Bearing the Yoke | Previous Challenge Entry

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TITLE: Bearing the Yoke | Previous Challenge Entry
By Stanley McMahon
11/27/14
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Tommy was eleven when the headaches started. His mum would have to lie down for an hour or two in the afternoon. But dad was back from work at his regular time just after five o’clock in the afternoon, so come rain or shine, mum felt obliged to have the dinner ready.

It wasn’t much fun for Tommy being eleven and looking after his two brothers all the time. He couldn’t go out to play with his friends because he had to make sure his brothers were safe and enjoying themselves while mum slept. Of course, there were the times when his aunt came over and talked and drank tea with mum, but he still had to be in charge of his siblings.

Then there were the endless errands. Tommy had the privilege of being the helpful little boy who was old enough to go to the stores and get what was written on the list as well as negotiate crossing the main roads by himself. Besides the staff in the pharmacists and the grocery store knew Tommy and generally knew what he wanted. They all treated him kindly and asked after his mum and brothers. Tommy knew what to say and how to respond to his enquirers from long practice. He would then smile, say thank you and run home. But between the lonely lane - which he found scary but kept it to himself – and the main road home he would allow himself a moment to feel sad and long for better time ahead.

One day he had arrived back from another successful errand with a bag full of groceries at four o’clock and mum still was not up from her afternoon nap. Tommy expected to walk into the kitchen and see her preparing the dinner as usual. He always looked forward to that time because it meant he had time with mum. It was special to him. But today that was not going to happen.

He ran upstairs and into his parents’ bedroom. His mum was still asleep and his brothers were playing with their toys in their room. He shook his mum gently at first to arouse her from her sleep and alert her to the fact that dinner time was approaching and something needed to be done. She did not respond. His throat dried up and his heart beat started racing and he tried to wake her again. This time with voice louder and the gentle touch gave way to a more urgent approach.

‘Mum’ cried Tommy, ‘Wake up!’ Still no response. She was breathing alright but she was not stirring when Tommy spoke. He started thinking through his options. The first thing that came to mind was to find an adult. This was too much for him to handle on his own. But Aunt Suzie was out at work and Dad never answered his cell phone. He did not need an answering machine at this time; he needed someone to speak to.

His brothers were still playing next door so that was okay, but he did not want to alert the authorities. He had never called an emergency number before, in fact he had never called anybody outside his family. He put that aside for a moment in his mind and tried to wake her again. He was careful not to shout too loud because he did not want to alarm his brothers. ‘Mum!’ he shouted with as much urgency as he could muster. Still nothing.

Minutes had passed, although for Tommy it seemed hours. It was beginning to look increasingly like his options were being shortened to either calling the emergency services or calling the emergency services. He saw his mum’s cell phone lying on the bedside table. He grabbed it and noticed his hands were shaking. He held it tightly to steady his hand and punched in the emergency number.

The conversation was brief and the lady was nice on the phone. She asked him lots of questions and seemed to be typing as she spoke. But he was worried about his mum, not his brothers. He could take care of them.

The phone call finally finished and he could hear the sirens in the distance. He collapsed into the chair beside his mum and began to sob. He was not ready for all of this responsibility but it looked like life had forced his hand and at the tender age of eleven, Tommy had come of age.

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