Free The Lonely Living by Sean McMurray

sitting
on the couch with her feet curled up underneath her, watching the fire flicker
and pop. 
    “Are you warm enough?”  I asked.
    She nodded. 
    “Good.”  I said as I sat down into
my chair. 
    There was quiet for a few moments
as Sam and I allowed ourselves to be hypnotized by the flickering flames of the
fire.  Eventually Sam broke the silence.
    “So, what do you do to keep busy
around here?”
    “There’s lot to do actually.” I
answered.   “It’s mostly work.  It’s not very fun, but it’s something to do. 
When I’m done with my chores I usually sit right here in my chair by the fire. 
Boring huh?”
    “Doesn’t sound too bad.” She said.  “Back
at the school, I actually would do homework, just to pass the time.”
    “Really?”
    Sam leaned forward. “Yeah. 
Algebra, Social Studies, Grammar.   I even learned some Spanish.” 
    “I don’t care how bored I got,” I
offered jokingly, “homework would be last on my list of things to do.” 
    She laughed me off then said
solemnly, “It just felt normal.” 
    My stomach churned with a bit of
guilt, and after a moment of quiet I asked, “How long were you at the school?”
    “Since the beginning.”  She looked
deep into the fire.  “I was there with my mother the night it happened.  She
worked third shift and sometimes I would go with her to work and…”  She trailed
off.
    “What did your mom do?”  I asked.
    At that moment tears formed in
Sam’s eyes.
    “I’m sorry.”  I offered.  “I didn’t
mean—”
    She waved it off.  “It’s ok.”  She
paused and collected herself.   “It was just me and my Mom pretty much my whole
life.   She was a janitor at the high school ever since I could remember.  When
I was younger I loved to come help her work, but as I got older that changed.” 
She dropped her head and peered back into the fire.  “I was embarrassed by the
fact that my mom was a janitor.  I even told my friends that my Mom wasn’t home
at night because she had to work late at the office.  Eventually I stopped
going with her all together.  I was only there that night because it was her
birthday and she guilted me into it.” 
    The tears were running down her
face now.  I wanted to reach out and touch her on the shoulder and tell her it
was alright, but I felt so helpless.  Eventually she began to calm down.
    I asked sorrowfully as I handed her
a paper towel, “She was the woman I found you with wasn’t she?” 
    She took the paper towel, wiped her
eyes and nodded.  “She was sick for a while before they got in and when we were
trapped in that room, she refused to eat or drink anything so that I would have
enough.”
    I leaned forward.  “Enough for
what?”
    “Enough to get me through until you
found me.” 
    I didn’t know how to respond to her
comment.  She acted as if she knew I would come.  After a brief silence I said,
“What do you think of the house?” 
    She smiled like she appreciated the
change in conversation.  “It’s nice, my Mom would have loved a place like
this.”  She paused.  “I do have one question though.  What’s the deal with all
the eagles?”
    She was referring to the eagles
elegantly carved into the banister and the portrait hanging over the fireplace
that depicted one of the giant birds soaring high above a rugged mountain
range.
    “I have a thing for Eagles.”  I
answered.
    She looked at me strangely.
    “What?” I said defensively, “They’re
majestic creatures.”
    She tried to keep a straight face.  “Ok…” 
    I smiled coyly.   “I’m just playing. 
It’s because of the island.”
    “The island?”
    “The one were on.  It’s named
Little Eagle’s Island.”  I answered.
    Sam looked at the portrait of the
eagle.   “Why Little Eagle?” 
    “It’s a kind of cool story actually.” 
I shifted in my seat.  “My dad…well I heard it when I was a kid and we first
got this place.” 
    “Well?” She folded