An Echo in the Wind

Chapter 1

I step out of the dodge durango and into the cement driveway of our new cookie cutter house. It's bigger than any house we've ever had, two stories, painted an eggshell white with brown accents. It's on a street with houses shaped similarly but painted different colors. 

It looks like one of those streets you see in tv shows or movies that perfect families live in. Of course, that's what my mother's trying to do to us. She told us that when we moved here, we could start fresh and be a happy family again. 

I jumped at the opportunity and possibility of her getting better. I know it's a long shot, but I just want things to be okay again with us. I miss my old mom. The mom that played games with me outside and dressed up like a princess with me when I was little. 

The mom that wasn't broken. 

The mom that didn't drink. 

The mom that didn't hate her life. 

I take a deep breath. Things will be different now. That's what Mom said. A new start. I sure hope so. 

The moving truck was already supposed to have come, so our furniture should be all set, we just need to unpack our clothes and everything like that. 

I unbuckle Austin from the back seat and lift him out of the car, taking his small hand in my slightly bigger one. I smile, "Ready to see our new home?"

He nods excitedly. We follow Mom inside and I'm surprised how nice everything looks. Our previous house got super messy and disorganized, just like our lives. 

I notice all the furniture is new, and I remember my mom saying she didn't want any reminders of our old lives. That if we were going to do this, we were gonna do it right. 

There's an open room that has a small sitting area before the kitchen behind it. There's two doors to my right, which I assume are a closet and bathroom. Then there's stairs leading up to the second floor. 

Mom motions for us to follow her into the kitchen and I see another room that veers off to the left, it's open and has couches and a tv. There's a shorter set of stairs off this room that leads to a single door. 

"That's my room up there. Your rooms are up the other stairs, it doesn't connect though, so you won't be able to come to my room without going through the whole house. It's a little inconvenient, but I like the layout."

I internally cringe, and hope on everything I have that she doesn't want to be separated from us so she can start drinking again. She just got out of rehab last week, I really hope she doesn't have to go back. 

After my mom finishes showing us the downstairs, we go upstairs. There are two cream white doors. The first door to the left is Austin's room, which is decorated with a dark wooden bed and Harry Potter sheets. The rest of his decorations aren't unpacked yet, only his sheets and basic furniture. 

There's a bathroom that connects between our rooms with two sinks. Thank god for that, I love Austin, but he doesn't understand the concept of rinsing the sink after you brush your teeth. 

We go through the other side into my room and I see a black metal bed frame with my queen sized bed in it. I recognize my fluffy white and gray comforter from back home. The rest of the furniture like my dresser and nightstands are both new though. There's five cardboard boxes on the floor with ECHO written on them in my handwriting. 

My mom smiles at us, "I'm gonna go make us some dinner. You kids get all settled in, yeah?"

I nod. It's nice seeing Mom sober. I missed this mom. Austin still clings to my side. I think he's a little freaked out seeing Mom so...normal. He was only 4 when she started falling off the deep end, so he pretty much just remembers drunk Mom now. 

I shoot him a grin, "Come on, I'll help you unpack first."

We go back into his room and take his decorations and clothes out of cardboard boxes, putting them away in his new room. I hook up his curtains and hang posters and banners on the walls while he puts his clothes away. It looks like a Harry Potter fan club in here by the time we're done. 

A little after Austin was born, Mom and Dad started fighting...a lot. About various things, usually money, they realized a third kid was a lot more expensive than they had thought. When the fighting got really bad, when he was about 2 or 3, I started reading books to him to distract him. 

Harry Potter was always his favorite, I couldn't even count how many times we've read it together. 

I set him up with a game and go unpack my own things. It doesn't take very long. I mostly only packed clothes and a few pictures. 

Mom calls us down for dinner, the smell hits me first. It smells amazing. Spices and tomatoes overwhelm my nose. We're having spaghetti. 

We all take seats around the table, "It smells great Mom, thanks."

"You're welcome. I have surprises for both of you after dinner."

"What is it?" Austin asks curiously, shoving a forkful of pasta into his mouth. 

She smiles, "Well, as you know, we were able to afford this house thanks to the life insurance money that we got from your dad's death two years ago. And the company he worked at just called me last week and said that he had another life insurance fund through the company that for some reason, we aren't getting until now. So, I'm still going to have to find a job here, but we got a lot of money last week."

I can't contain my surprise. I had no idea Dad's company was going to be giving us any money at all. The thought of Dad makes me sad though, but I push it down. I'm supposed to be the stable one here. 

"Anyway, he would've wanted that money to go towards our family, so I have gifts for you both. Austin, I know you had always wanted to play soccer with your buddies at school, but we had never had enough money to pay the dues. So, starting Monday, you're on the youth soccer team! You'll meet Mondays and Wednesdays right after school in the field behind the high school. You'll just have to walk over, can you do that?"

He nods excitedly, "Yeah! Thanks Mommy!" 

Austin doesn't talk much, understandably so with all he's been through in his 6 years of life, so that's a lot coming from him. It makes me happy to see such a big smile on his face. My mom turns to me, "And you, Echo. Your surprise will be outside after dinner. It just got here."

Her smile is huge and I can tell she wants to just tell me, but also wants to keep it a secret. I furrow my eyebrows with a slim smile, eating quickly, eager for my gift. Her gray eyes are vibrant and excited. 

Just Mom staying sober would be enough for me, anything on top of that feels like a little bit of heaven. But I know not to let myself stay happy for too long, something always comes along to ruin it. 

We're all eager to go outside after we're done, so we leave our plates on the table as we go to the driveway, my mom puts her hands over my eyes and I laugh. 

As the warm California air hits me, Austin shrieks cheerfully beside me at whatever my gift is. "Can I see now?" I chuckle.

My mom lifts her hands off my eyes and sitting on our driveway, is a second car. It's a deep blue-ish gray volkswagen convertible. I hug my mom tightly, muttering thank you's repeatedly. 

She strokes my hair, "I'm glad you like it. It isn't new, I got it used, but it's in great condition, it's only 3 years old-"

She's trying to talk it up like I don't like it. But I love it. I cut her off, "I love it Mom, really. Thank you so much!"

Maybe this really is the start of something new. 

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QOTD: What's the best gift you've ever received?

>> Mine would have to be a small necklace I got from my mom's friend. He's been like a dad to me so it was really special and I wear it all the time :)