A New Chapter

The young boy pulled his dog closer, shuddering at the random words that floated up and into his ears from where he sat at the top of the stairs in his family home.
'move', 'new house' and 'sell' were only some of the words he heard and he didn't like the sound of them. Resolving, after a moment's contemplation that he didn't want to hear anymore, the boy got up without so much as a sound and padded off to his room, his faithful canine companion trailing slowly behind him. Once there, he flopped down on his bed, sprawling out and getting lost in the type of book he loved the most. Adventure books.


It was a while later that the boy surfaced at the feeling of his mother's soft hand rubbing his back. Slowly, re rolled over and sat up, cuddling into his mother's side and looking up at her. "Mummy, what's going on?"
"You and I, are going to go to a new house," his mother answered gently.
Panic filled the boy's eyes and he gazed at his dog, who'd been curled up in the corner of the room until the boy's eyes fell upon him, at which point he lifted his head, ears pricking up and eyes locking with the young boy's.
The mother followed her son's worried gaze, "don't you worry," she said with a laugh, "Buster will come too. We wouldn't leave him behind."
"You promise?" her son asked, returning his eyes to hers.
"Promise," said his mother, clasping his hands in her own and squeezing them as a small smile formed across her lips.




It had been a few nights since he had received the news, and still the young boy could not decide whether it was good or bad, though he seemed to be leaning toward bad. So, he wandered into his mother's room.
Seeing her son in the doorway, she patted the bed beside her and he came over, scrambling up to sit beside his mother.
"Mummy, I don't think I want to move," said the young boy.
"No?" his mother asked curiously, her eyes in his. He had her full attention. "Why not?"
"Because," said the boy, "I like my room and I like it here. I don't want to go away. I don't want things to change."
"There are two ways to look at this," his mother said seriously.
"There is?"
She nodded, "you can be mad about this and sulk here and when we go," the mother looked at her son, whose curious eyes never leaving hers, "or, you can think of it like one of those adventures in your books."
"How's that?"
"Well, you know how sometimes, each chapter brings new adventure?"
"Yeah..."
"This is a new chapter. A new adventure."
"Maybe," he said, the tiniest of smiles creeping upon his lips.
"It's how you look at it," said his mother, "which makes you happier, hmm?"
"I don't know."
"I think that maybe if you think of it like a new chapter in one of your adventure books, you might feel better, what do you say?"
"A new adventure..." said the boy, his mind wandering. Finally, his eyes met his mother's again and he nodded. "A new chapter. "