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Matthew sighed softly as he closed the bedroom door behind him, leaning against the wall of the hallway, thinking.
"How is he?" His younger sister, Lucricia asked quietly from her seat in the living room, staring blindly in the direction that Matthew was.
"It's gotten worse...he can barely breathe." Matthew sighed again in frustration as he moved to sit next to his fiance, Bells who had come for a visit out of concern that day.
"Damn it...we don't have the money for his medication, he's dieing in there!" He said frustrated.
"Don't say that, Matthew." Bells said quietly, placing a hand on her love's shoulder. "There has to be something we can do..."
The front door opened and their Mother stepped in with her husband right behind her, both looking upset. Matthew stood up.
"What happened?" He asked as his Mother headed down the hallway. The Father sighed.
"We...met someone today. He said that he would provide Jasper with his medication in exchange of allowing Jasper to live with him. Said he was looking to adopt a child and wanted to help us..." The Father said quietly as he sat down. "We're inviting him over for dinner tonight."
"What? You're actually considering this? But you don't even know this guy!" Matthew said angrily, his hands clenched.
"We have no choice. If it gives Jasper the chance to survive in this world, we have to at least listen to what he has to say." The Father looked away.
Night had fallen and the family were awaiting their guest, Lucricia and Bells cooking in the kitchen while the Mother stayed by their sickly son's bedside. A knock came at the front door, the home becoming silent. Matthew stayed frozen on the couch. Bells looked up from her cooking and placed her knife on the counter, wiping off her hands and headed towards the front door.
When she opened the door she was greeted by an older gentleman, removing his hat and taking a small bow before smiling.
"Good evening, Madam. My name is Charles Ringham." He introduced himself in a warm tone. Bells nodded but kept her expression polite.
"Yes, we've been expecting you Sir. Come in." She said, opening the door wider for him.
"Thank you." He smiled as he removed his dark coat, which was in turn taken by Bells and placed on the coat hanger by the hall. Led into the living room, he again bowed in the direction of the Father and Matthew.
"Good evening Mr. Rohles." He said politely. "How is your youngest son? Feeling any better?" He asked concerned.
The Father stood up to shake hands with Ringham. "He's been bed ridden for days." He answered truthfully. "Honestly Sir, I'm truly grateful that you offered to care for my son but, why would you-"
Ringham held up a hand for quiet. "You see Mr. Rohles, I am always concerned about the well being of the children of our land. They are our future you see, regardless of stature or how much money their family has. Every child is just as important as the next and it pains me to see such a young child suffer through so much. I cannot have children of my own, so I've been looking to adopt a child that I can educate to carry on my family line." He explained as he was led towards the small dining table.
"I've seen your Jasper around the area, and he seems to be quite the bright and intelligent child. This awful disease is getting in the way of his potential. I couldn't stand by and see such a bright and potentially important asset to the future of our country be destroyed by the high prices of medicine. As I'm sure you know, Jasper is no good for farm work, that would put too much stress on his lungs, but put him into learning and he can go far in the world. He has a bright future if he receives the proper education and medicine."
The Mr. Rohles and Mr. Ringham conversed back and forth, Ringham was the perfect gentleman, serious in his want to adopt their child and caring for him. He even offered a large sum of money in exchange to adopt Jasper.
While Mr. Rohles didn't like the idea of probably never seeing his youngest son again, he knew that inside, everyone of the Rohles family wanted nothing more for Jasper than to be well and have a bright future. They wanted him to be happy, something that Mr. Rohles knew he couldn't accomplish on their own.
Mr. Rohles sighed, making the hardest decision in his life.
"Mr. Ringham, you adopt our son."
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Days passed, the two men had decided that is was best that they waited for the adoption to take place after Jasper had recovered more, at least be well enough to sit up on his own before the change. During those days, Jasper's Mother never left his side, and Matthew refused to talk to their Father, he knew it was for the best, but he couldn't stand the thought that their Father had basically just sold Jasper to a complete stranger.
Jasper had been told of the adoption plans by his Father who repeatedly asked that he be forgiven and each time Jasper replied weakly "There is no need to be sorry. Thank you for loving me so much."
Jasper was resting in his bedroom the day of the adoption. His older siblings were in his room, Lucricia sat next to him, stroking his hair absentmindedly as Matthew packed up what little things Jasper owned into a small bag quietly. Jasper looked down at his torn blanket.
"...Brother...?" Jasper asked quietly. Matthew looked up.
"Yeah?"
"Don't be mad at Father, ok? He's only doing this to help me..."
Matthew sighed and sat down on the bed next to Jasper and pulled him into a hug.
"I'm not mad...I'm just...frustrated. I don't want to lose my little brother, that's all." He said quietly, hiding his face with his long red hair. Jasper smiled softly as he hugged back.
"You're not losing me, brother. I'm just...going away for awhile. Once I learn to write, I'll send letters. I promise, ok? So don't cry."
Matthew let go of Jasper and looked away, scratching at the corner of his eye.
"Who said I was crying?" He said stubbornly, folding his arms. Jasper and Lucricia laughed softly as Jasper's bedroom door opened.
"It's time, Jasper..." Bells said softly a soft expression on her features. Jasper nodded sadly and made to get, still struggling a little. Matthew helped him out of the bed and walked him down the hallway. Ringham was standing by the opened front door with a warm small smile. No words were exchanged in the Rholes family, but their feelings were expressed through their eyes and gestures. Jasper's Mother watched as the family exchanged hugs with Jasper one by one, but when he looked at her, her tears flowed freely as she pulled him into a desperate hug.
Ringham's coach driver cleared his throat. "Um, Sir. We're running behind schedule."
Jasper's Mother stiffened before slowly letting Jasper go. "You behave, alright? Become an important member of society and make the world a better place." She said through her tears.
"I will, Mum." He smiled softly before kissing her on the cheek and slowly walking towards the front door and taking Ringham's outstretched hand.
It was the end for Jasper's life as a member of the Rholes family, yet in reality, it was just the beginning of a new life.
 Fizzyology · Sun Dec 14, 2008 @ 08:23pm · 1 Comments |
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