Memories

by Liam Rust

A house

He saw his childhood home right around the corner.

Of course, by now, everything had changed. Homes had been remodeled, painted, and demolished. And the wonder of a child had left him. The woods at the end of the road were no longer mysterious and an invitation for adventure. Now, they were just a bunch of trees. The backyards where he played manhunt with his friends weren't battlegrounds to him, but just some poorly maintained lawns.

He stopped the car, the house looming over him, and the roar of the engine came to a stop. There was an eerie silence in the air, punctured only by the sounds of metal as the car settled. That peace was interrupted by his thoughts and memories swirling into his head.

The past months had been tough on him. Just as his life was looking up, he suddenly got laid off from his job, and he and his wife didn't have enough money saved up to last the months it would take to find a new one. Their relationship hadn't been going that well, either, and after the third time he came home late at night after distracting himself with drinking and parties, she finally cracked, and filed for divorce. He didn't blame her, after looking back on it. But, he still had issues.

That's why he was here.

His mother had died of cancer when he was young, and he couldn't remember much about her. The few things he remembered about her, though, were precious. He was at this house today because of one of them.

He couldn't be sure if it was a real memory, or one his mind made op because he hadn't seen her for most of his life. Whichever it was, he really needed it to be true. It was of him and his mother, in the last stages of her cancer when she knew she didn't have much time left. They were sitting in the backyard together, with little shovels and a container. She said that if he ever was in a time of need, if he didn't know what to do, that he should come back and open the container, and all would be well.

The clouds overhead threatened to rain, but he ignored them. He made his way around the path and into the yard, and started to dig.

It took a while, but he finally something hard.

He frantically grabbed it and held it in his hands, like it was going to disappear any second. Tears started to well up in his eyes. He opened it up, and inside it were two items. A photo of him and his mom, with "I love you, forever and always" written in bubbly cursive letters, and a flash drive labeled "For my son."

He got to his car, plugged it into his computer, and pressed play.