The Ring

It was just past noon when my mom came rushing into the living room.

“ Jakob grab your coat, and get in the car. Now.” I grabbed my coat and followed her out of the house. It was cold and the wind stung my cheeks.

“ Ma, what’s going on?” I asked as we walked to the car.

“ I’ll explain later. Once we get to where we are going.” she said.

I hopped in the front seat of the car and started to turn up the heat but she stopped me.

“ Get in the back.”

“ Why? I alwa-“ she cut me off

“ Now. In the back. Get.” I was scared, and confused. I had never seen Mom so upset in the fifteen years I’ve been alive. 

“ Where are we going?” I asked while fastening my seat belt.

“ Stop talking!” she screamed “…please…” 

“ Sorry..” I said, hardly daring to bring my voice above a whisper. Our drive consisted of nothing but silence. Finally after several hours of sitting still, we arrived at a hotel. This was odd. We hadn’t planned any family vacations. This was the middle of winter! We never leave during the winter! I knew something was terribly wrong. For Ma to be this upset, and for us to be staying in a hotel, in a different state, in the middle of winter, things had to have gotten real ugly. Ma looked at me through the rearview mirror.

“ I promise once we get inside I will tell you what has happened and why we are here. Okay?”

“ Okay.” I replied

“ But where is our luggage? Why didn’t we pack anything?” Ma gave me a look, clearly stating that she wasnt in the mood for questions. She had yelled at me earlier for asking them.

“ Jakob, did I not just tell you to stop asking questions?” she asked. I felt my face go red.

“Yes.” I responded

“ So why are you still talking” she hissed

“ Because I’m confused and I dont know what happened! Who wouldnt ask questions?” I said

“ Lets get settled in this hotel first, then we will discuss what is going on. K?” 

“Capeesh.” I said with very little tone in my voice. I knew better than to argue with her. She was the parent after all. I was just a child. She would always win. As we entered the lobby I could smell chlorine from the Hotel pool. I wanted to ask what room we were staying in and if dad knew we were here. I tapped her shoulder to try to get her attention.

“No“ she whispered, trying to keep her voice down” What did i just say? I don’t want to hear a word from you until we get to our room.”

I nodded.

“Good.” she said, turning to face the front desk. When we finally reached the desk, ten minutes had passed and I felt like I had been standing for hours. We took the stairs because the elevator was packed full of people and Ma didn’t feel like waiting that long. We eventually made it to the fourth floor and into our room. It was a very nice room. Queen size beds and white bedding. Red carpet and beautiful quartz counter tops. Ma sat down on the far right bed.

“Jakob, come here. I have to tell you something.”

What she said happened made my heart break into little pieces…

Ma took a deep breath and looked at me with tears in her eyes. “Your father… he’s gone, Jakob. He was shot on his way back home.” Her voice shook with fear and grief. I felt my world crumbling around me and my heart sank into my shoes.

“No…” I whispered.  Tears welled up in my eyes as the weight of her words sank in. 

Ma nodded, her face filled with sorrow. The person I looked up to and relied on for guidance, my hero, was no longer here. The blow sank into my chest like a knife leaving me numb. Stunned. Who and what had brought this upon him?

“Why are we here Mom?” I mumbled.

“I wanted to protect you,” Ma replied gently, reaching out to hold my hand. “We had to leave because there are dangerous people who want to harm us and rob us of everything we have. I am NOT taking any chances of losing my son. Ive already lost my husband.”

Confusion was pushed forward as I tried to process the gravity of the situation “ Why would anyone want to hurt us?”

Ma hesitated for a moment before finally answering.

“Your father was involved in something. He has something that has been passed down for generations. And now it seems other people want it to. They are after the family ring… The most valuable thing we own.. Its been with the family since the 1400’s. Along with a few other items as well. They are said to be charmed. They would bring luck and prosperity to anyone who should possess them.”

“What else do we need to get from the house?” I asked

“Only what we need.”

I laughed “ I guess were cleaning out the attic huh?”

She nodded.