It was a hot summer day in the middle of July, on a Wednesday. jasmine was sitting out on her porch reading her book while watching stray cars pass by at random intervals.
She lived on a main street in the City of Brockton Massachusetts where sh has lived since the day of birth. That was about sixteen years ago.
The birth took place on a Friday afternoon, dated July 19, 2003. The mother, Pearl Waterman had been in labor for about twelve hours with what had seemed like a million contractions. The labor had been initiated the previous night around 11 pm.
Pearl had been rushed to the hospital by her husband, a Brockton Police Officer, who at the time was off duty.
The time before being rushed, the happy couple was just about to go to sleep together. The husband, Charles Waterman, had his first off duty nigh for the first time in several weeks. Knowing his wife could give birth any day, he wanted to make sure he would be there for her and their newborn child.
About to lay down in bed, Pearl felt an ocean give way between her legs. The newly cleaned nightgown was drenched from the waist down, and she was standing in a puddle. The wife's water had broke.
"Charles!!!" she shrieked.
The husband was in the bedroom's joining bathroom, brushing his teeth and about to use the toilet for one last time before going to bed.
"Yes, hun? What is up?" he asked and it sounded mumbled because of the tooth paste and brush still working to clean his teeth.
"My water broke!" she said both excitedly and with a hint of nervousness in her voice. Pearl stood there shocked for a moment staring down at herself.
Charles Waterman after hearing this news dropped his tooth brush into the sing, spit the contents in his mouth out and raced into the bedroom without having wiped his mouth.
"Oh my god, its time! Okay, we have the bag in the car. You need to change clothes." Running to the dresser he threw clothes that consisted of sweats and a t-shirt at Pearl, "Here change into these you will be comfortable with these."
Inside, Charles must have been freaking out, but externally he was trying his best to stay calm. But in his haste to make sure they were all set, he still had been in boxers once they had gotten out to the car.
Ready to put the car in drive the wife said, " Charles? Charles, honey...."
Oblivious, and with a one track mind he put the car in drive and started to pull out of the apartment building's parking lot.
"Charles!" Pear said more forcefully, "You need to change. You are still in your boxers and have no shoes on." This got the husbands attention.
He pressed on the breaks and for the first time since he had heard his wife from the other room, he looked down at himself.
He work red heart boxers, no shirt and no shoes. The hair was disheveled and eh was pale with toothpaste still on his face.
With the husband's only concern for his wife, he had completely forgotten about himself.
There was a sound coming from his right side that got louder. Charles, unsure of the noise, but knew it was from his wife, he looked over at her with worry.
The worry quickly changed to astonishment. She hadn't been in pain from the labor but intact, she was laughing and he was pretty sure it was at him.
"Oh Charles, run inside and change. I won't give birth in this car. The contractions are too far apart it is still not quite time for out little angel to meet us."
Pearl was beside herself with amusement and didn't feel it coming. The first contraction in almost minutes, and she was doubled over screaming in pain.
"Pearl honey, I can't leave you like this. I can get a robe or something at the hospital ."
Pearl was panting the last of the painful waves leaching from her body, breathlessly she said, "No, go inside honey, you should change. I won't have one for a while now. Just be quick and make sure you have your wallet."
Realizing not only had the husband forgotten to change but he had left his wallet on the dresser in their room. It held all the insurance info. Without they would have been screwed.
The night of Jasmine's birth, had turned into the story that was most reminisced about. It was brought up when they laughed together at family meals, or hanging out with new family friends. At family gatherings when new people were introduced such as new boyfriends and girlfriends of cousins.
Everyone had loved hearing that Charles had almost gone to the hospital in nothing but his boxers with red hearts and a white background. The idea of a grown walking into a hospital with his pregnant wife in this state was comical. Especially one so responsible as the husband was.
Even Jasmine would tell the story to her friends. And her good friends never got tired of hearing it.
Jasmine, the gift given to her parents was a sweet innocent girl who mostly kept to herself with the exception of the friends she had made through the school years.
She was a shy girl around people not known to her very well and became the most outgoing person when surrounded by people she has known for years.
Those friends included three girls and two boys. They became her circle of friends by bursting through her barriers and forcing their way into her life.
They were good people who saw something special in her. They were loyal to her, and she was loyal to them.
Her first and closest friend was a girl who had turned sixteen at the end of sophomore year of high school. This girl named Jilian, had implanted herself into Jasmines life at an early age.
They were in kindergarten, and Jilian the savior had protected Jasmine the timid from three boys pulling her pigtails during playtime.
Playtime was the time when the teachers got to let the children go off and do their own thing for about half a hour so they wouldn't get too restless during class time. But they were too young to go off and have recess with the older kids.
Jasmine had been playing with dolls in the corner of the classroom by herself. When these three boys came over and started to make fun of her pink bows that matched her pink and white stripe dress.
Her mother, had picked it out the previous weekend at Tj Maxx for her. Jasmine had felt pretty and very girly in the dress.
She has always loved wearing dresses and cute ballerina shoes. The dress she couldn't wait to wear to school. She was a princess going to the ball.
Jasmine had been minding her own business when the bullies who were known as Joseph, Dylan, and Austin came over. Joseph walked up behind her, while Dylan and Austin knelt in front of her.
They were all the same age about six or seven years old. But the boys were much bigger than her.
