Have you heard of the boy named Adam? He is known as a rascal in this town—always
doing what he wants, always known as the “tough guy,” always covered in
dirt. He spends a lot of his time “stealing”
apples from old man Quinton; Adam always smells like apples and grass. Old man Quinton hates when people come onto
his property, but makes an exception for Adam to feast on the apple tree he
hasn’t used since his beloved Anna Marie died of breast cancer. Old man Quinton would never admit it, but
Adam has become a blessing in his life.
The silver lining he needed to recover from the tragedy of his wife’s
death. He taught Adam how to fish, how
to tie knots, and how to whittle wood.
His blonde hair is always a tousled mess, tangled and dirty. His clothes are stained more often than not
and are often being mended by his mother.
His skin is covered in a layer of dirt and grime, and his boots are
always caked in mud. Adam loves to roll
around in the grass with his dogs, and they often go down to the river to catch
toads—the river is surrounded by mud and tall grass—where Adam gets the
dirtiest. His mother has a very
difficult time trying to keep him clean, especially on Sundays when Grandma
Karen comes to visit for chicken and potatoes.
Grandma Karen disapproves of Adam’s lifestyle, and is actively against
his lack of hygiene. Adam’s mother tries
to keep him clean at least when her mother is around, but secretly she finds
his playful banter amusing and nostalgic.
His school days are precious and he loves to learn. His teachers have become comfortable with the
fact that no matter how clean he is in the morning, he will always get dirty
over the course of the day. He makes an
effort to stay a little presentable for one specific someone in his class,
though. Her name is Amelia, and he
thinks she is the most beautiful girl he has ever seen. Her dark brown natural curls that hang
loosely over her shoulders always shine when they play together during recess. Amelia is the gentle side of Adam; she shows
him how to pick flowers without crushing them, points out the cloud shapes in
the sky, and what it means to be “friends.”
Amelia is Adam’s only human friend, aside from his mother.
There is one person lacking from Adam’s life though. When he was just barely three years old, his
father walked out on him and his mother.
He deserted Adam and his mother because he simply “did not love them
anymore.” Adam barely remembers anything
of his father, only that he was never really a nice person. For now he simply accepts the fact that his
father hasn’t been there for his mother, and tries to make it his job that she
is cared for. He spends his evenings
reading, playing games, making dinner, and singing songs with his mother—doing
the job his father never did.
Adam may be a rascal, and he may spend more time being dirty
than being clean. But he has a soft side
that he reserves for the special people in his life.
Let me know what you think!
Lot's of Love,
Meg
P.S. I'm going to start blogging more often cause I spend so much of my time looking at other blogs rather than blogging on my own! Hahaha
