#100

he was always the ace of the family. aced tests, learned to fly, got top awards in any academic extracurricular club.
despite all that, life has always been a little over his head. he never really got it. little problems of life, the right thing to say when a girl starts crying over her backstabbing "best" friend, giving the scolded dog a little pat on the head, giving mom an extra minute of peace after coming home from her second job.
she always told me how he was going to get us out of this place. how he would move us away from this neighborhood, somewhere warm for a change. i watched her eyes grow far away, her brave, put-on smile turn to something wistful, wonderfully hopeful.
she truly believed he would save us. if only he was real.