Powerless (Book 1): Powerless (13 page)

This
was
the
first
time
he’d
seen
his
parents
as
a
young
couple,
it
was
strange
for
him
to
see
this
and
he found
comfort
in
the
picture
they
presented.
While
peering
at
the
pictures
the
obvious
joy
they
had
came
shining
through.
But as much as the happy scenes spread before him warmed his heart, he was
struggling
with
a
degree
of
conflict
.
If
it
was
not
for
him
she
would
still
be
here
and
his
father
wouldn’t
have
faced such toil
.

But Lee appreciated that
wishing
his
own
existence
away
was
not
going
to
help
anyone,
but
rather
cause
him
inner
turmoil,
so
he
tried
to
stay
away
from
such
thoughts.

Sitting
and
flicking
through
the
album
a
little
while
more,
beholding
his
father’s
memories,
he felt
a
sense
of
loss
for
something
he
had
never
had.
Turning
over
the
last
page
there
was
no
picture,
just
an
old
delicate
sheet
of
paper
that
was
frayed
around
the
edges
and
folded
in
half.
Slipping
out
the
sheet
of
paper
he left
the
album
open
on
the
desk.

Unfolding
the
sheet
he
saw
the
familiar
handwriting
of
his
father.
It
was
a
note
he
had
written
to
his
mother
a
few
years
after
her
death,
the
date
in
the
corner
of
the
sheet
said
that
it
was
eleven
years
old.
Lee
began
to
read
the
words
his
father
wrote
for
his
mother,
knowing
she
would
never
hear
them;

Sit
Come
and
see
me
Down
by
the
waterfront
Where
the
hills
roll
into
the
sea
Meet
me
along
the
path
where
the
old
harbour
Used
to
be

Realise
it’s
me
Bring
your
e
yes
to
meet
mine
Look
fondly
towards
me

Walk
awhile

Tell
me
how
your
dreams
have
come
to
be

Sit
by
my
side
and
we
can
Watch
the
sun
disappear
Let
the
night
and
infinite
stars
creep
near

The
light
in
the
lighthouse
has
long
gone
out

If
you’ll
be
my
North
Star,
I’ll
be
your
South.

Sitting
for
a
while
absorbing
what
he
had
just
read,
he thought
over
his
relationship
with
his
father
and
the
contrast
of
the
relationship
between
his
parents,
the
loss
his
father
had
suffered
and
how
he
managed
to
conceal
his
hurt
from
his
sons. Conflict hit Lee again, for had he not existed his mother would still be here and he wondered, would his family be happier in a world where she lived on and he didn’t?
Lee sat
in
perfect
silence
,
unaware
of
the
fact
that
his
father
had
returned
to
the
house
and
was
standing
in
the
room,
behind
him.

The
silence
broke
with
Philip
asking,
“Why
aren’t
you
in
school?”
this
startled
Lee,
who
was
still
holding
the
note
in
his
hand
.

He dropped
his
hand
to
his
side
and
stammered,
“I…
I
wasn’t
feeling
too
good,
so
I
came
home.”

Philip
was
less
interested
in
his
response
as
he
was
in
the
reason
his
son
was
sitting
at
his
writing
desk.
Approaching
to
see
what
he
was
doing,
he looked
down
over
his
shoulder
and
saw
the
photo
album
open
on
the
desk.

Letting
out
a
soft
breath
as
if
to
hide
a
chuckle,
Philip ran
his
hand
up
his
neck
and
scratched
his
rough
chin as he spoke to Lee,
“I
remember
that
day
well...”
Pausing
in
contemplation
he
lifted
the
album
up
and
uttered,
“I
haven’t
looked
at
this
in
what
seems
a
lifetime.”

Sitting
on
the
bench
beside
his
son
he
flicked
through
the
pages
of
memories. Getting
to
the
end
he
closed
the
album
and
sat
it
back
on
the
desk.
Looking
toward
his
son
he noticed his eyes focused
down
to
something by
his
side
in
his
hand. He
asked
quizzically,
“What
have
you
got
there?”

Lee,
uncertain
of
himself and
not
knowing
if
he
had
done something wrong turned to his father.
Nervously,
he
raised
his
hand
with
the
poem
in
it
and
handed
it
to
him.

Philip
took
the
piece
of
paper
in
one
hand
and
used
the
other
to
prop
up
his
chin
as
if
to
ponder
and
commenced
reading
his
own
words.
Reading
the
first
few
lines
it
became
clear
to
him
what
he
was
actually
reading. It
was
the
memory
of
an
emotion
he
had
experienced
a
lifetime
ago.
After
finishing
reading
the
words
he
folded
the
page
and
placed
it
on
the
table
in
front
of
him.