Sleep Walking

Watching the big screen TV, D sat on the living room sofa by himself. His mother was in the kitchen; cleaning or cooking, D didn't really know.

"Your dad should be back soon," he mom yelled out.

Barely audible, D replied "okay."

Usually D would be sitting on the sofa with his father sitting on the floor directly in front of him, both watching the TV. It seemd to be the only thing they had in common for it was really the only thing they've done together. But today, D's older brother had a hockey game and his father drove him. They didn't even tell D that they were leaving. That was usually what happened at the request of the older brother. He was always D's fathers favorite anyways. The TV went to commercial.

D turned his head, and glanced out the window into the darken country night. Pitch black was the outside, D could barely see the yard in front of the house. And suddenly the darkness came into the room and consumed D whole. He had fallen asleep.

4:23 AM the alarm clock read as Mom mysteriously awoke. Her eyes barely open but unable to close, she sat up on her bed wondering what could have awoken her. She half expected to see her son D either walking or running around in his sleep as he had on occassion done. But hearing nothing, she continued to wonder. She arose to her feet and began to walk toward the bathroom. Yet upon meeting the door was startled when D very slowly, with eyes wide open, walked into view. He appeared to be a trance.

"D" mom asked in a whisper, "D, you awake?"

D didn't answer, and with no answer Mom knew that he was sleep walking again.

"D, where you going?" she asked. Normally D wouldn't answer the sleep question but would answer everything else while in this state.

"To check on dad," D replied.

"Why?"

"To make sure he's not dead."

Mom was fully awake now. Wanting to pick up her son and reaffirm to him that his father was indeed alive, she could not move her feet a mere inch. She was startled and fightened by what her son had bluntly replied. What was she to do but watch her son slowly walk down the stairs, eyes transfixed before him, to the living room where his father lay asleep on the sofa.