Why life could suck and why it doesn't

[Leonshade†]

((David Walker's debut))

A 14-year old David Walker, fresh from another day of school, is walking down a street. David is holding his backpack on his right shoulder, letting the left shoulder rest. David is on a good mood, having spent quite a bit of time with the girl he has a crush on today. One of these days he was hoping to work up the courage to ask her out. Approaching his home, David wondered where she could take her. A movie seemed like the best idea for two teenagers, and the only realistic idea David could think of. David reached his home, a nice blue house in the suburbs, big enough for a family of three. David grabbed the keys to the house from his pocket, unlocking the door and getting inside.

David's mother had called in sick for the day, so David figured that she would be home right now. "Mom, I'm home!" he yelled, but heard no answer. Since the house was quiet, David figured she was sleeping. Not wanting to wake her up, he quietly took off his shoes and his coat. Dropping his backpack on the floor, David walked into the kitchen to get a snack from the fridge. Once he stepped into the kitchen, though, his attention was immediately grabbed by a figure on the floor. It took a second before David recognized that the figure was his mother, lying on the floor, an empty bottle of painkillers beside her. It took David a while to fully process what he was witnessing before him.

"...Mom, are you...", he tried to say, but the words were stuck to his throat, trying to understand what had happened. He staggered over to his mother, hoping that she was merely unconscious. To his shock he couldn't feel a pulse and she didn't seem to be breathing, either. David took the cellphone out of his phone, frantically dialing 911.

The next few hours seemed unreal. It took a while for David to understand what had truly happened. His father joined him at the hospital, but a came to them and gave them the bad news. Her mother had died of an overdose of painkillers. David's father burst into tears, something David felt he should be doing as well. He still wanted to think that none of this was real, hoping to wake up at any moment.

"You shouldn't blame yourselves", the doctor said, "suicide victims don't always display any signs beforehand." Suicide? Why would her mother kill herself? The doctor talked about her history of clinical depression, something David was barely aware of. David's father hugged David, trying to console him, not understanding this any more than David did. The two stayed quiet on the way home, not knowing what to say to one another. David had come to accept that her mother had passed away, but she still couldn't understand why she would kill herself. It just didn't make any sense.

[Leonshade†]

David's eyes open. David spends a few seconds looking around his surroundings before realizing that he's lying in his own bed. "Guess I fell asleep...", he thinks as he gets up to a seated position. He had dreamt of his mother's death for countless times, but he thought he'd managed to move on. David could never fully get over his mother's suicide, but he's been able to accept what happened to her and hasn't let it bother his everyday life for years. David gets up from his bed. He yawns, still feeling a bit tired, but not feeling like sleeping again, he instead puts on a hoodie and some jeans and opens the door that leads out of his room.

David steps into what passes for the living room of the apartment he and his father currently live in. David's father, unable to afford their previous house, had moved with David to a smaller apartment. Compared to the house they used to live in, the apartment wasn't that great, but the rent was affordable and it was big enough for the two of them. David always felt a bit guilty that he didn't have a job, but his father didn't seem to mind. The fact that David's father, Matt, barely saw him thanks to his long hours might have something to do with that, though.

Upon entering the living room, David sees that his father is passed out on the couch once again. The TV is turned on, a random movie playing on it. David walks over to the table in front of the couch, grabs the remote control laying on it and turns off the TV. "I'm going out, dad", David says. Matt responds with a groan, most likely not aware of what David said. Without another word, David gets to the front door of their apartment, puts on some shoes and leaves the apartment, locking the door behind him as he heads off.

((Continued in Enjoy the Movie))