DON'T LET ME DOWN.

In Brazil

"My whole life, my greatest enemy has been love, and I don't want you to hurt someone; I want to raise a man rich in love.", she muttered. Her voice could be hardly head by any other person except her son, Gerald.

"Love preacher, I need to leave for work, today I'm to the beach again", he sarcastically replied and went out of their room banging the door behind him. This room was better that what they had left earlier, but people around were so rude. They lived in a bus which they have molded the inside to a room. For the two of them, that was the best and dream come true.

"I feel like dying but I might miss my son and won't get to know what will become of", she cried after her son had left for work. She spoke to herself whenever she stood in a mirror and watched herself fading away. She could die any point of time if her time came. She untied her the piece of material which cover her head, there was no hair. The disease had shaved her, she has been ill for so long and nothing seemed changing.

He would push ride about 50 coconuts on a cart. The Fourteen-year-old boy, no one believed his age when he mentioned it. Hard work had made him look older than his age. He had learned swimming ever since he moved to Brazil and had made himself new friends.

"hey kid, how much!?"

"US$ 0.80! each", he also exclaimed when someone had asked. He had already break it and offered before he could ask another question. To him, 'how much' meant 'buying it'. He would spend about 5-6 hours at the beach. Sometimes, his mother was able to prepare something for herself. Sometimes, Lily and Armando would take would watch his back when Ann illness became severe that she couldn't stand.

Lily and Armando, his new friends he found at Brazil and all were of the same age, except Lily who was a year lesser.

The man who had brought them there had gone. Nowhere to be found, he had thought him how he'd wholesale coconuts in case he run out of stock. A young business man. He had been told about his father but never bothered to spend a second to think of him or how he would get to him.

He had been told he is rich but he didn't care enough. His mother's life and what he'd eat daily was his prayer and not look for daddy. Life became a bit difficult when prices of his mother's drugs became a bit difficult but she lied to him that, she was getting better and could feel it inside her. So that, his boy wouldn't stress so much. That didn't seem convincing though, he would buy some of the drugs, the amount his money would reach. That's why she felt like dying.

"Gerald, your coconuts finished so early today! Wow!", Armando happily exclaimed holding one his waist with one hand and the other holding Lilly's hand.

"No, I left two for you guys. I knew you'd come around", he picked them as they run to him. He looked at their faces as they drunk the coconut juice. He smirked and felt excited. At least he had friends who went to school and didn't laugh at him because he was poor. They were not children of a very rich class but they had both strong parents. Being a friend of step brother and sister.

They sometimes brought him leftovers after they had eaten. The only little problem was, Lilly, who seemed to be in love with Gerald. She overdid things and it was clear. This time, he could figure if someone was in love with him. The love preacher had thought him. He always turned a deaf ear to her mother's love preaching but they come back to his ears whenever he was idle.

He had read enough love story books which he had borrowed from the same friends. He always felt uneasy when Lilly came around him alone. She sometimes hugged him for no reason, he'd pretend everything was alright but deep down, he never like her.

Armando, shy and gentle boy thought Gerald swimming. His greatest fear was seeing her sister with other young guys apart from Gerald, whom he trusted. His love for his stepsister was quite uncertain, it was very deeper than normal. He threw the empty shell in the air in an attempt to kick it but swerved his body to the other side.

"That's all you got.", his sister laughed.

"Probably, for no. when I grow up, and get stronger, I might do better".

The day was fading, people at the beach were decreasing in number and it was getting darker.

"let's go home, this clouds have appeared fast. I believe it would rain cats and dogs", Gerald predicted, while packing the shells into a sack. He saw both staring at him in amazement. "I read that from a book, it means, it would rain harder."

"We know!", both exclaimed. "just that I've never used it", Lilly continued.

After getting everything shell into the sack, he left it there. The beach cleaning agency would take care of it. He was the only person they picked his trash for free. He didn't need to pay for any monthly tickets. On is on this reason that other traders bullied him sometimes.

"I need to rush home guys, love you, take care. Bye!", he shouted as he rushed home.

They also recited his lines, it was his usual thing. Anything weird from him, he probably might have learnt it from a book.

"Do you really love him?", Armando jealously asked but smiled.

"Yeah, I love him."

"And what about me?"

"I love you the most, brother. Don't be a d*ck", she mocked him and jumped on his back. "take me home if you love me too. Brother, take me home take me homeeee…", She sung as her brother carried her home. Armando like the fact that his sister loved him. little did her sister know that love wasn't enough. He needed her, but as children, she thought less.

