spying on mommy and daddy again, weren't you?" Blushing, David nodded. "Then you know we're leaving, don't you?" Again he nodded. "Let's go then."

David ran to the bed his sleeping sister was in and gently kissed her forehead. "Bye bye, Phyllis. I love you. I'll come back even if mommy doesn't." Phyllis rolled in her bed and mumbled in her sleep. He took a hold of his mother's hand and he held his pillowcase in the other.

"You take care of your mother, David. I'm counting on you." Harvey crouched and hugged his only son. He glared up at his wife. "You're not going to get far, Evelyn. Wherever you go I'll find you and take you to court."

Evelyn snorted a laugh of contempt. "You're forgetting one thing, Harvey. I didn't grow up rich I grew up on the farm. Hard work has never scared me and I can blend in easily anywhere I go." She lifted David up into her arms. He clung to his pillowcase with a death grip. She carried him to the front door with Harvey following behind her.

"What will I tell Phyllis? Did you think of that?"

"I love her with all my heart, Harvey, but I can't take her as well. She's naturally too wild. Tell her whatever you want. Lie to her. You were very good at lying to me all these years." Evelyn opened the door and quickly left before her husband could see her fresh tears. She put David in the car and drove to the nearest hotel for the night.

Inside the mansion Phyllis awoke and slowly came down the stairs. "Daddy? I heard the door slam. Where is Mommy and Davey?"

Harvey sadly looked at his daughter and took her into his arms. He cried quietly and tried to think of how to explain everything to his daughter.

Roxy ran through the hallway of the home of Officer Jessica Edwards. She squealed in delight as Jessica chased after her. "Gonna get ya, Roxy!" She called while chasing the young girl. She had agreed to take care of Roxy while the child welfare office searched for any of her living family members.

"Can't catch me!" Roxy yelled turning the corner. "Oop!" She exclaimed falling on her butt. She looked up at Jessica as her eyes started to tear up. Jessica bent to pick her up and comfort her. Roxy began laughing. "Fooled you!" She stood up and brushed her rear off. "I'm fine, Auntie Jess, just slipped on some water."

Jessica looked at the ceiling. "Oh no, it's leaking again! I'm gonna kill that contractor. He said he fixed that!" She went into the kitchen and came back with a bucket. She placed it under the drips of water. "Roxy, could you get me a towel from the linen closet?" Roxy nodded and bolted up the stairs happy to help.

The doorbell rang before Roxy could return. Jessica opened the door letting her partner and a woman in a business suit into the small house. Alex introduced the woman as Anna Simmons. "Jess, the Chief thought I should be the one to tell you this but in the Pelligrini will it stated that Roxy should be placed with her aunt and uncle in case anything ever happened to them. Her relatives are in Philadelphia. Ms. Simmons here is to take Roxy to them."

"Wh-what?" Jessica's jaw fell slack as she stared at the woman. Her eyes shifted to where Roxy poked her head around the wall from the stairway. Jessica walked up to Roxy and knelt so they were at eye level. "Roxy, I'm afraid you're going to have to leave. I'm not really your aunt."

Roxy handed Jessica the towel. "I know you just wanted to help me. I-I don't want to leave you. I like it here. It's nice here! It's not cold when the wind blows. I don't wanna go."

Jessica hugged the young girl tightly. "I don't want you to go either but your real aunt and uncle wants you to stay with them. Now let's not keep them waiting. I'll help you pack, okay?"

"Okay." Roxy took Jessica's hand as they went up the stairs together. They came back down the stairs slowly. Roxy wore her She-Ra backpack that Jessica had bought her. She stopped before Anna. "I'm ready to go, Miss Simmons." She turned back to Jessica who bent down before her again. "I'll miss you, Auntie Jess. I had a lot of fun here." She hugged her foster aunt. "I love you, Auntie Jessica."

"I love you too, Roxy," Jessica said trying not to cry. "I'll visit you, okay?"

