His Father’s son – Part 1

Posted on 29/12/2013 by margotoele


Life goes by so fast. Cynthia remembered how she taught Raphaelito to walk and to talk.

She used to tell him about his daddy who had passed away but whose spirit was always with them.


It became very common for both to talk in a natural way about life and death. She wasn‘t sure if that was the correct thing to speak about with a child but he accepted it anyway as something natural. As natural as he enjoyed playing with his toys as well.

She noticed that the boy had taken after her in a certain aspect. He loved the evenings. When everything was so quite, he wanted to go out. Even as a toddler, he wanted a bit of evening-air before sleeping. Then she used to take him in her arms and she walked around the garden with him until he couldn‘t keep his eyes open anymore.

Looking at him, she always got that warm feeling in her heart.

Then the day arrived that she had to buy a birthday cake for the little one and after singing together, they blew the candles out.

She put the child on the floor and… there it happened!

“I‘m big, I‘m big now. Now you can teach me how to read and write“.

You will learn that soon enough my boy. Tomorrow you‘ll have to go to school.

“Mom…, I won‘t fit in the crib anymore“.
“Oh dear, it‘s true. I forgot to buy you a new bed. Never mind; tonight you will sleep with mommy in the big bed and tomorrow I will buy you one of your own. Or don‘t you want to sleep with me?“ she asked, teasing him.

“Oh yes, of course I will. Now that I‘m a grown-up boy, I need to sleep in a big bed.“
“All right then. Are you sleepy?“
“Only a little bit. I just wondered if you would like to play with me in the garden. It‘s so beautiful and quiet in the afternoon. The sound of the wind in the bushes and the lights of the houses and the lighthouse.

There went Cynthia again… She had to do everything possible to avoid that Raphaelito could see the tears in her eyes as she remembered how she used to walk in the evening hours with his father on Lighthouse Island.
“Yes, my dear; I will play tag with you”.

They played until the boy was exhausted and, to be honest, she herself was sleepy as well. They kissed good-night and went to bed.

Cynthia didn‘t get much of a night rest because she was afraid of hurting the boy while sleeping. She tried not to move too much but the boy himself was moving constantly. No, it was not good for a child to sleep with an adult. First thing in the morning she would prepare his bedroom. Finally she fell asleep.

Next morning she prepared breakfast for the boy and she sat there looking at him as a proud mother. Between bite and bite, he asked her “Do I really have to go to school today? Can‘t I go next week? It would be nice to be together now that I’m big!”

Cynthia laughed and explained: “Everybody is registered at the Town Hall. That means that School knows about you and how old you are. You are expected there. If I would keep you here with me this whole week, then somebody from Social Care will come here and take you away from me in order to give you a proper education. Now… would you like that?”

“No… no; please mommy, I want to go to school. I will never ever be taken away from you; I promise that I will go to school as long as I have to.”


“Hey, I hear the bus waiting for you.” She hugged him and off he went to school with her advice in mind: Behave well and try to make friends.

The bus was very big. He never had been in one before because usually his mother took him walking or by taxi. He enjoyed the ride. The boy who sat next to him told him that he had started school a few weeks ago.

Gosh… that school was really a big house. He had to get used to the echoing sound in those big classrooms. It seemed that every little sound was magnified. He was very impressed.

After school, he was anxious to go home. He had never been such a long time without his mother.

When Cynthia heard the school bus arrive she went immediately to the front door to hug Raphaelito and ask about his first school day.
The boy answered that he didn‘t remember what he learnt today but he told her about the big house and the echoing sound. Then he noticed that he was very tired and said: “Mom, I‘m going to sit next to dad to tell him about school.” He needed to digest all those new impressions.

“That‘s all right Raphaelito, meanwhile I will prepare lunch for us.”
“Mom…. Please don‘t call me Raphaelito anymore. I‘m a big boy now.”

“Well, shall I call you Raph?“ The boy nodded and went to that special place in their garden.


With a view on Lighthouse Island, he sat next to his father‘s grave and then, for the first time he felt his body getting cold as ice and afterwards a lovingly warmth crept into his body and mind.

He felt very comforted and knew now that his mother had been right all the time. His father really was there and loved him.

To be continued….

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Makin’ up – 2

Posted on 29/12/2013 by margotoele

Cynthia took it very easy during the coming days. It was quiet, as a matter of fact, too quiet. She was longing for the baby but she was also longing to talk to people.
She went out to do some shopping and read a book on a bench in the park or she just stayed home and played chess with herself.

Then, one day, Ilona phoned her. She sounded very enthusiastic and told her that they were neighbors now. Thanks to the money that Cynthia had given back, Chester could buy a house that happened to be in Rainbow Street. He had lived there already when he only could rent it but he never had enough money to buy it. Somebody else had bought it but due to big problems, he had gone back to the old Simworld.

