Letters from the Cloud - S.T. Celi (book recommendations for teens txt) 📗

Dylan was gnawing a pen in his mouth; he was crying and was hardly thinking about breaking a tooth by doing it. He was reading a letter that he got from an open book. He carefully read every line that seemed to be significant in this part of his life. His eyes were almost swelling from all of these tears that seemed vague to understand, was he happy? Or was he not?

Suddenly, he spit the pen in a jocular manner and began to smile. He now then looked up to the ceiling, breathed deeply, closed the letter and put it back to the book. He stood up, walked very slowly, with his boots resonating to the wooden floor and went toward the window, gazing upon to the eye piercing light of the sun that just rose up, greeting him. He breathed again now in a more spiritual manner, erasing every pain in his body while, the wind gushes in that calmed him down and closed his eyes. He tried to remember everything that happened… Especially 7 years ago… From there it was a flashback…


7 years ago…


A young 14-year old lad was running on the streets of Lerone, a wide pebbled street in the town of Scavorieze. He was full of vigor, speedily crisscrossing every person and banquet that he was passing through. In his eyes we can see his excitement and sheer determination all at the same time.
He was holding a letter in his hand, gripping it very tightly, and thinking to put on larger strides to reach his house as fast as possible.

On a dusty road in the middle of a wheat field, he was ignoring the fatigue that now started to slowly overwhelm his youthful body, for his house was now in sight. He saw his mother waiting for him at the door of their cobble stoned house, looking really worried about him.

“Mother!, Mother!” Dylan shouted in a distance.

“Dylan what took you so long?” her mother said.

“I’m sorry mama; I was left by the first coach so I needed to wait for another”

“Is that the letter?”

“Yes.”

Dylan immediately gave the letter to his mother and gasped for some air. His mother wasted no time in opening it.
Dylan just looked at his mother’s lip and tended to read it, he was snapping his feet waiting for some reaction coming from his mother.

“So?” Dylan said…

But his mother ignored his adolescent voice.

“What does it say mother?” he tried again…

But once again, his mother ignored him and just kept on reading the letter. So Dylan just entered the house while looking at his letter contemplating mother. He stopped at the door, taking a glance once again at his mother then came in completely.

Dylan washed himself up, soaking himself to the pure tepid water rushing from a pipe. It was a hot, sunny day so he enjoyed it, elated and eagerly rubbed his whole body up. Then later, he sat on the kitchen table and laid his wet head down on it; we can hear him singing the favorite song of his father. His father’s voice seemed to resound in his head, so now he’s getting a little nostalgic about some things he and his father did back then. He started to croon it, for him, the hymn just got more sweeter. His voice got louder and louder and louder... without noticing his mother was already staring at him.

“Dylan” her mother said in an angelic voice.

Dylan gently moved his head up with his hair still wet and water drops dripping one by one to the table. He faced his mother eye for an eye with that monumental water droplet sound.

“The war has started… your uncle has no news about your father and the situation makes his chances uncertain” her mother saying it while holding back her tears.

There was a total silence from the two.

Dylan’s eyes were burning in fear for his father. He was daunted of the things that could happen. He started to shake his head trying to convince himself that it was just a dream. He was puzzled and tried to answer the unanswerable things for now.

“Why is this happening mother?” Dylan said.

“People have different beliefs Dylan, and this is what the effect looks like”

Her mother said while walking away from him. She went to the kitchen, grabbed her apron and washed some fresh fishes. Then she said:

“Some people have the ambition to be powerful… ambition that doesn’t include others, it’s just for themselves!” her mother's audible, frustrated voice was heard clearly by Dylan

She can't held back her tears anymore, it started flowing down on her apron, so she stopped washing the fishes, which she had noticed was overdone. Instead, she took off her apron, covered her face with it and let herself open into the river of tears.

From there on, there were no words left to be said. The war had begun; Dylan’s father was one of the officers for the army. He knew that the chance of meeting his father again was not that big.

The next morning Dylan and his mother went to the market to buy some ingredients. Dylan’s face was still abysmal to see, while her mother pretended to be unfazed of the things happening in their lives for his son to be strong. She bought some pepper, onions, garlic, and some ripe fruits. She was calculating their money if there’s still some extra to buy a rice cake for his son which was Dylan’s favorite delicacy. She figured out that there was still some extra coins, so with no hesitation they went to the rice cake stall and bought some.