"Okay." Roxy took Alex's hand as he walked her to his car. Roxy sat in the back seat and watched Jessica from the window. The car pulled away and she waved to her. Jessica waved back and Roxy smiled. She hoped her real aunt was as nice as Jessica. She watched the storm as it raged outside of the car. She knew she would be in her new home very shortly.

The Captain announced the plane's decent. Evelyn nudged her sleeping son next to her. "David. Wake up, honey. We're in Japan." She watched out of the window as the tarmac came rushing up at the plane. David leaned across his mother so he could watch out the window.

"This is our new home?" he asked quietly.

Evelyn smiled and nodded. "Remember what I told you, about how you're supposed to talk?"

"Hei, Kasa," David said in Japanese. Evelyn taught him a few words on the trip. He caught on almost right away to the new language. She was so proud that she had such an intelligent son. David always had been eager to learn and see new things.

"[Very good, I'm proud.]" Evelyn kissed David on the forehead.

The plane touched down on the tarmac and taxied to the gate. Evelyn and David waited until almost everyone was off the plane before grabbing their carry on bags. Together they disembarked the plane and went through customs with no problem. Before leaving the United States Evelyn made a few calls and got a job with a restaurant franchise that was starting its chain in Tokyo. Evelyn was the only applicant who spoke both English and Japanese fluently and was hired immediately. However, the one condition was that she had to relocate to Japan.

Once through the customs gate David put his backpack on. He grabbed his mother's hand and they went to the baggage claim. After grabbing their bags Evelyn and David found a taxi and headed to their new apartment. The driver of the cab opened the trunk and set their luggage on the curb. Evelyn picked up their bags and went up the stairs to the door with David following closely.

Evelyn unlocked the door and let David enter first. The apartment was small. It had one bedroom with the kitchen acting as the dining room. The living room was part of the dining room as well. The bathroom was next to the bedroom. David kicked his shoes off at the door like his mother had taught him and ran directly for the bathroom. Evelyn laughed to herself and set their bags by the bed in the bedroom.

David came back into the room. "Mom, is it okay to talk regular and not in Japan?"

"You mean in English and not in Japanese, right dear?" David nodded. "You can at home, but I want you to try to speak in Japanese in public. Can you do that? Make mommy proud?" Again, David nodded. "Good. Now let's go get some dinner." David ran to the door to put his shoes on. Evelyn picked up her purse and followed him. She paused and took a look at her new home. A little smile spread across her lips for the first time in almost ten years she felt truly free.

Harvey couldn't believe his ears as he stood in his daughter's room. "What do you mean you don't care about David or your mother, Phyllis? It's been two months since they left us."

Phyllis looked up from packing a box. "I know, Daddy, but I decided that since my birthday wish of them returning didn't come true I never want to see their faces again. So I took everything down with mommy or David's picture on it and put it in a box. I never want to hear from them or about them again. I hate them, Daddy!"

"Fine, have it your way. I'll talk to you when you've calmed down. Now I want you to unpack that box now, young lady!" Harvey turned and shut the door behind him. "I don't know what I'm going to do with that girl. Maybe I should seek counseling for her."

The ringing of the doorbell brought him out of his thoughts. "Mr. Gabor, Miss Vanessa Phillips is here to see you."

Harvey turned to his maid and regained his composure. "Thank you, Juanita. I'm going to miss you when you leave."

The young maid blushed slightly. "Thank you, Mr. Gabor, but my family needs me."

"I fully understand. Is Vanessa in the entertainment room?"

"Yes sir and she brought her daughter along."

The last comment caused Harvey to miss a step on the stairs. He turned from going down the stairs and opened Phyllis' bedroom door. "When you're done up here there's someone I want you to meet." He shut the door before Phyllis could answer. He finally went down the stairs to greet his guests.

