A Spiral Stairway To Space

Like an inquisitive five-year-old asking for trouble, I made my way down the mysterious spiral staircase. Steadily, I made my way down unable to see where it was leading me. And suddenly, a burst of darkness appeared out of nowhere and, when I looked down, I realized, I was standing at the edge of the last step. There I was, staring into open space - the abode of silence. 

 

 "Charlie, wake up! You'll be late for school!" 

 

I woke up to my mom's usual startling wake-up calls. The kitchen smelled like breakfast and it always has. My mom was a big advocate for breakfast at all times of the day. Often than not, I thought she used it as her cryptic excuse since she didn't know how to cook anything else other than waffles or pancakes. Nonetheless, I always felt nothing was comparable to my mom's waffles. They were the best!

 Even Ricky's mom envied my mom's amazing waffle making skills and, Ricky's mom was the famously proclaimed 'best chef' among the parent group. 

 

"Here you go Charlie, I made waffles today. I know you like them. Enjoy dear!"

 

I looked down on my plate to find two giant scrumptious waffles with whipping cream and sliced strawberries. As I was attacking my plate, I recollected the time when my mom tried to cook a chicken stew for the parent-teacher conference. It was a disaster. She got super nervous the night before, but she still put on a brave face, paced around the kitchen floor making sure she got all the right ingredients. The following morning I woke up to a cloud of smoke coming from the kitchen. I ran into the kitchen to find my mom frantically waving a bath towel over the stove-top. 

"Charlie, I think I got the recipe wrong!" We lost half of our kitchen that day and it only took ten months of construction to get the whole thing back up. 

 

I slowly made my way up to my room again. Along the staircase, I saw the medals I won in school and university, hanging on the walls, my graduation pictures and the best one of all - a framed picture of the time I went to space. 

 

"Charlie, you are too slow! You are going to be late for school!" My mom yelled from the kitchen. 

 

"Okay, mom" I whispered under my breath and went up to my room.  

 

I laid on my bed reminiscing of the bygone era. 

"Charlie you are going to be an astronaut!" My mom was ecstatic when she heard I was going to join NASA's team of space explorers. Being a single parent was not easy, but one thing she never gave up on was me. She made sure I attended school every day, did my homework diligently and always told me to dream beyond the times. I never understood what that meant but subconsciously my dreams were futuristic. 

 

"Charlie, why are you laying on your bed? Goodness! You haven't even brushed your teeth!"

 

She stood there by the door, frowning. She still had her kitchen apron on, stained with butter and cream. She smells like waffles, I thought. She always did. 

Her hair was perfectly tucked into a small quaint bun and she always had a pale pink scarf with white flowers on. I have hardly seen her without it. 

 

"Charlie, your room is a mess! I am going to take your laundry down and you mister, better get ready for school!"

 

"Okay, mom," I muttered. 

 

I took out the small memo book I kept on my bedside and in the process, accidentally knocked down the bottle of pills which I never took. I write down little things like what day it is and what I did during the day. My psychiatrist seems to take that book very seriously. 

 

" July 7th 

Ate breakfast with mom. Had waffles."

 

My doctor thinks I have something like schizophrenia although he never told me what it was. I prefer to see the hallucinations of my mom as a guardian angel looking after her own. 

 

All I have is her. I never got married, never had kids. My family ends with me. So, I welcome this interaction I get with my mother even though it seems supernatural. 

 

"I am here for you Charlie"

 

The heavy breakfast was doing its trick. I was already half closing my eyelids. 

 

Steadily, I made my way down the spiral staircase in the International Space Station. There was a beautiful view of space from this special spot and all I thought was, "Wish you could see this mom." And, there she appeared just like I remembered her. She was standing right in front of me. She never left me since.