I am Here Mom

I am Here Mom  

By Brett Nielsen

After the divorce Bretton and his mother grew apart because of the life style his mother chose for herself. He believed that his mother would come back, but she never did. So it was her birthday and Bretton decided to go see his mother for the first time since the divorce.

Bretton approached the apartment complex and noticed that the check-in counter for guests was ancient enough for the building to appear infested with insects, and the window sills were peeling off of the yellow skinned windows. The doorknob was very rusty and the window of the door had a bullet hole in the middle.  As Bretton opened the door he noticed, through the high-pitched screech of the hinges, that no one was at the desk to greet him. He rushed out the door and slammed it, even though he didn't get a good look of the place, but he did notice the smell of moist mold coming from the cracks in the wall. Bretton turned around and tried to find his mother’s room but remembered that she lived in the second building but he couldn't remember what floor.  Bretton decided to approach the door into the main lobby of the second building but he noticed that the door was fairly new, a hell of a lot newer than the one in the old check-in center. He approached the door, twisted the doorknob, and walked into the main lobby, but as he closed the door a cool draft raced across his body and an uneasy feeling settled in his gut. He looked around and noticed a few holes in the wall to the left of him and there were scratch marks on the walls to the right of him. As he looked up he noticed that the ceiling was cracked in several spots and green plant like objects filled them in. Then the lights started to flicker and Bretton continued on further into the hall on the right towards the scratch marks. He continued walking down through the hallway when he realized that the ground was covered in cheap balding carpet that was as red as a rotten tomato, and noticed a small teddy bear next to one of the doors. Bretton stopped where the teddy bear sat and the smell of burning styrofoam confused him for a split second until he realized that it was coming from the door he was standing right next to. He picked up the teddy bear and hugged it tightly and said, “ You make me feel safer in here, Teddy, even if you are missing an eye.” Bretton then looked around and decided to walk back where he came from, but then the old fragile door that he was standing next to flung right open. He saw a lady with red hair in a business suit and as she walked closer to Bretton, he noticed that it was his mother, but she walked right through him. Bretton then yelled, “MOM!” as loud as he could and saw her turn around down the dark hallway, then continue walking. Bretton looked down the hallway dragging Teddy by his brown arm along the floor and gasped as he saw the hall breathing all the way down. He finally saw the light coming from the wall and said, “I wish she knew that I still come to see her on her birthday, but then I remember, I am a spirit.”