Harvey stood in the doorway and watched the blue haired girl for a few moments. He finally cleared his throat. Vanessa and Mary both looked at him at the same time. "It's so nice you could stop by, Vanessa. I didn't expect you to bring your daughter with." He bent down and looked at the quiet girl. "How old are you, honey?"

The little girl didn't respond and just continued to stare at the carpet. "Mary, answer Mr. Gabor. He's going to be Mommy's new boss. We must always show good manners. Isn't that right?"

Mary looked at Harvey and held up seven fingers. "I turned seven last week. Mommy got me a new dollhouse."

"I have a daughter who just turned nine, Mary. Her name is Phyllis and she should be down any minute now. I'm sure the two of you will be the best of friends." Harvey gave Mary a big smile who shyly smiled back.

"So is this what you wanted me for, Daddy?" Phyllis asked coming into the room.

Harvey stood and gestured to the mother and daughter. "Phyllis, I'd like you to meet Mary and Miss Phillips. As you know Juanita is leaving next week to take care of her sick mother. Miss Phillips is going to take over for her. Mary will be coming here when Miss Phillips is working. Maybe the two of you will be become friends. What do you think?"

Phyllis walked up to Mary and stared at the spot she was looking at. "So why are you lookin' at the ground, Mary? See anything interesting?"

"Pictures," Mary said quietly without looking at her.

"Harvey, I think we should let them talk and get to know each other. Why don't you show me what my duties will be around the mansion?" Vanessa stood beside Harvey and smiled slightly. He followed her out of the room while he closed the door.

"You're very quiet. Why don't you talk more?" Mary just shrugged at Phyllis' question. "You're like a mouse. I think I'll call you Mary the Mouse or Mouse for short would you like that?"

Mary looked up and smiled. "Yeah, I like that." She hopped off the couch. "Let's play." Phyllis agreed quickly. The two young girls left the entertainment room and went up to Phyllis' play room.

It was a little over two months since Roxy had started living with her long lost relatives. She had adjusted to living with her aunt and uncle. They bought her the toys she wanted and let her watch as much TV as she liked. Roxy was watching her afternoon cartoons when her uncle stumbled into the room drunk. She watched her uncle with wide eyes and he glared at her cruelly. "What th' fuck you lookin' at, ya lil'bitch?"

Roxy began to shake a bit, the last time she saw someone drunk like this it was her father. Bits of memory started coming back to her slowly. She remembered that her father was drunk the night he killed himself and her mother. "N-nothin'. J-just don' k-kill m-me. I don' wanna d-die."

"Geddoutta 'ere, ya miser'ble bitch. Go ta yer room." He let out a loud belch. When he noticed that Roxy hadn't moved he stood up. "I said, go ta yer fuckin' room!" He picked her up by the arm and threw her about two feet.

"D-don' hurt me, uncle," she said between sobs then broke into a run for her room. Once there she slammed the door closed and locked it.

When she came back out for dinner her uncle was passed out sleeping. Roxy looked for her aunt and found her in the living room drinking. "Auntie? Wh-where's dinner?"

"Make it yourself. I'm busy." Her aunt took a long drink from her bottle.

"I-I don't know how to cook."

Her aunt glared at her from the chair. "Then I guess you'll have to learn now, you ungrateful little bitch. When you're done feeding your ugly face, clean the kitchen when you're finished."

Roxy backed away slowly. "Y-yes, Auntie." She made herself a sandwich and immediately started cleaning when she was finished eating. She went into the living room to show her aunt what a good job she had done, but her aunt was now also passed out. Roxy turned the lights off and put a blanket on her sleeping aunt. She then changed out of her clothes into her pajamas and went to bed.

Roxy was woken up in the morning by her aunt yelling at her. "You miserable shit! The kitchen isn't cleaned! I told you to clean the fucking kitchen and you left it a mess!"

"B-but I cleaned it. It was spotless, Auntie."

"Liar! It's dirty right now. Go clean it!"

"No! I wanna go back to Auntie Jessie's. She was nice. You're mean!"

