Jeremiah (1)

(This is Part I of a series... that I may or may not finish.)

Jeremiah was no ordinary toddler. And he knew it. At 6, he remembers everything that happened all the way back to his first birthday. To say that he has a photographic memory is one thing. But to have such a powerful mind at 6 is, as a matter of fact, scary.

On February 1, 2013, he woke to the sound of his mother arguing with his dad. She was upset that his dad was not going to be at his birthday party that night because he had to work.

"Can you not say no?"

"It's my job! If I say no they'll fire me!"

"But it's your son's first birthday. It's a once-in-a-lifetime event!"

"It's fine, kids don't remember their first birthday."

But Jeremiah does remember. He saw his mother hit his dad and how he stormed off without looking back. She scooped Jeremiah up in her arms and said, "We don't need him. You will have the best first birthday whether he's here or not."

That night, after all the guests left and the party decor has been taken down, Jeremiah's dad came home reeking of alcohol and shouting for his mom.

"You're drunk! I thought you went to work."

He hit her with such a force that her head snapped back and she landed hard on the floor. His dad then picked up her lifeless body and unto the sofa after which he called 911. When the police came that night his dad told them that she tripped and hit her head.

Jeremiah wanted to tell them what really happened but he doesn't know how. Because at that time, he doesn't know how to speak yet. His aunt came to take him with her because according to her, his dad didn't even know how to take care of himself. He never saw him again after that.

Now, all these years later, he looked out the window of his aunt's house and saw his dad outside conversing with his aunt. A jolt of fear and anger rose up from within him and he ran outside to the yard.

"Stay away from her! Don't kill her! Don't kill her!"

His dad and aunt didn't know what to make of him because he was crying as he ran into his aunt's arms while trying to kick his dad.

"Jerry, what's wrong with you? No one is killing anyone."

"He will. He will kill you. He killed my mom! He killed her! I saw him kill her!"

Somehow, his aunt believed him and called the police. However, they couldn't take the word of a 6 year old boy, who was only 1 when the incident happened, seriously. His dad, however, had a different idea. For some reason, he believed that Jeremiah remembered the incident as well and that if he didn't do anything, he would be in deep trouble.

(to be continued)