Back To Being A Kid

• Oshara Gunawardana, Grade 8
• Short Story
• 2014

The wind howled and the rain poured as Finn rushed through the busy streets. The sky was dreary and gloomy and masses of clouds filled the skies. Finn wasn’t feeling his best; in fact he was feeling terrible.

In life people say that the weather can display your feelings, which was exactly happening to Finn. He desperately tried to forget the past events that occured in his life but that was never going to happen. They were tattooed in his mind forever.

As Finn walked he thought about how the events happened so quickly. One minute he was a little kid, playing around with his Mother, the person who meant so much to him. The next minute he was a teenage, watching his Mother die a painful and slow death as the cancer took hold of her body.

Finn didn’t fight the tears as they streamed down his face while he played back his life story, like a short movie running through his head. Why did his Mother have to die? The person that meant so much to him was taken from his clutches. Anger boiled inside him, it just wasn’t fair. His heart felt like it had been ripped to pieces, put back together and then shredded again.

He watched a Mother and Son sit together at a table in front of his Mother’s favourite café. They were laughing, enjoying the time they had. They looked so happy. Finn continued watching, tears continuing to create a waterfall down his face. Then unexpectedly, the Mother noticed him and Finn bolted.

While Finn ran he remembered his Mother’s last words.
“You’re never too old to be a kid Finn, don’t let other’s stop you from having fun, don’t let me stop you” Finn was clutching his Mother’s hands while she spoke. Her voice was shaky and her hands trembled. Her skin was pale and her face was bony. The only thing that made her seem alive were her beautiful, vivid blue eyes. The memory was just too overwhelming.

Then suddenly Finn spotted something, there was a gigantic puddle located in front of a house. As he noticed it a huge grin spread across his face. His Mother was absolutely right; he was never to old to be a kid.

Finn jumped, he felt like he was soaring like a bird through the air. He landed with a splash, the water drenching his shoes and legs. He laughed like a three year old and jumped with all his might. It reminded him of the times when his Mum took him outside and together, they jumped in puddles. Tears sprung into Finn’s eyes, but that time they were happy ones.

Once he stopped he took a deep, steady breath and concluded a thought. Even though his Mother was gone, he shouldn’t stay depressed. His Mother would have wanted him to live his life and have fun.

And that included jumping in puddles.