The Young Parent

         The Young Parent

         Hi Reader. Devin here. Thanks for reading this story. I'm only twelve, but I've always loved the idea writing. If you have any tips, or comments, make sure to say so. Thanks.

-Devin

  Swiftly approaching the only open supermarket in his town, Noah covered his freezing body from the powerful wind beating down on him. Though the small thin torn up coat that had been given to Noah at least three years ago by a fellow in his twenties was not exactly the most helpful source of warmth, Noah had always found that the warmth of the coat tended to his thoughts, rather than his physical form. The wrath of the extreme blizzard poured over the fifteen-year-old homeless boy, as he yearned for his destination. If Noah was not ignorant of frostbite, his concerns would most certainly increase. Despite the powerful blizzard, Noah was aware that this was only the beginning of the storm. Thankfully, the village in which Noah resided in, was rather tiny, which meant Noah’s desperate trip to the supermarket using the twenty-six dollars he had earned tediously weeding a man’s yard, would not distance far at all. When Noah reached the only supermarket that would stay open during storms, he desperately rapped on the wooden door. When no answer came, Noah’s body began demanding warmth. He hurriedly tried the doorknob. “Open the door,” Noah bellowed furiously. “Please open this door,” Noah pleaded weaker this time. Noah had no choice but to smash the window open. He stumbled to the ground but pushed himself to ascend. He weakly limped towards a pile of rocks. Before Noah had been kicked out of his house at ten and learned of his parent’s deaths, he had often gone down to lake and held his breath underwater for as long as he could. He often felt desperate and weak as he had tried to push himself to keep his head underwater. These feelings described the present moment, rather well. Noah picked up one of the stones in the pile he had found and smashed the side window. He then began to crawl through the opening. Once inside, Noah swiftly picked up a few thumbtacks from the counter desk and used his coat to keep the cold from escaping into the store. The market was empty, pitch black, cold, and creepy. “Hello,” Noah called. Clearly none dared go out during the storm. “That’s weird,” Noah thought to himself. “They’re almost always open during storms.” Noah never liked the idea of stealing although he often resolved it the only way to survive. He figured Mrs. Haller (who owned the store) would understand during a blizzard. Noah picked up a basket that read:

                                                                  Haller’s Produce

 He briskly stockpiled three baskets of fruit, vegetables, and cheese. “This will be a lot to carry,” Noah noted to himself. Noah had built a hideout to sleep in far from the villagers though he had not often ended up sleeping there, knowing there was no point of begging in a place in which none resided. Noah was beginning to get scared. The blizzard began howling more loudly than ever. Noah had used a stray piece of wood and a few nails from the storage closet as an improved alternative for covering the opening. Noah hefted all his groceries into a black trash bag from the storage closet and mentally resolved to escape to his hideout after the blizzard, but before Mrs. Haller returned. He decided to right an apology to Mr. and Mrs. Haller. He began searching for a pen and a piece of paper. He began searching the store finally stopping behind the counter in awe. There laid an innocent baby not moving an inch. Noah froze for a minute, then he clumsily picked up the life and checked its pulse. It was alive. He also confirmed the baby was a female. She looked around four months old. Noah glanced out the window. He couldn’t just leave her here. During a blizzard. No way. He was going to-well he didn’t exactly know what to do. He should find out who she belonged to of course. But Noah had the chance to meet almost everyone in the tiny village before his parents had kicked him out for no reason. But Noah had invaded most everyone’s house. He did not recognize this girl at all. She had streaks of blonde hair growing on her noggin. Noah knew if this baby had any chance of life at all, she had to stay warm. He took his shirt off and his cloak and wrapped her in them. He double checked the wood he used to cover the opening. He held the baby girl tightly and waited for the blizzard to cease.

                                                                                                                                                                        ***          

  The blizzard finally came to a halt. Noah awoke realizing the baby girl had beat him to the day. She sat up which surprised Noah considering how she had laid flat tired the rest of last night. She also seemed to be giggling for some reason. Noah stretched his body which felt good considering his sleeping position. Noah hefted the grocery bag on his shoulder, picked up the girl, and started walking toward his hideout. When Noah arrived, he started thinking to himself, who is going nurse her. Maybe Mrs. Haller? It was her supermarket. Then again, she was sixty-four. Noah was fairly convinced she could not nurse a baby anymore. Mrs. Kadol? She was still recovering from cancer. Maybe Noah could feed her. He could recall a few times in which Mrs. Kadol had fed one of her babies with a bottle. But that was outrageous. Noah was a thief. A runaway. A robber. Not a parent. He was fifteen. Noah came to conclusion. He darted back to the supermarket. To his relief, No one was there. He swiftly climbed through the opening he had re-opened before he and the baby girl had left. He had brought the baby with him which made it hard to climb through the window opening. Once inside, Noah pulled out a camera from a small shelf built into the counter. He then took a picture of the girl and the photo cam out of the camera. He taped it to a piece of paper and wrote: WHO’S BABY IS THIS. He then went down to the village and nailed it to a phone line pole. He would wait to see who would reply. He made some room on the sheet for people’s answer. He sprinted back to his hideout with the baby and sat down to rest. He tried to see if the baby would eat the blueberries he had stolen from the market. She did not. So, Noah went back to the supermarket and stole a few packets of baby food. He raced back to the hideout seeing Mrs. Haller come into view.

                                                                                                                                                                       ***

           Two months later Noah had learned from Ms. Rodgers (a kind widow who offered to nurse the baby girl after Noah had learned that the girl belonged to nobody in the village) that Ava (the baby girl) no longer required breast milk. Noah had made Ms. Rodger promise not to send Ava to an orphanage knowing how hard he had run from orphanages. Noah had taken Ava to Ms. Rodgers every day but, insisted that she would only raise her until she no longer needed to be nursed. Noah then resolved to find a job so he could raise Ava himself. Noah had help from Ms. Rodger creating flyers for yard work. He had continued to mow, weed, lay, rake, weed eat, blow, and clean. Before, Noah would come home every night feeling sad, and guilty. Now he would come every night and have Ava relief him from his day.

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           Ava took a few breaths in and out. The score was one-hundred twelve to one-hundred fourteen in the women’s college basketball finals. Ava’s team was loosing. There were only three seconds left in the game. The crowd shouted. The opposite team was jumping. Every-one was ready. The referee blew the whistle. Carrie passed the ball to Ava. Two seconds left. Ava was at half court with two players on her. One second left. Ava with one leap of faith launched the ball as well as she could. The buzzard went off, and the ball swished through the net. The crowd roared with applause. Despite the cheering crowds, the thankful teammates, and all the awards to come. Ava could only do one thing during moment. She looked up at the top of the stands, and saw her father Noah cheering more loudly than everyone in the stadium.