Roxy's aunt pulled her out of her bed by her arm. "You can't go back to her. She's dead. And if you ever try to run away or leave here I'll chop you into little pieces. Now clean the fuckin' kitchen."

Tears fell from Roxy's eyes. The kitchen she had cleaned last night was now a dirty mess again. Out of fear of being beaten she started to clean it all over. Later she was told to clean the living room. That night she cried herself to sleep.

Her door swung open with a bang the next day with her uncle looming over her. "Get up and get dressed. The social service woman is coming. You tell her that you're happy here. You don't tell her anything else. Just that you're happy and you love it here. Understand?"

"Yes, sir." Roxy quickly put on her best dress and tried to look her best for the social worker. She waited in the living room on the couch. Her hands were folded in her lap with her head down as she waited.

When the doorbell finally rang, her uncle answered the door and the social worker greeted her aunt and uncle. She came up to Roxy and knelt before her. "Hi Roxy, you look very pretty today. How are you doing here?"

Roxy smiled at being called pretty. "I'm fine, Miss Simmons. Uncle Hal and Auntie Ester are wonderful. I have so much fun here."

"Good. I'm very happy to hear that, Roxy. Now if you could go play in your room while I talk to your aunt and uncle, I would like that. It's going to be boring grown up talk." She looked at Hal and Ester. "Do you mind talking in private?" The couple agreed. Roxy said good bye and shut the door when she got into her room. The young social worker turned to the couple. "She seems to have adjusted very well. But I am concerned about the limp Roxy has, is there anything I should know about?"

Hal cleared his throat and chuckled softly dismissing the injury. "No. She actually fell while we were playing. She's a clumsy child."

Miss Simmons giggled to herself. "Yes, I've seen how eight year olds play it's just a routine question. But now you'll have to excuse me I'm running behind today. Shall we schedule another visit six months from now?" Ester and Hal agreed on the time length. "Great. Then I'll see you then. Tell Roxy I said good bye."

Ester shut the door behind the woman and turned to her husband. "What a nosy little bitch. We have to be careful when punishing her from now on. Quick thinking with the limp excuse though." Ester and Hal spent the rest of the night drinking while Roxy cried herself to sleep without having dinner.

David and Evelyn had settled into living in Tokyo. Evelyn had to take a second job as a secretary. During the day David stayed at the apartment across the hall. He played with the boy who lived there who was about his age. The boy and his family helped teach him to speak Japanese. Evelyn was very grateful to the family since she wanted David to become more fluent in Japanese before she sent him to a school. He was learning quickly.

It was a sunny August day and was a rare occurrence for Evelyn to have off of work from both jobs on the same day. She had promised David that she would take him to the zoo. It had been a while since they had done anything fun together.

Evelyn held David's hand as they crossed the street. A car honked as they passed in front of it. Both of them ignored it, but hurried across the street to the train station. "[Looking forward to riding the train again, David?]" Evelyn asked walking at a brisk pace, but slow enough that David could keep up with no problem.

"[The trains here aren't as noisy as the ones in America, Mom. They're quiet here, I like them more. And they don't smell funny.]" David smiled up at his mother and adjusted his backpack. They were getting closer to the train station when David felt something that made him make a funny face. "[Mommy? Did you feel that? Felt like the ground movin'.]"

"[It's just a train, honey. Don't worry about it,]" Evelyn said trying to reassure him.

The stairs going up to the train platform drew closer. That's when the chaos began. The ground felt like it was alive. People all around them screamed in terror and scattered in every direction. Cars skidded out of control, crashing into each other and the surrounding parked cars. As quick as it started, it was over.

David held tight to his mother's hand and carefully looked up at her. "[I don't wanna go to the zoo anymore.]"

Evelyn turned around and quickly led David back the way they came. "[Its okay honey, we can stay home. The earthquake is over now. Everything is okay.]"

