In the kitchen Pauline was busy baking. Her son, Richard sat drawing his latest masterpiece. At the age of 10 he had begun to develop his own style of doodles. Next to him lay a half-eaten plate of chicken nuggets and chips. Pauline washed her hands, wiped the excess water on her apron and sat down across from Richard. He carried on with his drawing, while Pauline gently pushed the plate closer to him. “Mum” said Richard. “Yes” replied Pauline edging her chances that he would take a little bit food from the plate before the rest of it ended up in the bin. “Tell me again what Dad was like?
Pauline picked up her cup of tea, took a sip and put it back down on the table. “Well,” she paused, “he was an interesting man. Always reading and whenever we would go out people would enjoy his conversation.” Without looking up from his drawing Richard asked another question. “Was he a good man?” Pauline’s heart fluttered, as it did every time she remembered Alex. “Yes…I would say so. We always had good times and when we were alone he always made me feel special.” Richard put his pencil down and picked up a cold chip, He looked across the table at his Mum. “But you are special, you’re my Mum”. She reached over, gently ruffled his hair and smiled before picking up the cup again. Richard nibbled at a nugget. “What did you talk about? Pauline waited for him to stop chewing and said, “Oh, anything and everything. He seemed to have an opinion about lots of topics. History and Mythology…boys stuff. Richard had lost interest in his food and picked up the pencil again. “Boys stuff? He said. “You know, all things fascinated him, the meaning of life…anything really. He loved to ask questions and then discuss possible answers.” She pushed herself back into the chair, nestling the cup in her hands. “I’ve never talked to you about this, I suppose I didn’t think you were old enough to understand but there was always one question he kept asking me, do you know what it was” Not really expecting him to have an answer. Richard looked at her and leaned forward, smiling. “Do you believe in reincarnation?
The End
