The fog rolling off the hills
The new downstairs accommodation having been vacant for what seemed like an eternity since aunt Alice and Uncle Charlie had moved out. The inevitable question being put forth, the request having been made many times in the past, his parents answer always the same, NO. This time Gary was prepared with a litany of affirmative reason to present his case, but all was unnecessary, this time the answer was. YES! The downstairs rooms, better known as the apartment, would forthwith be known as Gary’s Room.
At the age of 13 Gary discovering life could be a paradox, exuberant and remorseful, conjecture vs procrastination and from diminutive to capacious. The ambiguities in life were characterized by changes, having been demonstrated with the procurement of his new domicile in the family household downstairs. Gone would be the ambiance of his old small 8 x 10 cubicle of a room adjoining the kitchen with its morning vista, the fog rolling off the hills and the damp fragrance of new cut wheat traversing through the open window. Also gone would be the tranquility enveloping the room at night with the effervescent glow of a full moon casting its efflorescence on the wall. The morning aroma accompanied with the crackling sound of bacon frying, the bustle of his Mother in the kitchen preparing his Dad’s breakfast, the event no longer a prerequisite for the start of a school day.
There were two entrances to the downstairs, one through an upstairs dining room door leading down thru the basement laundry room, entering through a bathroom and kitchenette. The other means of entrance was the an outside door that provided an entrance from the backyard. Gary realized it would take some time to reconcile that he was no long a full-time segment of the enduring habitants presiding upstairs. A display of independent accountability provided a sense of propriety and with it a discussion about him moving back upstairs coming to closure. The room granted the young man much of what he couldn’t attain upstairs, but also ordained more responsibility. It provide an island of solitude where he could read, listen to his music and have the room to work on project without family interruptions. It provided a station where he could entreat his friend, even if for only a short period. The outside entrance gave him a prestigious feeling that he could access and depart without notifications, but because of the veneration instilled by parents these were just entertaining thoughts not ready to come to fruition.
Gary found the freedom from the distractions upstairs could also be somewhat disdaining, acquiring a sense of waning family closeness but deciding it was because of youthful maturity and his diversity of activities and interest, not because of his downstairs severance. He was a visual example of the individuality developing within the family and concluded it normal as sibling aged, and reasoned he was not alone in this thoughts. Reality was present, it wasn’t families influence but the discovery of a new sphere of acquaintances and the reflection of their interest that would kindle his ambition and accord an effulgence to the future.
Tags: New Room
Inquisitive Quest 
Leave a Reply