Salem's Eye
Out Bound
While the rain beat down on the window, and the waves crashed against the shore, Salem sat quietly, looking out at the ocean.
A voice called from downstairs, “Hey, Silence. The taxi’s here its time to go!” Silence. That was his nickname, his permanent label in life, because he rarely talked but when he did, you always seemed to listen.
“I’m coming!” he shouted back as he took one last look at the view he’d come to love. So many times he had sat there on his bed for hours, just looking out at the vastness of the seascape. Quickly, he grabbed his suitcase from off of his bed and headed downstairs.
Once he had reached the last step, his foster mother greeted him.
“I can’t believe that you’re leaving. You’ve been here longer than any of the other children. Are you sure your ready for this?” she asked sad and scared, more scared then Salem felt himself.
“Oh, for crying out loud! Mom I’m going with him, there’s no worry, and we’ll be fine. Trust me.” said Kris, Salem’s older sister, the only real family he had left.
She was only a year older than him but she still saw him as her “little” brother.
“Yeah, mom we’ll be fine, its just college. Its not like were going to war or something dangerous.” He replied as the taxi blew its horn once again. The two of them gave their mother one last hug and kiss before climbing into the back of the yellow one-way ticket to adulthood.
Salem sat patiently as the taxi sped along the black asphalt. He watched the trees blow in the wind as they flew on past, and the sun slowly set in west. Kris finally decided to cut the quiet thread.
“Hey, you excited? We finally are going off to college. For once no ‘rents.” Salem shrugged as he kept his gaze locked out the window. Kris poked him softly in the shoulder,
“Hello? Anyone home? You’re not homesick already are you?” she said with a smile. He stopped looking out at the landscape and decided to talk to her,
“Homesick? No, course not. I’m as happy to leave as you are. It’s just…the fact that after this, what is there?”
Kris knew what he was talking about and bit her lip in spite of the fact.
“Well, look at it like this, we’ve got 4 years of college together and probably end up living close to each other. Don’t worry everything will be fine.” Salem wasn’t so sure about that but her words made him feel reassured. He smiled and started look back out the window, when a question struck him,
“Kris?”
“Yeah?” Kris answered, looking up from her book,
“What happened to our family?”
Kris almost cried at the question. Never before, in the 14 years they spent at the Ocean’s house, did he every even mention there parents. Salem looked at her with tears in his eyes. He stared into her eyes and that dreamlike state came to him again. The gift of mind reading…
…He saw images of a red car driving down a lone street in what looked like the slums of a city. Two, no, four people sat inside. They were two adults and two little children. The car came to a stop at a red light, and the suddenly, a man walked out from the shadows, pointed a gun at the driver, and fired. The two adults up front died instantly, while the children cried mercilessly, for their deceased parents. The gunman turned his attention to the children, and raised the gun once again, but a bystander tackled him suddenly. The blood soaked children were taken out of the car and put into a police car…
Salem returned and saw his sister was ready to speak,
“Sis, it’s ok I know.” Kris stared blankly,
“What do you mean you know?” she asked suddenly angry by his words. Salem explained to here what he saw, as she sat there tears rolling down onto the pages of her book. Kris just nodded once he had finished and look back towards the front of the car. Salem tried to figure out if she was mad or relived when she spoke,
“It’s good that you know now. They were nice parents. You were 5 and I was 6 when it happened. The man who shot them had just robbed a corner store and needed a car. They didn’t deserve to die that way.”
Salem nodded and whispered,
“No one does.”
Kris stepped out of the taxi, gazing around at there new home. The campus was huge. She couldn’t even see to the other side of it from were she stood, in either direction.
A woman walked over to the car, dressed in a power suit and heels. Salem never did like women like that they were too mannish to him. His mother and sister were the girly girl type. Fun, giggly, always joking, not serious faced and stuck up like this one. He was getting their bags out of the trunk when she greeted them.
“Ah, so you must be the last of our late arrivals.” She snorted out, like she was disgusted with the fact that they were late. She looked Kris up and down like she was expecting some super cherry reply. Yet Kris stuck out her and to shake,
“Hello, I’m Kris Ocean, and this is my brother…”
“Salem, Salem Ocean” he interrupted, he decided if they were going to be formal he might as well introduce himself. The woman looked pleased at their intro.
“Hello, Kris. Hello Salem. I’m Mrs. Sands. I’m the coach of the swim, track team, and I’m the entire welcome party. Welcome to New Haven. Let me show you to your dorms.”
