Drawing

March 27, 2044- Sunday

The peach-orange color of the sky paints the sky above in the early morning. On the left of the house, Rise stretches on the front of his yard. A call of the rooster from the farm sounds through the air. Rise moves down the driveway and begins a walk to the road. No cars. He runs. The air whips on his face as he strides down his country road. Past the crooked tree and the bend in the road. A car moves into the road up ahead. Its headlights are blindingly bright as it bounces down the road. Rise moves to the side of the road. Trying to calculate when the car will pass by him he switches places; there are many puddles of water scattered throughout. He has worn bright clothes to be on the safe side- a lime green shirt. The car’s wheels go over a puddle splashing Rise with muddy water. Rise closes his eyes for a second when water shocks him but continues to run.

With a muddy attire, Rise continues on the road. He runs up a small hill to overlook a part of the town a couple of miles away. The major road is visible in the distance with the lights of the town. The lush area around the hill is bright with sunlight on the green grass. Rise sits down for five minutes.

He takes this time to himself. He watches as the sun peaks up from the horizon. Its rays poke out into the sky. The contrast of the grass to his skin lets him clear his mind before the start of the day. The grass pricks on every inch of his body, through his clothes the blades of grass feel like spikes. It is a good task for a Sunday morning. Taking in deep breaths, Rise opens his eyes to see the clouds above. As the clouds float by, Rise empties his mind. He pushes his body up from the ground and returns the same way toward his house. Down the hill, letting his feet kick back and the energy pull him down. He runs on the road until he turns the corner of the twisted tree, leading him into his parent’s property.

He spots his father in the field by their house tending to the cows. Rise walks over to him. The wooden fence is in between his father and Rise.

"Ready to do the farm chores?" asks his Pa.

"Yes, Pa," says Rise climbing over the fence.

Rise shows his Pa the mud on his clothes.

His Pa laughs saying, "Looks like you've been wrestling with a pig."

The first task is to feed the farm animals. Inside the chicken coop, he brings food for the chickens in the coop. Their natural-colored feathers move around him. He gathers the eggs that were produced in the basket hanging above the door. This causes a slight disturbance among the chickens. Rise procures the eggs into the basket. He strolls through the grass and driveway toward his house. He lays the eggs in a container on the counter inside the kitchen. He picks two apples from the fruit bowl in his hands.

He returns outside to finish his work. Passing through the small stables he hears the sounds of the two horses of the family.

“How are you guys?” says Rise, grabbing some hay to give them.

An apple for each horse serves as an added food source. Rise holds the red apple up to each horse. The apples are quickly gone.

“Hungry?” Rise asks, chuckling out loud.

He walks back to the house. He is hungry himself but is very dirty. All his clothes have dried mud and sweat. He munches on a granola bar as he runs the water for a bath. Rise looks at his clothes.

The water is warm on his muscles as he dips inside the bathtub. Bubbles surface on the top. He lays back until the water reaches his chin. From the one window in the bathroom, the light of the morning glows bright.

On the dining table, Rise munches on his eggs, fresh ones from the morning.

“How’s the food?” asks Ma, standing by the stove.

“It’s good Ma,” says Rise, taking another bite.

The bacon sizzles in the pan next to Ma and the smell wafts into the dining room. A few minutes later she brings a platter of bacon strips. Sitting down Ma joins Rise at the table.

“We will be going into town to buy groceries,” says Ma.

“Okay,” says Rise.

The reusable bags sat under the grocery cart. Ma pushes the cart through the aisle holding a paper list in hand. Every other minute she asks Rise to go get an item from the list. Down the well-lit store of food options of boxes, cans, and bottles. Despite the tags in promotion, Rise believes the food prices are expensive. He can see it in the way his mom checks the price of every item that is scanned. And the murmur, “expensive,” from his Ma. Rise and Ma finish grocery shopping by the time the sun is at its peak. They cross the parking lot as the sun beats down. Together, they load the groceries to the back, all three bags.

“I’ll go return the cart,” says Rise.

Along the parking lot, Rise pushes the cart. A man outside of the store sits on the metal bench of the store in tattered clothes. The clothes are in a dirty condition. Rise leaves the cart inside its spot and hurries inside to buy water and two beef jerkies. Outside he gets closer to the man.

“Sir, would you like these?” asks Rise, stretching his hand.

“Good day young man, peace brother,” says the man, taking the items.

Rise hurries to the truck. His Ma is looking at her phone.

“What took so long to Rise?” asks Ma, putting away her phone in her purse.

“The cart didn’t want to go into its slot,” says Rise.

“One stubborn slot,” says Ma, putting the car in reverse.

They head into the main road. Buildings pass by to the left and right. The traffic is a constant flow beside the trucks until they turn onto their country road. An itchy feeling in Rise's throat stays stuck, he wants to ask his Ma for information about the past. History.

Rolling down the window with his arm, it takes a great force to bring the glass to the halfway point. Rise sucks in some fresh air from out of the roadway, preparing his question.

"Ma, what were the revolts of 2030 like?" asks Rise.

The knuckles of his mother turn whiter as she grips the steering wheel with greater force, answering, "You've studied this in school."

"Yes, but I want to hear from your perspective," says Rise.

There is enough silence for Rise to believe his mother won't answer back, but she says, "Some past is best left alone."

The rest of the car ride is void of conversation. Only the sound of the wind through the crack in the window whistles in Rise's ear.

The grocery bags are unloaded from the truck and into the kitchen. Rise makes his way up the stairs and into his room to begin his schoolwork. Closing the bedroom door with a soft thud, Rise looks about his room. He tidies the loose objects into their place, dirty clothes into the hamper and clears his desk.

Unzipping his back he pulls out the materials for his homework. He works straight away on the project paper for history class. While typing away on the computer he finishes the writing. He texts Kevin and Ben: Check the document for error.

Soon after the computer shows his classmates both doing minor edits to the document.

Kevin texts: Looks good.

Ben texts: Ready to submit.

Rise submits the document portion of the assignment into the online portal.

After his project, he works on other school work. The night has fallen dark outside of the window. Rise stretches his arms as he sits in his chair. The music from his headphones vibrates around him. He thinks back to the peace sign. Out of the corner of his eye is his notebook and pen. A moment of hesitation later, he reaches for the college-ruled notebook and opens to a blank page. He draws the circular shape with lines in the middle outstretched like an inverted tree- the peace sign. He thickens the lines by going over it with more black ink. The black lines stare black at him. From behind him, Rise feels a rush of air as a hand rips the page from the notebook. Rise jumps in his seat, turning to look. His Ma takes the page and rips it into small pieces.

"Don't… don't draw that," says Ma, her eyebrows burrow together.

Rise remains silent. The paper pieces lie in his trash bin. His mother left the room, slamming shut the door. An hour later Rise descends the stairs to grab a drink of water. Passing by the living room he watches his mother in the armchair. The lamp light is on, a yellow light, ma sits underneath reading a small book. Rise knows she is reading her black cover bible. With light footsteps, he walks into the kitchen. The water fills the top of the glass cup. He sips water from the cup before taking the cup back to his bedroom. Raindrops against his windows trickle into the windowsill. Drip. Drip. Rise uses the sound to sleep.