Moonlit Walk (Morgana)

If the morning light ever calls you backwards,
If the surface begs you home.

It seems like things just keep getting more and more complicated. It's not bad enough that I'm a father at eighteen, and my girlfriend and her drunk father live with me. It's not bad enough that I had to send my own mother away because she was going crazy. It's not bad enough that my father is dead. Apparently, my long-lost brother Theron decided this was the time to come back home. Suddenly, Mother's insanity is all my fault. He doesn't forgive me for sending her away. And I know he doesn't like River. I see the way he looks at her at meals, as if all of this is her fault. But I can't be angry at him.

Almost every night since he was escorted home by Peacekeepers, I've woken up to hear him shouting. How Brooke sleeps through it, I don't know, but I'm glad she doesn't wake up. Then River would wake up too, and I think it's bad enough for Theron that I wake up. I can tell he's embarrassed when I come out to the living room where he sleeps to see if he's okay. He always says he is, but I can't help being worried. I don't know what he's been doing the past four years. He won't tell me when I ask. But it has to be something bad if he was sent to the Detention Center.

Maybe it's stupid to try to fix everyone who comes my way. I can't help it, it's just the way I function. And it can be a good thing, at times. I never would have met River if I wasn't like that. Sure, we've had hard times, but we're happy now. I didn't plan on being a father so early in my life, but I still love Brooke with all my heart. I wouldn't change any of this for the world. But still, I want to help Theron.

There have been some good changes, too. I quit my job fishing because I found work as a waiter in a restaurant. It's not a very fancy place, but I like it, and the pay's better. Shorter hours, too, so I can see my family more. Theron keeps telling me he wants to get a job to help pay for things, but I won't let him. I want him to get back to how I knew him, or at least somewhere close, before he starts working. And we can pull by without him working for now.

Today was a hard day at work, and afterwards, I head to the beach. River will probably be angry at me later for not coming straight home, or helping out with Brooke. But I need some time alone. A little over a year ago, it was just me and Mother. Now there's five people crammed into that tiny house. Sometimes I feel like there isn't enough room to breathe there, or to think. Today I need a break from that.

The beach holds some nice memories. I've met a lot of people here, including River. I smile at the memory of that day. We decided we were in love after just a few hours. Maybe love's not supposed to work that way, or happen so fast. But it's worked for me pretty well so far.

I watch the waves as I walk along the shore, remembering the times Father took Theron and me down here to swim. I always liked swimming far more than Theron did. He always preferred sitting on the shore, making sand castles. We were always pretty different, I guess, but I've never hated him. We were never close, but we weren't enemies either.

Looking up, I see a young girl standing on the beach not far from me. She's not looking in my direction, but I wave anyways, putting a friendly smile on my face. "Hello!" I call, heading towards her. What can I say? I'm a people person.

If the morning light ever calls you backwards,
Just don't be gone too long,
Don't leave me here alone.