The Miracle Maker

Stanley, didn’t want to go bed, he felt like he was always the one to be the first to go upstairs to bed, just because he was the youngest. His mother would whisper in his ear a tale of surprise but this time, it didn’t work.   The family were around for the holidays, there was Grandpa George and Grandma Jean, two older siblings and Stanley. Patrick, their father was busy on the night shift and their mother always tried to make things easier for them, especially, Stanley, as he was quite delicate and sensitive.

Reluctantly, he strolled up the stairs, with his grandpa close behind him,

“Hold up, son, what’s the matter?”

“Why do I have to go upstairs, and it’s still early?”

“That’s the thing, you see, being the last born…I’ve been there”

“But, Grandpa, you’re old”

“I’d like to tell you something”

“Not one of your stories again”

“No, this is something a little bit different”

They both strolled up the stairs to the end room, his name was marked clearly, ‘Stanley’ on the bright blue door.

Stanley still had his dressing gown on, while he smuggled into his bed, there was a bit of a chill in the air, on this late October night, the window was slightly ajar. Grandpa George, pulled up a chair, he could hardly fit in it but forced himself, just to make himself more comfortable.

“I’m not sleepy, I know I can stay as late as Chloe and Steven”

“That’s the thing, you see…oh how times has changed”

“What do you mean, Grandpa?”

“Well, when I look at you, I see myself and one day you will do the same when you reach my age”.

“What! I’m never going to be old”

“It will come to us all, as we least expect it”

“Whatever do you mean?”

“I’m going to tell you something that I have never told anyone”

“Is it going to be scary?”

“That’s the thing you see…it may seem scary to you, but you are going to have to trust your instincts”

“What do you mean by instincts?”

“It is what you feel inside once you’ve read or done something extraordinary”

“Well, I’m ready for anything, I will prove that I am not scared of anything, then maybe, mum will let be stay up like the rest”

“Oh, it’s not as simple as that”

Grandpa George came closer to Stanley, he plumped up his pillow so that he would be upright and starring into the eyes of the old man.

“Are you comfortable, son?”

“Yes, but I not ready to sleep”

“That’s good…I don’t want you to sleep just yet”

“Oh!”

Grandpa George pulled out his pipe out of his pocket, he wasn’t going to light it, but placed it into his mouth as if it were alight.

“Oh, Grandpa, you make me laugh,” chuckled Stanley

“Did you enjoy yourself the other night?”

“Yes, but I still didn’t understand why we couldn’t stay any longer”

“That’s the thing you see…this thing, or shall I say the celebrations of man, it’s not a good thing”

“Oh, I don’t understand, we all had a good time…even you, Grandpa”

“Yes, even me, that’s thing you see…I had to show a friendly face only to be polite…and you know how rude it is to be impolite in the company of others”

“Yeah, I know”

“Now, what I am about to tell you is…"

Grandpa George looked into Stanley blue eyes before turning away.

“What’s the matter, Grandpa?”

“Oh, it’s nothing, I don’t wish to miss anything, you see long ago, it was round about this time, colder, yes, colder, there were two brothers, round about your age, or a little older, bright boys they were. They lived across the street, they had everything, and I mean everything. On this particular night, there was a special event, most like the event you went to”.

“What, the Halloween party!”

“Yes”

“With everyone dressing up as ghouls and ghost!”

“Yes”

“Except me!”

“Yes, well I will explain why, the thing is, these two boys, even though they had everything, they could do anything and got away with practically everything, the people loved them”.

“What happened to them?”

“I will tell you…one of the brothers decided on this particular event to play a practical a joke on the other, nobody in the street knew of this, it was late, the celebrations were taking fold, everyone, singing dancing, and nobody knew or noticed anything was wrong. Everyone, all  in their fancy dress gear, it was spectacular.”

“Were you there, Grandpa?”

“In a manner of speaking…but let me finish what I was about to say…the two brothers decided to come to the function as a double act, as I was saying, they had everything, they were like the kings and queens of the street. The people loved it. But nobody knew now, what really happened back then, even the police were baffled. This is one of the reasons, I am against all of these fake costumes that you all wear.”

“But, it just fun, Grandpa”

“That’s the thing, you see, what you call fun is another person tragedy.”

“What happened to the two boys?”

“Are you sure you are ready to hear the rest of it?”

“Will it be too scary, ‘cos if it is, I don’t think I’m ready”

At this point, Stanley’s mother entered the room in time to hear the end,

“Why don’t you tell him what happened”

“But Grandpa, I thought you said, you have never told this story before”

Grandpa George, looked at Stanley and got out of the chair and left the room, leaving Stanley and his mother.