Almost to prove Evelyn wrong, the ground shook harder and fiercer. Plaster and bricks from the surrounding building fell. People fled from the falling debris. Evelyn and David were half way across the street when a building began to collapse. David yanked his hand from hers. He felt that he had something in hand as he pulled free.

A chunk of brick wall from a collapsing building fell between them. David screamed for his mother. It mixed in with other cries for help. He felt a pair of arms wrap around his waist and carry him away. Another chunk of bricks fell where David had stood a few moments before. Tears streaked his face and stung his eyes.

David was carried to a safe distance with the earthquake now completely over. When he was set down David didn't recognize where he was. He quietly thanked the stranger who had saved his life and right away David started calling for his mother. He walked around yelling for her but when a police officer approached him, David ran in a random direction. He was scared of the police.

Getting scared when he couldn't find his mother, he sat on a doorstep and started crying again. A man in old tattered clothes crouched before him. "[Hey kid, are you okay?]" Looking up with red, puffy eyes, David shook his head no. "[Well, what's wrong? Parents die in the earthquake?]"

"[I-I don't know. I don't know where I live and I don't know where my mother is. I'm hungry.]" David sniffled back his tears. "[No more tears. I'm a big boy,]" he said mostly to himself.

The homeless man laughed. "[You're a brave one alright. Come with me I know a place where you can eat and have a warm place to sleep. My name is Masmune. But everyone calls me Mu. What's your name?]" David quietly introduced himself. "[Come then, David, you can meet my friends.]"

David went with Masmune to what looked to be an old park. There he met a group of homeless people who took good care of him. They gave him clothes, food and shelter. He taught them a little English in return. While begging for change, David looked for his mother and tried to remember where he lived. He gave up after two months.

It was three months after the earthquake, David was begging for spare change when a young Japanese couple passed by. "[Excuse me, honorable couple but could you part with some change? I was separated from my mother in the earthquake.]"

The couple stopped and looked down at him. The woman knelt before David and smiled sadly. "[You poor thing, I'm afraid we don't have any spare change. I'm sorry. I wish there was something we could do to help.]" She looked over her shoulder at the man who was now pacing impatiently.

"[Mariko, we better hurry. We need to get back to the hotel so we can pack. Our train to Osaka leaves in the hour.]" He continued with his pacing.

"[Wait right here.]" Mariko told David quietly as she pulled the man aside and spoke to him. The man started shaking his head and refused whatever she had asked. David laughed when she pointed her finger at him, shaking it. The man backed away and nodded in reluctant agreement. Mariko walked back proudly knowing that she had gotten her way. She knelt before David again. "[What's your name?]"

David was slow to answer. "[David. David Gabor.]"

Mariko smiled warmly. "[Nice to meet you David, my name is Mariko Ikari and this is my husband Hiroshi Ikari. How would you like to come home and live with us?]"

"[I-I don't know. I have to ask Mu.]" David slipped down an alley. A few minutes later he returned smiling. "[Mu said that I should go with you. He said that I'll have a good life with you because you look so nice. But first can I say goodbye to Mu and my friends?]"

Hiroshi lifted David into arms and laughed. "[Of course you can. Mariko and I will go with you. Then we can show you your new home in Osaka.]"

David smiled at the couple. Deep down, he knew that he had made the right choice. Masmune had told David it was his choice to make and to follow his instincts about people. He put his hand in his pocket and he played with the ring he took from his mother's hand when they had become separated.

David said his good byes to his temporary family and joined Hiroshi and Mariko on their way back to Osaka. He knew that he had just found a new home and a new family. On the trip to Osaka, David showed Mariko and Hiroshi the picture he took when he left the mansion. He always kept it in his backpack so it was close. It was a picture of his and Phyllis' fifth birthday party. He told them that one day he would find his real family again.

Mariko held David as he drifted to sleep. She smiled at Hiroshi knowing they would have a son to pass the school on to.

TO BE CONTINUED IN "MAKING OF A MISFIT"

PART 2 OF CHILDHOOD MEMORIES