The Toy (standard:drama, 976 words)
Author: MaryG	Added: Jun 25 2002	Views/Reads: 3466/2183	Story vote: 0.00 (0 votes)
A boy learns a lesson that remains with him and lives on in his adulthood.

It was 1952 and my father was away at war, leaving me and my mother
behind to face the world alone. I was ten. My mother was a nurse and 
worked at the local hospital a few blocks from where we lived. We both 
resided in a small apartment in the city. It was noisy, cold in the 
winter, smoldering in the summer and very cheap. My mother argued with 
the landlord constantly, as did the other tenants. To their dismay, the 
landlord made promises which he never kept. My mother's only revenge 
for this wicked man was that he would burn in hell someday. I learned a 
valuable lesson that year which carries on to this day. 

The bell rang and thoughts of Christmas were the only thing on my mind.
I raced home from school in the fresh snow that fell while I was in 
school. It laid there on the ground, white and smooth, waiting for my 
boots to disturb its beauty. I stopped briefly to gather some snow in 
my hands, packing it tight, then I threw it at Susie Parker as I ran 
past her. 

"Danny, I telling your mother on you," she cried. 

The five story building where I live was made of brown bricks. There was
a large, cement stoop in front of the building as you enter. Long 
wooden steps reached up to our apartment and continued to the top of 
the building. At the very top of the steps was a door that led you to 
the roof. The summer brought many parties up there. The 4th of July was 
the best time to be up there. Sometimes I would go up there and watch 
old man Macinni tend to his pigeons. 

The apartment was empty when I arrived and a note was attached to the
refrigerator. My mother was working a double shift and left me 
instructions for the day. I became angry and ripped the note in several 
pieces. We planned on making Christmas cookies together and my mother 
spoiled it by working. 

I sulked for several minutes, then realized I was alone. My mother hid
Christmas present somewhere in her bedroom and I found this to be the 
perfect opportunity to investigate. I carefully rummaged through her 
closet, finding most of the gifts wrapped. All but one toy, a model 
airplane. 

I took the airplane in the living room and played with it for a long
time. I was still mad at my mother and I aimed the airplane hard and 
high in the air. It came crashing down on the floor, breaking one of 
its wings. 

I stood frozen with my eyes and mouth wide open, staring down at the
plane. Oh boy, am I in trouble! Picking up the broken parts, I thought, 
how was I going to explain this? I had no money in my piggyback. Where 
did my mother buy the plane? How can I make some money to replace it? 
Who would give me a job now? On Christmas Eve! 

Then I heard my mother coming through the door. This is awful! Why was
she coming home now? I raced to my room, hiding the broken plane under 
my sweater. 

"Danny?" 

"Yeah Mom?" I shouted through the closed door. 

"I'm on a break. I came home to take a present to one of my patients,"
she shouted back at me. 

I sat on my bed, unable to come up with an explanation for the toy
missing in her closet. The silence was torture. I did not hear my 
mother asking herself, where did that toy go? Or yell for me to come in 
her room. All I heard was a gentle knock on my door. I slowly went to 
the door and opened it. My mother stood there, leaning against the door 
frame with her arms folded in front of her. She stared at the lump that 
protruded from my belly. 

After telling my mother the horrible truth, she made me put my coat on
and told me to follow her. We left our apartment and walked to the 
hospital. I stayed one pace behind her, my head bowed down as we 
walked. The avenue was dressed with Christmas lights and tinsel. People 
busied the streets with their arms full of packages. I thought they all 
were staring at me for the terrible thing I did. I knew why my mother 


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