A poor mother never lets anyone inside her old trailer until one day when she collapses and is rushed to the hospital. The events that follow end up changing her life forever.
“Hey, kid! Stay away from him!” Barbara screamed as she dashed over to her son Timothy, who was playing with a boy named Harry. “How dare you come here to play with my son? He doesn’t hang out with lunatics and recluses!”
“Mom!” Timothy cried. “Harry isn’t any of those! We are friends, and I was the one who invited him to play with me and other kids from the neighborhood.”
For illustration purposes only. | Source: Pexels
“Shut up, Tim! You have no idea how dangerous certain people can be. Don’t you know his mother is a crazy woman who never lets anyone near her or inside that stupid trailer of hers? How many times have I warned you not to see him?”
“Mom, please! Harry is a nice boy. We just….” Timothy had just started speaking when Harry interrupted him.
“It’s okay, Tim. My mom says that mothers are always right, but Mrs. Anderson,” he remarked, turning to Barbara. “My mom is very sweet. She doesn’t let anyone inside our trailer because she is scared.”
“Scared?” Barbara laughed sarcastically at him. “It’s us who should be afraid of her! I’m sure she’s up to something fishy! Anyway, keep it in mind, kid: don’t ever play with my son again! Did you understand?”
Harry’s eyes welled up to the point that he couldn’t speak. He rushed away from the park to the spot where his old, white trailer was typically parked, under a dry tree that marked the beginning of a forest that connected two suburbs.
When his mother, Tracy, saw he was crying incessantly, she was worried. “Honey, what’s wrong? Why are you crying? Are you hurt?”
“It was one of our neighbors again, mom,” Harry said, sobbing. “They always keep calling you names, mom. I hate that! I hate each one of them!”
“Oh, honey,” Tracy said, hugging him. “You should never hate anyone. When people get angry, they end up saying things they don’t mean. It doesn’t mean they dislike you, or….”
“No, mom! You don’t get it!” Harry retorted. “They don’t want to understand you, or me, or anyone else. Do you even know what happened today? Mrs. Anderson called you a recluse and told me not to play with Timothy because I’m a recluse’s son according to her. Can we please leave this town, mom? I don’t want to stay here.”