Jasmine, the tiny girl she was, knew she was no match for these boys and sat there paralyzed. Her heart was racing a mile a maintain her chest. Palms were sweaty enough where the doll she was holding slipped out of her hands. But she did nothing to prevent her precious doll from slipping.
"Hey Dylan, Austin, look at these bows. They match her frilly dress. I wonder what would happen if I pull at this tie," Jasmine, the poor girl, sat there frozen from fear of them. She knew she was different from children her age but she was always left alone to create stories and worlds inside her mind.
But today things had changed. She was not left alone.
"No wait Joseph, my uncle always pulls my lists pigtails he thinks it will grant wishes when he does," Dylan said in front of Jasmine.
The timid girl could only stare back at the two boys knelt in front of her. her big brown eyes started wide open to the space between them wishing they wouldgo away.
Then Josph the little bully who stood behind her began tugging at both clumps of hair that had been neatly prepared by the mother upon the little girls head.
Jasmine could do nothing but wine in pain and whimper.
"I wish I never have to see this puke pink colored dress ever again." Joseph said from behind the girl, while pulling at the same time, the pig tails.
The tails of hair were pulled outward and upward, with very little gentleness granted from the boys to the girl.
He laughed and the two other boys joined in.
Still laughing the boy named Dylan had stood up from his crouched position, "My turn Joseph. Its my wish now."
At the same time Dylan stood, Austin picked up the doll and said, "I can't believe you play with dolls. That is so old school. You should be playing on the IPAD or a Computer. You are such a freak for playing over here by yourself all the time. You might as well....."
Instantly, the dirty mouthed boy had been pushed by a black haired, blue-eyed girl. She wore jeans and a white t-shirt.
"Hey! You can't speak to people like that. Your the freak for treating her like this, my little friend over here was doing nothing but minding her own business and you two being nosey little cockroaches are ruining her play time with your ugly faces."
This had become the first time Jilian had protected Jasmine, it wouldn't be the last time.
From that moment on, the little girl Jilian became Jasmine's permanent body guard and best friend. The pair became inseparable, and slowly as Jilian mad friends through the years, they became Jasmine's too.
Jasmine had been force to hang with them and they eventually grew on her.
First came Sophia. This girl became part of jasmine's circle of friends around second
Sophia, a blond haired blue-eyed eight year old girl was new to school, sitting by herself everyday at lunch and was in most classes with Jilian and the occasional class with Jasmine.
Jilian, the most outgoing and strong willed person, kind, and loyal human being you could know, introduced Sophia and Jasmine.
The three girls would east lunch together with all the chatter escaping from Jillian's lips and little mumbles in agreement from Jasmine and Sophia.
It was the new girl who lost her shyness first and became more vocal. Accepting both original girls as her friends.
She like Jillian, pushed through Jasmines defenses.
Unknown to Jillian and Jasmine, Sophia had a brother who was a year older. He wasn't like most big brothers who ignored their sister keeping her away from his friends. He embraced her and stood up fro Sophia.
It wasn't until the end of second grad when they met him. It was the first time the three girls were able to hang out together after school. They were close like three lists or even closure. They never fought and they were always there for one another.
One day the three girls carpooled to Sophia's house, her mom drove a blue minivan. She picked them up and Sophia's brother.
"So this is my older brother Adam." At this point in their friendship they had learned of him, but this was the first time to be introduced.
He was a cute boy with hair and green eyes who was nine years old, two years older than Jasmine. The girl was about seven years old, but would be eight in a couple years.
The three girls got in the mini van that Sophia and Adam's mother was driving. This new mother was a widower who supported and raised her two children herself.
The husband had passed away from battle wounds received while serving in Iraq. He had been blasted by a suicidal bomber from ISIS in the year of 2007, about a year ago.
This was the reason for moving back to her home town. The family was here and they did their best to help out with the two young children who lost their father too early.
The war hear, before he left, put an almost unbearable burden on his, at the time, seven year old son.
"Son, while I am gone, you will be the man of the house. You treat your mother with respect and protect your baby sister. They are your responsibility while I am gone."
The little boy with green eyes stood there, looked up into the fathers face as he did his best to keep tears from spillng down the little boys face.
"Yes father, i will protect them like you have. I will be the man of the house until you come home."
The statement from the soldiers son brought an agonizing shooting pain from his gut to his throat choking him.
His boy was strong, and he had no doubt he would do just that. But for how long did the father have to put the wight on the boys shoulders.
The father also knew the time could be permanent. He may never return.
The father avoided that side of the conversation, pulled his into his arms, and said gently, "I know you will Adam. You will be a man worthy to be called my son. I am a proud father and I love you."
This was the last time Adam, Sophia, and the mother had seen the Soldier.
With the promise to Protect his mother and sister, Adam over the years made his own seat in the circle of friends. Soon they became equivalent of a family and the people they young sone protected grew.
Now Jasmine, Sophia, and Jillian were under his protection.
Adam was a football player, studied martial arts, has learned gun safety and how to handle them from a young age. His teacher was Charles Waterman. With permission from the mother of Adam and Sophia, was taught the safety and ability to handle guns at a young age. Now he was 18 years old with an FID card. Adam had a plan to be an officer just like Charle.
The circle of friends all shot together. This included the timid Jasmine. But they all had fun, together going youth shooting groups...........
#Romance #Adventure #Apocalypse #Zombies #Friendship #Family #Action #Sci-Fi #Short-Story #Mystical #Nature #Death #Survival #Creative Writing #Excerpts #
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