Standard disclaimers apply. I also don’t own the song “Two Beds and a Coffee Machine” by Savage Garden
“One more box and it’s all cleaned!” Darren tried to motivate himself to finish off cleaning the storage room. It’s been years since the last time he came here to tidy up the room. Usually, he just came to keep junks that he didn’t want to throw away yet.
The last one was a dusty black box. It was the size a sport shoe box, but there was no label or writing on it. Darren couldn’t remember ever seeing that box before. It appeared that the owner purposely hid the box at the corner of the room so that it would be invisible.
“Whose box is it? I didn’t notice it before, but it looks aged,” Darren told himself while tearing the scotch tape slowly. He opened it carefully and there were many insignificant things; books, photos, medicines, name card, rosary, a set of keys, and a CD.
Darren took the black wooden Rosary first. It looked so familiar but he couldn’t remember anything about it. He gathered the photos next and he realized that those were his family photos from his childhood, before mum left dad and moved here. Some of the photos were taken during school holiday to the beach. His family went to the beach often. As far as he could remember, the beach was a must go every year. Other photographs were taken during birthday celebration, dad’s birthdays to be precise.
The name card was from Haven hotel. It was the hotel that his mum used to bring him and his sister. As a kid, he never understood why they had to left home, without dad, early in the morning and stayed in that hotel. Darren always wanted to ask but he never did as mum looked very sad and scared every time they left home. He disliked being in that hotel, The room stank badly. There was only 2 beds and a coffee machine. No fridge or snacks and the air-con was noisy like a locomotive. However, in the end mum always brought them back to his father’s house.
The book was the next item Darren took from the box. He flipped the pages quickly and realized it was blank, mostly. Only the first page was written a date – 26 March 1999. He couldn’t remember anything happened on that day. Well, he was still 10 years old then and honestly, he barely remembered anything from his childhood. There were many things that he’d rather forget.
Darren picked up the keys but didn’t recall anything about it so he put it aside and took the last thing inside the box, the CD. It was a CD-R in a clear, purple case. Attached to the case was a piece of paper with a few words written on it, “Be brave, the kids need you and I know you can do what’s right for yourself and for them.” That was it, no name or signature. He put everything back into the dusty black box and place it back.
Darren took the CD and played it on my laptop. There was only a song inside. It was the first time he ever heard it. He listened attentively to every single word.
And she takes another step
Slowly she opens the door
Check that he is sleeping
Pick up all the broken glass
And furniture on the floor
Been up half the night screaming
Now it’s time to get away
Pack up the kids in the car
Another bruise to try and hide
Another alibi to write
Another ditch in the road you keep moving
Another stop sign
You keep moving on
And the years go by so fast
Wonder how I ever made it through
And there are children to think of
Baby’s asleep in the back seat
Wonder how they’ll ever make it
Through this living nightmare
But the mind is an amazing thing
Full of candy dreams and new toys
And another cheap hotel
Two beds and a coffee machine
But there are groceries to buy
And she knows she’ll have to go home
Another ditch in the road
You keep moving
Another stop sign
You keep moving on
And the years go by so fast
Wonder how I ever made it through
Another bruise to try and hide
You keep moving
Another stop sign
You keep moving on
And the years go by so fast
Silent fortress built to last
Wonder how I ever made it
At once, he understood what happened in the past; why mum left dad, why they have to stay in Haven hotel frequently and yet had to go back to his dad’s house, and why they never get to see his dad ever again. Darren cried realizing how much his mum suffered silently so that he and his sister could have a place to sleep and food to eat. He felt guilty remembering the times when he was angry with his mum because he missed dad or other time when he accused his mum being selfish because she left dad.
Darren knew that he owed an apology to his mum so he took his mobile phone and scrolled down the contact list till he saw ‘Mum’ and pressed ‘Call’.
“Hey, what’s up, sweetheart?” he heard his mum’s voice answering his call. For the first Darren realized how lucky he was to have a mother like his.
