Mr. Blackwood sat on a soft plush cushion in his Home office, his gaze locked on the large wall clock as its hands moved slowly upwards. It was the eve of his birthday, a few minutes to twelve noon. Mr. Blackwood in recent years had formed a habit of staying up till the first minute of his birthday, he believed that it was negative to start a new year of your life asleep, he needed to be awake when the clock strikes twelve.
The Home office was spacious and properly furnished, So expensive that a poor man would liken it to vanity. It was a sanctuary for productivity; featuring a custom-made desk, comfortable seating, and high-tech communication systems. The walls were adorned with inspirational quotes and art pieces which seemed to add a touch of personality to the space.
His attention moving slowly off the wall clock to the bookshelf at one end of the building, his thoughts trail off to how lonelier his life had become with every new year, he had learnt to push everyone off since life thought him the hard way, having companions make you weak, it makes you vulnerable, he knew better than to be that guy.
Mr. Blackwood sighed sadly and lay back his head on the cushion, he had never felt this lonely in his life before, not even during the worst days of his life. thinking about what tomorrow would look like and knowing that all those faces that would show up at his front door would be just out of courtesy with no emotional bonds, he thought back to a time when it wasn’t that way.
Staring at the tiny wristband on his arm, a particular memory struck him and his face lit up with a smile, one that came with both joy and sorrow. It was his fourteenth birthday, the most memorable one for certain reasons.
**
Little Dave Murphy Forbes ran around in the lawn with the other kids from the neighborhood, his younger brothers Jake and Simon with his baby sister Abigail who had just turned four. He was the first son of the Forbes family, a family with their roots buried in ancient politics and unclean wealth. A family which was part of the main powers controlling the city of Las Vegas back in the 1930s.
They ran the major casinos and brothels, they owned half of the clubs in the city and dictated who casts a stone and who picks it, unfortunately their influence had slowly died down with the arrival of the modern age, dividing the family into smaller units. However, Peter Forbes had kept a bit of the legacy alive by living in their ancestral home with his family, he was Dave’s father.
The innocent laughter of the kids cut through the peace of the summer evening, lighting the abode up with happiness. Crickets chirp in the background, and the air is filled with the scent of freshly cut grass and blooming roses.
“Dave! Come help me decorate the garden, the guests will be here soon.” The just turned fourteen year old Forbes had heard his mom call out to him.
But Dave was just that stubborn kid who never took instructions, he had been overly pampered as a kid and that made him a spoilt brat, the only one who scared him was his father.
“Get the servants to do it, Mama! I am playing with my friends!” he yelled across the flowers.
Maria Forbes smiled, she never really needed his help with the garden, she just wanted some special mother-son time with her boy.
She carefully stringed colorful lights, hung balloons, and arranged flowers in the garden where the party was to be hosted for the kids. Of course they were expecting adults as well but that would be inside the building.
They were an extremely wealthy family and lived in a castle-like mansion, one which had outlived generations. The party was a very memorable one but it soon came to an end, Little Dave had received a lot of gifts from people, both the ones he knew and the ones he had never met in his life.
His father knew a lot of people and would constantly introduce him to them as he was bound to take up the family business someday, but Young Dave never seemed to care much about that, he was more interested in having fun and getting expensive gifts.
His father, Peter was a man of few words, anyone would wonder how such a ruthless man could bore a lazy unserious teenager like Dave, but the truth was that Peter had been very absent during his boy’s childhood. Occupied with the responsibility of running the family business, and ensuring while at it, that he wasn’t convicted for a second time
With his brothers gone, it was his sole responsibility to keep the family legacy alive and he was the man to do whatever it takes to get what he wanted. He had dropped out of politics right after Dave was born because he knew it would be difficult raising a child in the world of hateful politics.
Later that night, Dave was lying on his bed, surrounded by bundles of gifts when his mother knocked on the door. “Honey, are you still up?” she had called from the outside.
He was almost tempted to ignore as he was mad at her for not getting him a bike as a present, Maria was very much ready to fulfill her boy’s wish but his father had kicked against the idea, insisting that Dave gets no bikes or cars until he was seventeen. And even though his mom loved him to the moon and beyond, his father had the final say.
“Yes mom,” he said inaudibly.
Mrs. Maria Forbes pushed the door open and turned on the lights, she walked towards him on his large foam with a smile on her face.
“Honey, I am sorry I couldn’t get your bike, but I hope you love the sports gear I got you.”
“Mom, what am I supposed to do with sports gear?”
She sighed and sat beside him on the bed, rubbing his curls backwards. “Baby, it is just three more years and then you can even get a car if you want.”
“Three years?” Dave yelled in his little voice.
“Shhh…” His mother hushed silently. “You will wake your siblings. Anyway, I have something else for you.” she said with a smile.
Dave immediately sat up in excitement, curious to know what this special gift was. If she had saved it till this moment, then it had to be special.
Maria Forbes brought out a tiny red wristband to his disappointment. “What is that? A string?” he asked with confusion written all over his face. Why would his mother give him a string? Is this a joke?
“No, it is a special wristband. Let me put it on you,” she said in her sweet motherly voice.
Dave reluctantly gave his left arm to her. “What makes it special?” he had asked innocently.
“It is a symbol of my love for you, it should remind you that no matter how far away we go from each other, I will always be with you my boy, I will always find you.” she said in an emotional tone as her eyes became teary.
** **
Mr. Blackwood is dragged off from his world of reminisce as his phone begins to ring, jolting back to reality, he grabs the phone quickly. It was Anna calling, his heart skipped. Why was she calling him?
He immediately took the call and her voice came through from the other end. “Happy Birthday MB!”
Mr. Blackwood immediately turned to the wall clock and that is when he realized, it was a minute past twelve, he was plus one!!
!