David Underwood's Reunion Story

Once, there was a plump little boy named David Underwood, age 10. He was an orphan who lived in Goodwood, England. The year was 2019 when he turned 10. And sitting isolated in a forest with no one celebrating his birthday, he mourned for his parents to accompany him, but they never showed up. He knew that they were long gone since his second birthday. He still had the warm memories of his parents, like when his mom made a tray of chocolate chip cookies with David the little helper, and when his dad picked him up from his bed every morning and gave him a kiss to wake him up. But, of course, there are sad ones too. Especially the day when his parents funeral was held. Both of them died of cancer. When he drifts off to sleep, he usually has dreams of his parents beside him and reading him a bedtime story. It was a very sad experience for a kid.

But one quick thing you should know about David, he is an exceptional boy that can understand any kind of language, even animal languages! Well, it might seem fake but it's not! Every day when he wakes up, he says a prayer to bless his parents. He always wondered if he has any relatives left. He has to find out. One day, he was at a pond when a frog croaked out, " Human incoming! ". Then David said, " I am not a dangerous human, I come in peace. ". But the frog still didn't trust David, so the frog replied boldly, " I will blast you to pieces with my super tongue. ". David suddenly twitched and burst out laughing. He has never heard of a tongue that can blast things to pieces! He thought in his mind that this frog at least has some sense of humor.

But suddenly, someone emerged behind him, it was an old man who looked about in his eighties went over and tapped David on the back and said, " How are you, young sir? ". David had never heard anyone call him a young sir before so he felt suspicious. Then he asked the old man, " Who are you? ". David doubted the old man would reply. But surprisingly, he did. " I am a priest from the local church. ". He proclaimed. " Well, why aren't you in the church today? ". David asked. " I got kicked out for being loud. Can you believe it? ". " That is so not fair, I am going to complain to the church one day for you. ". David was feeling very furious inside. Like, who would actually get kicked out of a church for being loud? They should just give him a warning, not just kick him straight out like that! But then the old man broke David's thoughts and said, " Not that you could do anything about it, young sir. They are too powerful. And look at you, you are an orphan! ". Well, at that point David felt kind of offended so he thought, " I will show him what an orphan can do."  David said to himself. Once he found out a way of course. Then he waved goodbye to the priest from the local church. But then he noticed something familiar on that friendly face of the priest, then he called out, " Um, excuse me, but what's your name? ". " I shall tell you next time we meet, okay? ". The priest replied softly. " See you next time. Have a nice day! ". During night time, David kept on thinking about the old man and what was familiar about his facial features. Well, he had some guesses but none of them was close to what the answer was about to be. Days and nights passed by and the old man never came. David stood alone next to the pond waiting for the old man and was desperate to know his name, still, he never came. This made David even more anxious to know his name. During the morning, he still went to the pond to wait for the priest, one last time.

Well, it was a good decision because this time the priest showed up and patted David on the back saying, " You are a patient boy, therefore I shall tell you my FULL name. Are you ready young sir? My name is Brian Underwood. I guess that last part of my name sounds familiar because it's the same as yours isn't it? ". David was as shocked as though he had been struck by a lightning! He couldn’t believe his ears. Underwood was his family name and this Brian suddenly had the same family name as David's. So David asked, " Are you one of my relatives? ". " I know you have been waiting for this to happen and it is happening right now. I am your grandfather! ". Brian exclaimed with a gentle smile. " I will let you live with me and I will bring you up until you are a handsome gentleman just like your father. ". David's grandfather said with a jolly tone as if he had wanted to have some companion all his life. David's grandfather was a lonely man right until that brilliant moment. Now since David found a relative, he started to feel more relaxed and followed his grandfather home.

The first thing they did at David's grandfather's house is that Brian told stories about David's father's young life as a very handsome man and was successful. Then he met a young woman who was very nice and pretty. Then it turned out that was David's mum. And they didn't even meet each other for one hour when they married each other. David then told his grandfather how much his parents loved him. He said his father would piggyback him whenever David wanted to, and his mum always made food with David for dinner. It was a pretty good life until the day they got cancer and left there little boy David and left the world. It was the saddest experience David ever had. But now, he was finally happy again because he found someone who loved him and was his relative. Then David's grandfather kissed David on the cheek and said, " Just call me Brian. ". And they lived happily ever after.

This story is written by Evan Chen