“2 please” her mother said to the vendor.

It helped Dylan to change his mood a little bit by seeing his favorite cake. The vendor handed the cakes to Dylan’s mother but Dylan grabbed it quickly. So his mother just gave him a smile and just paid for the cakes. Dylan speedily took off the plastic and munched on the cake in big rounds. As they were about to go, the vendor turned the radio volume up and unexpectedly, it’s an update news about the ongoing war. So the two of them stood their ground and opted to hear the news. The news was telling people to start to evacuate in some given places, for the war had stretched its border and now affecting some parts of their country as well. For Dylan’s mother, she knew from that point that it’s getting bigger, so she’s thinking to evacuate to her sister’s house which was far from the border.

“Dylan let’s go!”

Dylan still wanted to hear the news, he was hopeful that there will be some news given about his father but her mother forced him to go, so they did.

Back at their house Dylan and his mother were having dinner. They were seated on the opposite side of each other. Dylan sat on his father’s chair and in between him and his mother was a candle flaming violently. As they were eating, traces of ambiguity were on their faces, a lot of food had not yet been eaten. That was not normal for both of them and they knew this time that there were things that you cannot really hide from yourself. Dylan’s slowly frowned his face and start asking his mother.

“He’ll be back right?” “Father.”

His mother did not reply to his question and continued to eat seemingly blithe at all.

“Answer me mother… answer me…”

“Stop it!” Her mother finally replied in a loud manner.

“Stop acting like a child Dylan!…

Her mother breathed heavily, calmed down and said “You need to understand the situation, you’re not a kid anymore… Your father is in the battlefield risking his life… and you need to know that… you need to accept it… because your father trusts you… don’t bring him down Dylan…”

Tears finally fell traumatically to Dylan’s face, overflowing on his crippled shirt.

“Prepare you things before you go to bed, we’ll leave tomorrow morning” she added.

Again, his mother continued eating and pretended to be stronger than ever. It will be a long night for both of them.

Dylan was on his last preparation for their journey tomorrow going to his aunt’s house. After a few minutes he surrendered himself onto bed. He realized that so many things happened in just few days. For him it was too fast, He slid himself sidewards and comfortably laid his head on his single pillow and unconsciously slept.

He opened his eyes again now looking at his father’s face staring at him, and for him it was so surreal to understand.

“Father? Father your back…” In total joy he hugged his father and squeezed him.
“Did you do what I told you when I’m away?” his father said.

“I did father”

“But how come your mother still cries when I arrived?”

“No father it’s impossible, she’s too strong of a woman to cry…”

“Dylan remember when I told you that your mother cannot make it alone. You need to be with her…”

“But now you’re here father, you can be with us…”

“I’m sorry Dylan but I can’t”

“What do you mean you can’t?”

“It’s not over yet… the war”

“Why is it have to be always the war?! I don’t care about the war father; I just want our family back…”

“Dylan, listen to me carefully… Unity… is what makes a family… without it we’re nothing. And that’s what we’re doing…”

“I need you to trust me”

“I need you to be strong cause we’re starting it first from our bigger family… the world… it needs us… What I’m doing is a way to bring back peace. We’re trying to re-unite the world…”

“To prove that there is always a way to be good again… Do you understand me”?

Dylan just nod the whole time, inspired by what his father told him. He knew he needed to trust his father and he knew his father trusts him, so he must not let his father down.

“I’m gonna leave now, take care of your mother and don’t forget what I’ve said”
“Alright?”
“Yes father.” in a soft voice. His father gives him a tight hug and starts to leave.

His father was waiving at him while getting farther and farther from his sight. Dylan saw his father dropped a letter from his bag without noticing it. So he picked it up, tried to run and follow his father to tell him he dropped something.

"Father!, Father!" he shouted in full effort..

But as he was running on his feet, Dylan suddenly fell down on a cliff...


The next morning, he woke up realizing all of it was just a dream and that he actually fell off the bed towards the floor. He looked at the clock knowing it’s already late, so he jumped out of floor and start packing. Dylan already heard his mother calling him and saying it’s time to go.


Dylan and his mother were at the train station waiting for the next coach. Dylan steadily looked at the hands of a huge