The Child-Knight of The Night

By: juankclaveria Mood: Otro Date: 03/22/2007 11:40:56 Music: None

The day is over, exhausted from a long day of games, pretending and make belief, of space captains and star-ships, of valiant warriors and rock-stars, exhausted from being an imaginative kid, weary He climbs into his bed.Lately, NIght time has force him to marry the dark contradiction that his world has become. He's hero has become the monster his terrors.Its late now, and already he can tell that this will be one of those nights, despite the feeling, slumber conquers. His eyes are getting heavy now, his thoughts go back to fantasy, slowly slipping into dreams. Suddenly he hears the voice of his mom waking him up. "Sweet heart" she says, come spend the night at mommy's room again... Suddenly his heart feels heavy, dragging the worry of his task ahead, he does not want to go thru it again, so he speaks his complaint.His mothers expression reveals her worry at his denial, desperate she pleads again, "if you spend the night at mommy's room, I will buy you that toy you want tomorrow" but is not the attempted bribe that breaks his will, is the cracking of his mothers voice, its the trembling of her hands.In bed, on his mothers arms, he feels comforted and in peace. A sense of protection that isn't there, can be pretended long enough to allow slumber to take a hold of him again. Off he goes in to his wonderland of dreams, were everything is perfect. He dreams of a thousand things, of adventures in strange lands, of flying in the sky. A sudden thud, an unexpected shaking interrupts his dreams and brings him back to his cruel reality as the soft and frighten whispers of his mother say "wake up sweetie, wake up". As he regains conciseness he could hear outside his mother bedroom door, the rattling of things all around the house, the banging of tables the skew-eking of chairs, and the erratic and tumbling foot steps of his current and very real nightmare. Its hard for a seven year old to be confronted with so many adult realities he is not ready for. Just outside that door, his life long hero, was making his away across his house, transformed by the alcohol that inebriates him, in to the monster of the boy's terror, determined to harm, to beat and to hurt the boy's biggest love of his life.THUD!, THUD, THUD, "Vilma!", his dad screamed as he banged on his Mothers Bedroom door trying to bring it down, "Open this door right now" His mother clutching his hands tight, plead to her boy "sweetie... please say something to him, so he knows that you are in here with me" The boy was terrified, although it was his father's voice he heard across that door, it was the monster speaking. The boy remembers his fantasies, when he day dreams and pretends, in his games he is always courageous, willing to lay his life down to protect his princess, but tonight's episode is to real for him. 'Thud, Thud Thud" The banging continues and increases in amplitude with every strike, he turns and sees his mother's afflicted expression, he turns and faces the door, his knees are giving in, his legs are crumbling as he stands and tries to walk to the door, the fear that grips him is to strong for him to bear. As a tear streams down his cheek, he musters the courage needed to walk to the door, stand tall and speak the words needed to disarm the monster "Dad, what do you want,... go to sleep now..." There is no response, and a brief moment of silence, followed by the sound of footsteps leading away and a door closing in the distance. That Battle was over. In tears, the boy goes back to his mothers arms, as she says "thank you baby,... for your courage", they embraced, and they cry each other to sleep, knowing that tomorrow will bring a new battle to fight.The blindfold of selfishness, the shroud of vice, can so easily force us to hurt those we love the most. The pain of the past, the sorrows of yesterday, the triumph of the battles of old, are the pillars that make Men who they are. The courage he learned during those nights, and the values that were forged in his heart, sustain him until today.