Ernie looked out the window. His view was limited due to the heavy rainfall. “Darling,” his mother asked. She was a robust woman, around sixty years old. Ernie turned to her. His eyes shone. “Mama.” he said. He sat on the floor and sucked his thumb, rocking back and forth. My God, she thought. Can life be so cruel to such a sweet man? He was, at first glance, an adult, but his eyes revealed that lie.

He had a wife once. Or rather, he was about to get married. A horse had ended all of that. Sure, he was alive; but not without a price.

She could remember his easy smile on the hospital bed. But, something had been wrong with it. It was the smile of a child, not a man of twenty-five years. Those first few days had been the hardest. Trying to grasp what had happened to him.

Ernie smiled. What is she thinking? he wanted to know. Was it something bad about him? He worked himself into a sweat, coming up with nonsensical things that she might be thinking. “There, there, Ernie.” she cooed.