The Mother's Stolen Heirloom

“Ya know, I thought I raised ya to be better than this, Lou. Don’t you remember when I told ya people are just like dragons? They hoard their gold in their castles! They’ll steal, kill, and destroy anything to get what they want,” the man said. His knuckles were bleeding and his balance was being supported by his left arm on the table next to him. “And they’ll cheat you. They’ll rob you. Heck, they’d rather leave you on the streets than letting you live a somewhat normal life.”

“You’re drunk, old man,” Lou said as he wiped the blood off his face with his sleeve, slowly getting back up. The old man reached down to help him up, but Lou slapped his arm, signaling to be left alone. “I don’t need you to council me as if I’m a toddler.”

“Perhaps. But you wouldn’t be in this situation if you got my words through your thick skull earlier,” the old man said, pointing his finger towards his skull barely keeping his balance. As Lou found his footing, the old man slowly rested himself on the stool behind him. Lou watched as his father slouched down and rested his head in his hands. “Look, Lou, I’m sorry for beating the snot outta ya, but you have to realize that your decisions impact all of us, not just yourself,” the old man said.

“You should look in the mirror then, old man,” Lou said in a rebellious tone. The old man could only sigh. “You’re breath reeks of booze and the fight we just had was because of it.”

“I threw those punches to teach you a lesson,” the old man replied.

“Really!? And what might that be?” Lou asked in fury.

“That being reckless and thinking like you did are gonna get you killed, ya know that? There are consequences to your actions, Lou,” the old man replied.

“Well, I’m gonna try to get it back,” Lou said.

“Damnit Lou!” the old man shouted at the top of his lungs. Adrenaline rushed through his blood as he threw the stool into the wall of the barn, shattering it. “Listen to your damn self! Are you mad!? Those people cheated you outta the heirloom because they’re greedy, sly bastards!”

“Yeah! They are! It’s exactly why I’m gonna get it back!” Lou retaliated.

“Then what!? Stick it on a shelf where only you can see it? Put it in a safe where it will collect dust and never see the light of day again? Think Lou! You’re gonna get yourself killed!” the two men had their muscles tense, veins bulging from their necks and arms. The two were ready to fight once more, but the old man lowered his head and shook it in disappointment. He slowly lowered himself onto the ground and said, “Lou, one of these days, you’ll realize everything on this earth will rot away, that the gold you tried to stash in your castle will just be a pile of shiny rocks under your rotting corpse one day,” He said in a softer, more understanding tone.

Lou’s breathing began to steady itself. The pain of his broken nose began to pulse through his head as his legs began to feel weak. He slowly copied his father and sat onto the floor as well. He hugged his right knee with his wrists. “Why do you insist on telling me this?”

“Telling you what?” the old man asked.

“Why do you keep relating people to dragons and telling me gold is worthless?” Lou spoke up, irritated.

The old man thought for a moment. He lowered his head, and in a soft tone he said, “Because it’s what your mother woulda said.”

“But dad, the heirloom was her’s,” Lou said with grief.

“But defending the heirloom was how she died. Do you really think she would want you to have the same fate?” the old man said.

Lou could only shake his head as tears began rolling down his face. He looked to his left at the empty case the heirloom used to call home. It was a small red box, big enough to hold in one hand, yet small enough to stash it away where no one could find it. “So that’s it? End of story, the one thing mom died for is lost to the ages?”

“Son, it’s gone. She’s gone. What she died for should not be your responsibility,” the old man finished.

“What was in the box?” Lou asked.

“The heirloom,” the old man replied.

“No. I mean, what was the heirloom? All I’ve ever known was the box was keeping something important,” Lou said.

“Well, then why are you so hellbent on getting the damn thing back if ya have no idea what it even is?” the old man said. When Lou didn’t respond, the old man offered a solution, “Well, how ‘bout you just keep the box with ya. How ‘bout that be the heirloom from now on, yeah?”

Lou broke out in laughter and tears. “You really are drunk, old man,” he said. He crawled over towards the box and grabbed it. He brushed and blew off the dust and dirt that had infected its shell and closed the box. “But maybe you have a point. Maybe this dragon should collect other things besides gold and protect things that hold more meaning than worth,” Lou said.

The old man crawled over towards his son and pulled his son into a hug. The two started weeping quietly, trying to muffle their grief from one another. “Maybe two dragons should start doing that,” the old man said.

“Hey, dad?” Lou asked.

“Yeah?” the old man replied as he pulled away from the embrace. He wiped his tears from his face with his sleeve and sniffled.

“What was in the box?” Lou asked once more as he looked at the red container.

The old man saw that his son had lost the raging fire in his eyes and decided to tell him what the box heled. He took a second to think, “I think it was some native tribe necklace your mother’s side of the family stole from a native tribe many years ago,” he finally said.

“Well, hopefully, it finds its true owners then,” Lou stated. The two got to their feet and began limping towards the old man’s house outside of the barn.