The Long Dark Billy Farmer (romantic novels in english .txt) đ
- Author: Billy Farmer
Book online «The Long Dark Billy Farmer (romantic novels in english .txt) đ». Author Billy Farmer
A couple years later, my grandpa passed away. I didnât really know him all that well, but what memories I had of him were good ones. So, I was excited to go stay a few weeks of my summer vacation with my grandma. The impetus of the trip was to allow me to get to know my grandma and help her cope with her loss. I was sure that another important part was to push me out of the nest for a bit of a test flight on my own. After all, my parents didnât want to take care of me the rest of my life. They wanted me out of the house yesterday.
The first night I was there, I remember being really embarrassed to ask, but too afraid not to, for grandma to leave the light on. Iâll never forget the look she gave me. It wasnât anger or embarrassment or anything bad. It was one of warmth, but also tinged with the look of someone who had been reminded of significant loss.
She came over and sat on the side of the bed next to me. âYou knowed yer grandpa worked in the coal mines, didnât ya?â
I told her I did.
âHe hated âem, but they wasnât much else fer a man ta do, and he had me and yer momma ta take care of.â She stopped for a few moments and gathered her thoughts. âA manâs gotta do what a manâs gotta do. You hafta understand âat.â She smiled at me. âHe went every day goin on thirty years⊠worked his hands bloody so we had ânough ta eat and a place to sleep. He was a good man. I wont you ta never forget âat.â
I nodded.
I thought she was finished. Instead, straightened her night coat, cinching it a little bit tighter. âYer granddaddy was a easy goin man âA good man-- but not strong of mind, ya know. As bad as âat cramped dark hole in the ground was on âim, it was the other things. The long dark. âAtâs what killed him.â
She hesitated, as if she might be telling my young ears too much. âLife wore on âim. He didnât always know what ta do with all his feelins â couldnât handle âem, ya know. He finally took up drinkin hard liquor âbout the time yer momma was in the third grade. People think drunks are weak. Hell, I like ta see some of âem people work in âem mines long as he did.â
She realized she had gone off subject. She gave me a toothless smile, and started again, âThe drinkin didnât help⊠Nothin did. The smile vanished as she finished, âWilliam⊠son, as bad as thangs can get sometimes, itâs awful easy ta get ta doin things ta try to make yerself feel better. âEy ainât no outs â ainât no easy fixes. âSpecially drink. Donât go down âat same road yer granddaddy did. You hafta find yer light and hold on to it tight. You hafta to find yer reason to live.â
I was sad because she was sad, but I didnât really grasp what she was saying at the time. Three years later, after I had suffered my fair number of bouts with depression, and while going through my grandparentsâ things, after she passed away, my mom told me how grandma was so worried about me. She told my mom, âThe long dark is goin ta get âat boy.â Grandma couldnât call depression depression. There was too much stigma attached to that word with people her age. You were just lazy or weak minded or worse. Instead, she called it the long dark.
Mom being mom, of course, gave me her opinion on things. âI got it. You just have to be tougher than it is. You probably donât have it in you.â Mom should have been a motivational speaker.
It was a hell of a crazy time to be thinking about all of that, but it was all relevant. Before, I lived up to momâs ultra-low expectations. I drank, took drugs, and all kinds of stupid shit, trying to run away from my demons. The only reason I did so well with Miley is that I craved the attention from someone who was strong and powerful. I did anything he asked of me, good or bad, and he rewarded me for that near endless loyalty. Even then, the fleeting attention only left me more desperate and confused about who I was and what I had or hadnât become.
But that night, even with the uncertainty swirling around us, and the fact that much lesser things wouldâve previously had me scurrying towards unsavory things, a strength Iâd never felt began to swell within me. With that newfound strength, I was going to do everything in my power to make sure my friends were safe and sound. That was my new purpose: we were going to fight the darkness, and we were going to live.
âWilliam,â I heard Sam anxiously whisper. âSnap out of it, son.â He pointed to our left, to a house just off Okpik Street. Someone was inside, and whoever it was had a lantern burning in one of the front rooms. The lantern light and the person werenât the problem. The several dark silhouettes milling outside of the house potentially were.
There was a small, dilapidated building adjacent to the house with the light on. We crouched behind it as we decided whether what was happening posed a threat.
âWhat do you guys think?â I asked.
Sam looked at the airport security fence to our right before saying, âNot much room ta maneuver, and nowhere ta hide if they up ta no good. I donât know, boys. âEyâll see us if we try ta walk by.â
âThe military is just down the street. I say we make a run for it,â Titouan said, agitated
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