When Gerald reached home, he couldn't see his mother. She was nowhere to be found in the bus apartment. He had asked the neighbors around but to no avail. Upon thorough search, he was prompted to go to the beach again. 'It was too late for her to be there and hasn't ever been there as well, is she spying on me?", so many questions run through his head at a time. With the same energy he came home with, he went back to the beach the same way. Turning and turning, he saw no one, tears begun to cover his eyes. But he cleaned them as fast he can. "my mother isn't dead for me to shed tears". He encouraged himself.

"Love cannot be expressed; It reflect itself in the lover's actions."

"MUM!?", he run and hugged her.

She appeared from nowhere and stood at her son's back. She was acting a bit strange. She didn't hug him back. She kept telling him what love is and never stopped. She kept repeating and repeating herself and would change the subject according to the gender they passed by as they walked home. She had prepared some food before she left, it was cold but Gerald didn't have a choice. All he was interested in was food. His mother had kept quite after taking her medication and watched his boy while he ate his food.

For three months, she had acted the same way. Her disease got worse than ever. She could barely eat not drink. She would scream when her son tried to leave for work. For some weeks, he had to stay by her to take care of her. Sometimes, she would force him to write down her words in a book. Every leaf of the book was covered with love quotes, what he called 'preaching'.

"Mum, I need to go to the beach today. We've run out of money, food, and most importantly drugs", he discussed the situation and left. The beach where he sold his coconuts were empty. absolutely empty. He had to go to the next beach where he thought the people had gone to. If he made no sales for that day, he would go to bed hungry. He had to force. He got to the place in about an hour. He looked so tired and worn out. Someone had followed him but he didn't care to ask. All he was dreaming was getting to the place, make sales and got what he needed. Two people followed him. An old man and a man in his 40s. They might just be random people, he guessed and kept thinking about his business. No one bothered him, not even the agencies there. that seemed weird but he took it miracle.

"Have you ever thought about going to school?", a deep voice asked, echoing from behind him.

"Is that why you've been following me all these while?", arrogantly, he replied with a question.

"What if yes, that's why I've been following you?"

"What if I say No! I won't go to school?"

"Calm yourself down, don't let situations take over your soul and body. You are too young to be in this situation. You may wonder how I got to know, but what if I told you, you were just talking it out while you were coming. You see, you didn't even realize you were doing such a thing. The only person I didn't hear you mention was…"

"Father, I know", he wasn't even broken by those words. He showed no sign of sadness or remorse. He still stood his grounds and talked to him like his mate. "All I want to hear again is you buying coconut, else leave me alone".

Random people bought from him while they spoke and suddenly, he hit a stack of dollar note on his cart. He asked him how many coconuts would he get from that but the little boy didn't mind. He thought the man was making fun him. He sobered and pointed his knife at him and drove him away. But he didn't take the money back. He left the little boy alone. Selling almost half his products, his friends came there. Gerald picked the money and left the coconuts in their hands as usual.

Something was prompting him to go home. His instinct also backed it. He went to the pharmaceutical shop to get his mother's drugs, went to the grocery store to get some items and went straight home. She had stopped making noise. Total silence had taken over. "She has gone to the beach again", he guessed but love and behold she was inside when he entered.

He didn't bother to wake her from sleep, he wanted to prepare supper before he'd wake her up. But the silence was too much. it was so silent and dense. "Mum", he called but she didn't respond. He repeated it three times, yet she didn't respond. He run to her bed in shock. He touched gently, then tilt her body, yet silent.

"Mum!!!", he shouted loudly. The birds which stood on the trees where they live got terrified and flew. He run out to seek for help. His neighbors reached the ambulance to pick her. People gathered around his home. Spectators and curious people, only few people knew her because, she got out once in a blue moon.

The security wouldn't let the boy in. Few minutes later, they brought her to ambulance. She laid lifeless on in bed and her face, covered with oxygen tube. People murmured 'she was dead' and 'other's she's not'. But the actual was unknown. They sped off leaving the poor boy alone. People consoled him. They put two thoughts in his head. She was dead or alive, he himself was confused but cried bitterly.

"Gerald, we're back!", his friends shouted. They had never gotten inside the room and were always curious about how the inside would look like. They were tempted to get in but they heard him crying. Lilly knocked so hard on the door that it opened. She rushed inside when she saw Gerald on the floor crying.

"what's wrong, Gerald…"

"Gerald!!!?", Armando exclaimed and run inside too.