The sun falls to rest, the moon rising in its place. Darkness fills the air around me. The moon illuminates the sky, giving light to trees, cars, and the house behind us. Ady, my brother, puts his bags into his car, as he nears his excursion to college. He says his farewells, on the verge of tears, embracing my father with an exchange of words. “I love you. Never forget that we are always here for you. You will come across many challenges, but as long as you give it your best, there should be no regrets.”
Ady wipes the tears off his face with his favorite hoodie. “Yes, Dad,” is all my brother can muster, as my father leans over and kisses him on the forehead.
Tears spill from the eyes of my mother, wearing a UVA sweatshirt, looks up to my brother as he approaches her, his chin at her forehead. I can see in my mother’s watery eyes – glassy and far-off – that she is thinking of a quiet and empty house. Ady wraps his long, gangly arms around my mother and holds her tightly for a moment in their parting embrace. She waves goodbye to her oldest child as he drives into the faint glow of the streetlamps, the moon, the headlights, as if a planet drifting away from its sun.…show more content… “I couldn’t be any happier for Ady but I wish he was still here. I miss him already. I don’t know what to do,” my mother says as we enter the house. She folds her arms across her chest and frowns. She sinks into the couch, gazing at the white wall ahead of aher, her eyes drenched with the tears for Ady. My father, body slumped downward, leans over her and grasps her shoulders. She looks up to him and sighs, pressing her hand on his arm as he comes closer and puts her head down. He sits down and adjusts his suit, straightening his shirt and patting down his