A voice called from downstairs, “Hey, Silence. The taxi’s here its time to go!” Silence. That was his nickname, his permanent label in life, because he rarely talked but when he did, you always seemed to listen.
“I’m coming!” he shouted back as he took one last look at the view he’d come to love. So many times he had sat there on his bed for hours, just looking out at the vastness of the seascape. Quickly, he grabbed his suitcase from off of his bed and headed downstairs.
Once he had reached the last step, his foster mother greeted him.
“I can’t believe that you’re leaving. You’ve been here longer than any of the other children. Are you sure your ready for this?” she asked sad and scared, more scared then Salem felt himself.
“Oh, for crying out loud! Mom I’m going with him, there’s no worry, and we’ll be fine. Trust me.” said Kris, Salem’s older sister, the only real family he had left.
She was only a year older than him but she still saw him as her “little” brother.
“Yeah, mom we’ll be fine, its just college. Its not like were going to war or something dangerous.” He replied as the taxi blew its horn once again. The two of them gave their mother one last hug and kiss before climbing into the back of the yellow one-way ticket to adulthood.
Salem sat patiently as the taxi sped along the black asphalt. He watched the trees blow in the wind as they flew on past, and the sun slowly set in west. Kris finally decided to cut the quiet thread.
“Hey, you excited? We finally are going off to college. For once no ‘rents.” Salem shrugged as he kept his gaze locked out the window. Kris poked him softly in the shoulder,
“Hello? Anyone home? You’re not homesick already are you?” she said with a smile. He stopped looking out at the landscape and decided to talk to her,
“Homesick? No, course not. I’m as happy to leave as you are. It’s just…the fact that after this, what is there?”
Kris knew what he was talking about and bit her lip in spite of the fact.
“Well, look at it like this, we’ve got 4 years of college together and probably end up living close to each other. Don’t worry everything will be fine.” Salem wasn’t so sure about that but her words made him feel reassured. He smiled and started look back out the window, when a question struck him,
“Kris?”
“Yeah?” Kris answered, looking up from her book,
“What happened to our family?”
Kris almost cried at the question. Never before, in the 14 years they spent at the Ocean’s house, did he every even mention there parents. Salem looked at her with tears in his eyes. He stared into her eyes and that dreamlike state came to him again. The gift of mind reading…
…He saw images of a red car driving down a lone street in what looked like the slums of a city. Two, no, four people sat inside. They were two adults and two little children. The car came to a stop at a red light, and the suddenly, a man walked out from the shadows, pointed a gun at the driver, and fired. The two adults up front died instantly, while the children cried mercilessly, for their deceased parents. The gunman turned his attention to the children, and raised the gun once again, but a bystander tackled him suddenly. The blood soaked children were taken out of the car and put into a police car…
Salem returned and saw his sister was ready to speak,
“Sis, it’s ok I know.” Kris stared blankly,
“What do you mean you know?” she asked suddenly angry by his words. Salem explained to here what he saw, as she sat there tears rolling down onto the pages of her book. Kris just nodded once he had finished and look back towards the front of the car. Salem tried to figure out if she was mad or relived when she spoke,
“It’s good that you know now. They were nice parents. You were 5 and I was 6 when it happened. The man who shot them had just robbed a corner store and needed a car. They didn’t deserve to die that way.”
Salem nodded and whispered,
“No one does.”
Kris stepped out of the taxi, gazing around at there new home. The campus was huge. She couldn’t even see to the other side of it from were she stood, in either direction.
A woman walked over to the car, dressed in a power suit and heels. Salem never did like women like that they were too mannish to him. His mother and sister were the girly girl type. Fun, giggly, always joking, not serious faced and stuck up like this one. He was getting their bags out of the trunk when she greeted them.
“Ah, so you must be the last of our late arrivals.” She snorted out, like she was disgusted with the fact that they were late. She looked Kris up and down like she was expecting some super cherry reply. Yet Kris stuck out her and to shake,
“Hello, I’m Kris Ocean, and this is my brother…”
“Salem, Salem Ocean” he interrupted, he decided if they were going to be formal he might as well introduce himself. The woman looked pleased at their intro.
“Hello, Kris. Hello Salem. I’m Mrs. Sands. I’m the coach of the swim, track team, and I’m the entire welcome party. Welcome to New Haven. Let me show you to your dorms.”
♠ ♠ ♠
There Are Some Corrections I Need To make And Some Parts Are Left Out Of This.