Free Star Bright by Christina Ow

hospital, the only suggestions made were
just the fastest way out of Jacksonville.
    Michael ran into the
cabin and bumped into Maria, “Mama, are we getting off?” She held
onto the top railing to keep steady. The old conductor came behind
him, a huge grin on his face. He had really enjoyed spending time
with Michael, but who wouldn’t, he was a perfect little boy only
Ricky didn’t see that.
    “ Yes. Help me
put your things back.” Maria put the small suitcase into the big
black bag that had once hosted Michael.
    He picked up his toys and
threw them into the bag, “Aren’t we going back home?”
    “ No, we are
going to live in New York for a while.” Maria spoke softly. She
kept her attention on packing, she could tell he was figuring out
something was wrong.
    He stopped and turned to
her, carefully watching her, “Is grandma coming?” He was more
clever than Maria gave him credit for.
    “ No,” she
turned to him and smiled, “She’s going to stay home while we stay
here, but she’s going to come visit us,” she got nervous when he
didn’t return the smile. She sat down and pulled him close to her,
“It’s going to be fun. Think of this as a new beginning for both of
us, we’ll have more opportunities here than we could ever have back
home.”
    “ Why did we
move?” Maria looked up at the conductor who now had a glum look on
his face, and then back at Michael, she needed a full proof lie if
she was to convince him. “Where are we going to live?” his lips
parted into a smile, then he went back to packing his
toys.
    She felt relieved once he
let her off the hook, “Nate, Uncle Tom’s friend, has a small
apartment in Brooklyn.” She wondered what happened to the days kids
still believed in Santa and the tooth fairy, but Michael was no
ordinary kid.
    “ Okay, let’s
go.” He took off running, speeding past the conductor. The
conductor looked at Maria with knowing eyes. He could see what she
was hiding, he’d seen it before, in his own daughter’s
eyes.
    Smiling, “I’ll go after
him.” then he disappeared. Maria stared after him. She’d seen the
pity in his eyes and she’d hated it. She loathed being pitied as
much as she loathed Ricky. She wished he had died, she wished she
had made sure he was dead.
    Next time she
would.
    Maria walked into the
studio apartment. It looked small, but yet quaint. It was an open
space, there wasn’t a boundary between the kitchen and the living
room, and the bedroom was closed off by a folding reed stand that
went completely around the bed and closet. There were only two
doors, that leading to the bathroom and that leading out of the
apartment. Maria was grateful it was furnished, there was nothing
fancy, just the essentials, all dark and bold, exactly what a
bachelor’s pad should look like. She was glad she didn’t need to
buy anything else for the place and that it was rent free, one less
worry as she went around looking for a job.
    She set the bag down and
closed the door behind her, double bolting it. She chuckled at her
urge to wedge a chair against it. Ricky had really screwed her up.
She watched as Michael ran around the space, exploring their new
home. She hoped he would like it as it was their new home, “So what
do you think?”
    Michael stopped at the
kitchen counter and climbed onto the stool. Maria moved and sat
next to him, anxiously waiting for his answer.
    “ It’s okay.
It’s kind of small compared to our home, but it’s nice.” He spoke
softly with a smile.
    Maria pushed his hair
back. She was worried he was just saying that for her benefit, “Are
you sure you are okay with this?”
    “ Yes, and it’s
a good thing grandma didn’t come, we can’t all fit here,” he jumped
off the stool and rushed to the living room. He dove on the seat
and turned the TV on, “Can we have pizza for super?”
    Maria looked at him, she
could see he was doing it again, putting on a front for her sake.
She couldn’t help but think he had figured