I want to see him again

Resting his head back on the seat, Noah shut his eyes, feeling a sense of annoyance and nervousness churn in his gut with every passing minute as he felt the car moving slowly and steadily.

The feeling of being home at last after spending all his days in another country wasn't quite pleasant, and he wished to tell the driver to take him back to the airport, but he knew offending his parents was one of those things that wouldn’t go over well.

After all, he had been doing it for years and they finally had enough of it, threatening him with the only thing he cares about, and that's the only reason he got on a plane in the first place.

The sudden sound of the car squashing before it came to a harsh stop made Noah jolt out of his thoughts, opening his eyes as fast as he could to get a better view of his surroundings.

There, in front of the taxi was a kid, shivering as he hugged his body, frozen in fear.

“Bambino!” A lady's loud cry made Noah's eyes dart to the right to see her standing on the other side of the crosswalk. “Leo, step back. Mommy is coming.”

Suddenly, the driver of the taxi stepped out, and Noah frowned at his abrupt departure.

Quietly, Noah's eyes followed him as he matched to the boy, and then he suddenly shouted, “Are you trying to get me in trouble!!! How dare you not look before you cross! If you want to die, go do it somewhere else and not right in front of my cab!”

His brows snapped together at those harsh words, and without hesitation, Noah rushed from the taxi, hurrying to the kid's side, and stepped in between him and the driver.

The sound of people honking at them to get out of the way only fueled the rage that Noah felt as he said calmly to the driver, not wanting to scare Leo, “How can you speak to a kid like that?”

“I am just trying to discipline him since it seems like his parents don't!” The driver exclaimed angrily. “Maybe if his father would have spank him a couple of times, he wouldn't be so reckless and stupid to make a mistake like crossing the street when there are cars around!”

“You're talking about a little child, not an adult, you idiot,” Noah said, struggling to keep his voice calm and even, and he tried very hard to hide how much his anger was starting to build up. “So how about you watch your mouth, huh?”

The daring look in Noah's eyes and the slight growl of his voice sent shivers down the man’s spine, and the driver immediately became silent finally.

Taking a step toward the driver, Noah leaned closer to his ear and whispered, “Now, get back into your car and drive off before I give you something more severe to cry about than this.”

Immediately, the driver pulled back, scowling at Noah before turning around and getting back into the car.

When he started the car engine, Noah hastily picked up the kid, hugging him tightly as he rushed back to the sidewalk, frowning at the cab driving fast by them.

Suddenly, he felt Leo's hands tightening around his neck as his soft sob echoed in his ear, whispering, “I am sorry, uncle. I didn't mean to...”

“I know. It's okay, kid.” Noah mumbled, his fingers stroking his dark curls gently. “Everyone makes mistakes. What is important is that we learn from it. So, you know now that crossing the road without paying attention is bad, right?”

When Leo nodded, Noah chuckled softly and said, “That’s good. I am proud of you, kid.”

When the cross light brightened, Noah noticed the lady that screamed earlier, running over to them, tears streaming from her eyes as she cried, “Bambino!”

Finally, Leo loosened his grip on Noah’s neck and turned in his arm, smiling at the lady and mumbling, “I am sorry, mommy.”

“Don’t ever do that again! You have always been obedient and stood still, waiting for me to cross and get you! What got you to rush into moving traffic?!” She lashed out.

When Noah felt Leo squeeze his collar softly, he cleared his throat and said, “He is sorry. I am sure that he didn't intend to-”

“Thank you for standing up for my son and what you did. But I hope you can stay out of this and give him to me.” She cut him off sharply.

The arrogance in her tone made Noah bite his tongue, forcing himself to remain calm despite the anger bubbling inside of him.

“Of course.” He added, handing Leo to her.

The boy gave Noah a pitiful look, and even though he noticed it, Noah shoved his hands into his pocket and walked off without saying a word, not looking back.

“Mommy,” Leo whispered. “That uncle save me from that mean man.”

“I know honey, and I am thankful. But it’s best not to get attached to people, okay?” She replied sadly.

“But why? Wouldn’t it be nice to finally have someone who likes us when everyone is mean to you, mommy?”

“Leo, you are just six, you wouldn’t understand. So just try to be a kid for mommy's sake, okay?… even if your school recognized you as a child genius.”

Staring at the sadness that brimmed in his mother’s eyes, Leo pouted, and then he took off his back bag, unzipped it, and got out a birthday card that was decorated with colorful, glittering stars and butterflies in different shapes.

With a shy smile and a nod, Leo passed the card to his mother and said, “For you, mommy. Happy birthday.”

“Is this why you were happy to get to me, faster?” She asked, and she held the card close to her chest, tears glimmering in her eyes as she smiled fondly at her son, “I am really happy, baby. Thank you so much.”

Then she kissed the top of his head and then said, “How about we go get a birthday cake and celebrate mom's birthday together? Do you like the sound of that?”

“Maybe we can invite that nice uncle?” Leo said, looking over to the bus stop, a couple of distances away, and saw Noah standing there, staring at his phone.

“Bambino… We can’t, and don’t ask why okay?”

“But, Mommy,”

“No.”

Pouting hard, Leo stared at Noah, and just then a taxi stopped in front of him, and with tears brimming in his eyes, he watched Noah look back at where he and his mother stood.

Just then she looked where her son was staring, locking eyes with Noah before he got into the backseat of the cab and closed the door.

“I want to see him again.” Leo cried, sniffing hard as the cab drove away.

“What has gotten into you, Bambino.” She whispered, her heart aching at the sorrow in her son’s voice. “I said, ‘no.”

“He was nice to me, mommy. No one is ever nice to me! They keep saying that you are cursed and it’s because of you that dad…”

“Bambino,”

Looking up at the tears dropping down his mother's chin, Leo quickly dried his face and said, “I am not sad anymore, mommy! I am happy! Let's go buy cake and we can celebrate mommy's birthday together!”

Even though old wounds had been ripped open by her son’s words, seeing that he was trying to cheer her up, she picked him up and laughed, “Do you want ice cream too?”

“Yes, yes! And strawberry shortcake!” He squealed excitedly.

Nodding, she smiled happily, “Okay Bambino! We are going to buy everything... Ice cream, cake, strawberry shortcake. I can’t wait!”

“Me too, mommy!” Leo cheered, holding onto his mother’s neck tighter and giving her his brightest smile.

Subconsciously, her eyes followed the taxi Noah was in, and she stared hard at it as she thought, ‘I hope I never see you again. He doesn't need this kind of confusion in his life.’