Tara Road

I left for college soon after my mother’s death. I had always planned on staying home so that she wouldn’t be left alone in that big house but now it didn’t matter. I moved in before classes started with the help of Uncle Brad instead of my mother’s help. He kept trying to start conversations with me like talking made my mother’s death less painful. He told me how he had always wanted to attend college but things just got in the way. Money at first he said was the problem then the responsibility of taking care of the farm. My dorm room was small compared to my room at home. The walls were white and bare even after I have moved everything into my new room. My yellow comforter did little to brighten up the room nor did my red curtains.

Before Uncle Brad left to go home, he took me out to a quick dinner so he could get home to feed the animals. We went to a small family restaurant that was busy with students that had moved in that day with their parents. It made me miss Mom more than ever. My uncle talked about times when him and my mom were young. He told me funny stories that made me laugh  and forget momentarily that she wasn’t with us. After dinner we walked around downtown to see the shops of the town. I think he knew that I didn’t want him to leave. He just kept talking. It was nice to to have to talk for once. Not to have someone ask me how I was feeling.

I remember a time in my life when everything was perfect. I know not everything is perfect but life at that point seemed perfect. My mother and I had gone camping in an area near our house. It was great. We were sitting outside of the tent on rocks roasting marshmallows to make smores. She was laughing and talking about when she was a kid. Her father her and Brad camping in wods that wer supposedly haunted by ghosts of the Indians killed by the settlers back when teh land was first settled. She had told me how my uncle Brad had stayed up all night worrying that some kind of ghost was going to come along and run off with him. She was giggling when she told me. She joked not to tell Uncle Brad because he would deny the whole thing ever happened.

“Do you remember when you and Mom went camping?” I asked Uncle Brad on the ride back to the dorms. There were lots of people out on the town that night. The streets of downtown were full of people shopping. They were all laughing and smiling; they seemed excited about starting college. I wish I could be one of them.

“We went camping lots of times when we were young. Which one in specific?”

“Once when Mom and I were camping she told me a story of when grandpa, her and you were out in the woods and you were scared of the ghosts. She seemed really happy when she was telling it.”

” I remember the time you’re talking about.” Brad laughed. “It was my first time out there at night. She told me that if I hit two sticks together that it would scare the ghosts and make them go away. I believed her so all night I sat by the campfire with those stupid sticks, tapping them together.” He smiled while he was talking. I liked hearing Uncle Brad talk about when Mom and him were young.

“I miss her. I wish she was here.”

“Me, too. Me, too. She really would have loved you being here. She would have been really excited for you. She and I never got to experience college. We came from a different generation where not everyone went to college.” he said pulling into a parking spot at the front of the building. “Do you need anything else? or do you want me to stay for company? I have to get back to feed the animals but if you want me to stay I can.”

“No, it’s ok. I’ll be ok. I have class tomorrow so I should probably get to bed early tonight. Thanks Uncle Brad. I really appreciate you helping me and all.”

“I love you. I wouldn’t want you to move into college all by yourself.” Brad walked me up to the door and gave me a final hug. He squeezed me and kissed me on the forehead. “Now if you be needing anything, you just give me a call. I’ll be right here in a dash.”