Paul's Kingdom
"Fine," you say dejectedly. "I'll sing him the stupid song."
"That's the spirit!" Tom pats your back again. "Now go do it."
You climb the stairs to Dad's room and swing the door open wide. He is laying on his bed, on top of the blankets. He is awake; you can tell because his eyes are open.
You breathe in quickly and plunge into your song.
"Sing.
Sing a song.
Make it simple.
To last your whole life long!
Don't worry if it's not good enough
For anyone else to hear.
Just sing.
Sing a song."
And Dad doesn't even respond. He just lays there.
You hear a snigger in the background and shoot a glance at the door. You can see Tom laughing his butt off through the space between the door and the wall.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Paul had a miserable life. It all had begun to unravel when he was in second grade. And only now, at the age of twenty-two, had he figured it all out in his head.
His mother had left his father. His dad was depressed because of that. Paul had tried to make his dad happy again but just made it worse. Everyone was sad.
"That's the spirit!" Tom pats your back again. "Now go do it."
You climb the stairs to Dad's room and swing the door open wide. He is laying on his bed, on top of the blankets. He is awake; you can tell because his eyes are open.
You breathe in quickly and plunge into your song.
"Sing.
Sing a song.
Make it simple.
To last your whole life long!
Don't worry if it's not good enough
For anyone else to hear.
Just sing.
Sing a song."
And Dad doesn't even respond. He just lays there.
You hear a snigger in the background and shoot a glance at the door. You can see Tom laughing his butt off through the space between the door and the wall.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Paul had a miserable life. It all had begun to unravel when he was in second grade. And only now, at the age of twenty-two, had he figured it all out in his head.
His mother had left his father. His dad was depressed because of that. Paul had tried to make his dad happy again but just made it worse. Everyone was sad.
