And the stars kept twinkling

Jonathan stared mesmerized by the twinkling stars, a small plastered smile his face, his eyes keenly watching to see if the moon was still following him. He glanced at his sister sitting next to him blissfully chewing on chocolate cookies they had recently bought. She had just turned two and was the apple of their eye. Jonathan expected to be jealous but he loved her just as much. He was a big boy now and understood there was enough love to go around. The car came to a steady stop and, his mother reached behind to nudge them out. 

His tiny chubby legs hung out the side of the car as he waited for his dad to come over. "Guess whose turning six tomorrow!" his dad cooed carrying him out of the car. 

"Me! Me! Me!"

"Yes, my darling, you're a big boy now," his mom said coming from behind, patting his head, with Suzie balanced in the crook of her other arm. 

"Daddy, I want a big box of crayons and a big big cup of ice cream and," he said uncurling his arms from his father's neck, "a HUGE teddy bear!"

"Of course, my dear, I'll get you everything you want... in your dreams" he added with a mischievous grin. 

"Daddy!"

"Don't worry, tomorrow is your day, daddy's just pulling your leg," his mom added with a laugh.

"Pulling my leg?" he questioned innocently and more laughter ensued including little Suzie who had no idea what anything meant. 

Once the family had put away the recently bought groceries Mrs Rivers herded the kids upstairs and helped them wash up and brush their teeth. She placed Suzie in her cot, giving her a pacifier to gently lull her into sleep and tucked Jonathan into bed while humming their favourite lullaby. 

"Mummy, can you please tell us a story?" Jonathan pipped up from under the covers. 

"I am afraid my storytelling skills aren't that amazing"

"Mummy don't be silly! You have the best storytelling skills in the whole wide world!"

"Even better than mine?" Mr rivers joked standing in the doorway of their bedroom. 

"No, no daddy! You are the best storytelling man and mummy is the best storytelling woman," Jonathan stated as it was the most well-known fact in the entire world. 

"Johnny, my lad, you know how to make a grown man smile," he said kissing Jonathan on the forehead. He gave his wife a peck and told her he would take care of wrapping up the kitchen. He made his way to Suzie's cot and lifted her in his arms. 

"Did you think I'd forget about you, pretty little angel?" he asked as Suzie gurgled and laughed while saying, "Dada! Dada!"

Jonathan pulled the covers up to his face a massive smile on his face as he drifted off to sleep. He was very lucky to have such a loving family. 

He woke with a start sweat dripping down his face. He felt very anxious and leapt out of his bed passing by Suzie who was peacefully sleeping. She was cuddling Mr Teddy that Jonathan had generously given her when she felt scared to sleep in the dark. He could hear the muffled sounds of the television so his parents would still be awake. 

"Mummy? Daddy?" He said in a tiny voice coming down the stairs. 

"Oh look it our little bundle of joy," he dad said turning around from the sofa. 

"What happened, dear?" his mom asked pulling him up onto his lap.

"I had a bad dream," he said snuggling into her arms. 

"Want to talk about it?" his dad asked rubbing his back comfortingly. 

"I dreamed you and mummy left me. I was all alone. Please don't leave me," Jonathan said his lower lip quivering. 

"Aw, dear, we would never leave you for anything in the world," his mother consoled.

"Promise?"

"Promise," his dad reassured. 

Jonathan let out a breath he was holding. Everything was going to be okay. He felt at ease with the presence of his parents and once more drifted off in a peaceful slumber. 

"Quick take Jonathan out, I'll get Suzie!" he heard his father shout. What was happening? he thought groggily opening his eyes. 

"Tom!" he heard his mother's distressed voice, the pungent smell of smoke now filling his nose. She rapidly gathered Jonathan in her arms and made her way to the back door. Jonathan noticed the front door completely engulfed in flames his growing wide with horror. 

As soon as his mother opened the kitchen door to have access to the backdoor a wave of fire spread out. In a split second his mother turned to protect her son from the worse of the damage. She fell with a thud letting go of Jonathan in the process. 

"Mummy! Mummy!" Jonathan cried shaking his mom. The thick grey smoke was billowing out at this point and Jonathan was finding it excruciatingly hard to breathe. 

He lay his head on his mother's unmoving chest and whispered, "please don't leave me."

A pair of strong hands clasped Jonathan, he kicked and screamed in protest. He didn't want to be separated from his mom. This was all just a bad dream he kept telling himself. He squeezed his eyes shut willing himself to wake up from this hellish nightmare. 

When he opened his eyes again he was in the clear open sky. He looked up at the fireman who had just saved his life, "my mummy's still in there. Daddy went to get Suzie. Please help them. I love them. Please."

It was hard to see the fireman's eyes with all the protective gear he was wearing but he gave him a firm nod. He was only halfway up the stairs, re-entering the burning building once more when a giant explosion erupted in the house with such force that even the fireman stumbled back. 

Jonathan watched horror plastered on his face. A tear trickled down his face unprompted. He crumpled to his knees as the pain in his heart got too heavy to bear. He let out a loud piercing shriek the image of his mother instilled in his mind. How could this have happened? They promised they wouldn't leave him. They had promised. He screamed into the night until darkness overtook his vision.

The medics had lain him down on the gurney and were treating his burns. He felt no pain anymore. Everything was numb. He turned his head to look up at the sky and saw after all the bad had happened the stars kept twinkling.