Cynthia was very pleased to hear that she finally had been able to collaborate in their happiness. Then Ilona asked her if everything was alright with her pregnancy and Cynthia told her to come over to have a talk.
From that time on, Ilona walked regularly with the baby to Rainbow House and they became very good friends.

Chester just felt a bit ‘left alone‘ when Ilona and the baby weren‘t at home but he understood that women also have their confidences to share. He accepted it as a good sport.

 

He had noticed that Ilona was far heavier than during the other pregnancy and he took her to hospital. There they told her that she was expecting twins. That came as quite a shock to them. So they had to buy an extra crib and re-organize everything. It was not that strange in Ilona‘s case. When she was 20 years old, she had given birth to twins as well. When she thought of them, she still had a queer feeling in her heart but she knew that Lord Valdemar‘s sperm had clinically been implanted and she couldn‘t expect that she could keep the babies. She had agreed that the babies would belong to the noble family: Lord Valdemar and Lady Jane who was sterile.

In the same street, Cynthia was sitting next to Raphael‘s grave and an idea sneaked into her brain. She thought it over and over again and then she made the decision that she would give Raphael‘s family name to the unborn baby.

She prepared dinner and every moment that she thought about it, she was more secure that she wanted to do that. She hoped that there would not be a problem.

Next day, she went to the town hall to ask if this would be possible.

There was a very nice gentleman who asked her: ‘Why the future father wasn‘t there with her‘. She told him that he had died. The man felt sorry for her and asked for more details. Then she told him about them living at Lighthouse Island and that it hadn‘t been possible to get properly married before Raphael passed away. The man said: “Excuse me a moment please“ and left Cynthia 10 minutes waiting for him. When he came back he gave her a certificate and said: “Congratulations Mrs. Lightkeeper“.

Cynthia just hadn‘t assumed her new status. When she had left the building, she took the booklet and looked at it very well and it certified that today she got married ‘post mortem‘ with Raphael Lightkeeper.

She put the family book away and cheered with joy but suddenly she felt a strange pain if though something inside of her wanted to come out to celebrate with her.

Aaaahh! she screamed.

A woman saw the problem and starting to panic. She screamed: “Hey, why are you staying here; you should go to hospital if you don‘t want to go into labor right here!”

 

Yes, that was the best thing to do. She took a taxi and when the taxi-driver saw the woman started to look painful, she just guessed “To hospital?“ As Cynthia was not able to speak at that moment she just nodded.

It really was different to what she had expected but once the little one was born, all the pain had been forgotten.

It was a boy and she called him ‘Raphael‘ after his father. She remembered that within one week she had to go to the town hall to update her new family book.

She felt so fortunate and lucky that everything went well… The doctor had said that the baby was in good health. At home she counted once and again the little fingers and toes to see if they were all there. She looked at the little finger nails and admired them; they looked like tiny seashells; so perfect.

When the baby put his little hand around her finger, she knew that he would not be able to do anything wrong to her eyes. He had won her for life and she promised the little one that she would always take care of him; protect him; take him out to the beach, the park and she would do all the things her parents never had done for her. She would always love him.
She gave him his milk and put him into the crib that she had bought at Cemre‘s shop.

 

She just couldn‘t get enough of looking at him. Very happy and very tired she went to bed.

Next day she received Ilona‘s visit. Chester had told his wife that he had seen Cynthia leaving the hospital with a baby.
Ilona had brought Mattie as well and after admiring little Raphael, she told her that tomorrow it would be Mattie‘s birthday and she told her as well that she would have twins.

The women noticed a bad smell and Ilona said: “That must be yours because I just changed Mattie’s a diaper.” But she was wrong; both children had to be changed.

That night she dreamt that Raphael was talking to her: ‘My dear, it‘s a very big responsibility to educate a child. I know that you feel very lonely but I‘m always here to help you‘.
With these words in mind, Cynthia woke up and started to organize her life as a mother. Fortunately she could spend all her time to the boy because she had no money problems at all and did not need to work.

Of course, now and again she missed her work at the cemetery but the child was more important.
Time flies and the day arrived that she had to buy a birthday cake and after blowing the candle out she saw how the baby became a toddler.

Cynthia didn‘t want to go too fast so she taught the boy little by little how to walk, to talk. He learnt these basic things while playing together. The potty training went very fast.

Ilona had her twins already and Cynthia had paid her a visit but the woman hardly had time to attend her so from that moment on they used to phone each other daily until they would have more time.

That moment will come of course, because life continues. Cynthia considered herself as a lucky woman and wondered if she deserved it after all the mistakes she had made in her life. But then Raphael brought the thought to her mind that everybody can change for the worse or the better. That‘s evolution as well; like the buried stones, making their way up to the light.

The End

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