BROUGHT HOME

(1)

The next day, John had to cancel their meeting. Considering how it was Friday and Shabbat was approaching, they did not meet up until Monday afternoon. It was just the two of them, and it remained so for the remainder of the week. 

It was two weeks before the exam, and they progressed speedily. Things were looking quite good. Next Monday, while doing math problems, they heard the familiar voices once more. Victor wanted to continue with their studies, and John conceded it as a wise decision. 

In the midst of trying to determine the value of the percentage of apples farmer Benji had at the end of the month, the voices outside John’s door, followed by a knock, disturbed their concentration.

An invitation was presented. They were invited to the baseball field once more. Despite their initial decision to continue with their studies, their love of everything baseball-related pulled them toward their so-called “second home”. 

The smell of leather, peanuts, hot-dogs, and the distinguishing cling sound of a bat hitting the ball will forever remain in Victor’s mind, engraved as something special. 

With a quick pace, they began to approach the field. It was right around the corner when Victor was interceded by his far-removed cousin Azriel, adorned in all his orthodox glory. Unbeknownst to the group that this boy was Victor’s older cousin, the group made some none-too-friendly remarks. Azriel approached the group unbothered in spite of their jeers and looked straight at Victor. In Hebrew, probably more for theatrics than anything else, since Victor did not understand Hebrew well himself, he informed him they were to return home for an important announcement. 

After a couple of moments of complete silence, he repeated it all in English. Victor joined him on his trek home with a tinge of annoyance creeping into his heart. ‘Well, this is rather surprising.’ Victor thought to himself. Azriel was the younger brother of Reina, who got married not so long ago. Victor was unaware they were coming over for a visit. They barely ever did. They lived very far away. The location escaped his memory at the moment, as did most of the relevant information regarding Azriel, too. He did not know him well, despite the fact h did get to catch up with him a the wedding. 

 “What is this big announcement you were talking about?”, Victor asked Azriel. Azriel’s father was an important figure in their orthodox community. He went on numerous different assignments for the Rebee. A vague memory of them sneaking inside his study when Victor was about 5 flooded his mind. They spent two whole hours inside, just going through some of the books until they were caught red-handed. Luckily for them, the adults were not as mad since the texts were of a religious background. ‘That’s right, Azriel has always been very fond of the idea of taking over his Father’s position one day.’

“Well, hello to you, too, Victor. It is so nice to see, you are as equally pleased to see me too,” mentioned Azriel in a unbothered tone of voice. 

With his cheeks taking on a shade of an amaryllis, Victor quickly responded to his cousin with an appeasing, “Well, of course I am happy to see you. How long have you been here?”

“We arrived an hour or so ago. It has been rather boring waiting for you there.” Azriel said. “I was unaware you were coming. “ Victor said in his defense.

“So what is so important?” Victor inquired of his family member again. “Oh, nothing really. I just wanted to pull you away from that group of guys you were with. Are they friends of yours?”

Taken aback by the answer, Victor managed to only utter a simple “Yes.” in response. For the first time after they departed from the group, Azriel looked him in the eyes. His mint green eyes stared straight into his soul. “Really?” was all that he needed to say to make Victor question his choice of friends all over again. 

Lost for words, Victor followed his cousin in silence all the way up to his room, where they decided to play some poker. Just when they were about to begin, another boy joined them. From his chasidic attire, Victor realized it wasn’t just Reina’s side of the family that came for a visit. The boy's name was Levi, and turned ut to be just one year younger than Azriel at 14. Turns out Azriel was one heck of a poker player, but even he was no match for Levi. 

Time flew by so quickly that neither of them realized how late the hour was. Just when Victor was starting to wonder when Azriel and Levi would leave, his mother appeared at the door with extra sheets and blankets. They all knew what that meant. Victor helped his mother lay out two futons and dress them with stark white sheets. By setting out two pillows and blankets, the work was finished. It was time for bed, and all three boys had no problem turning in. It ended up being a late sleep-in. 

Sunrays hitting the cheeks and eyelids of three young boys awaken them to a sunny yet crispy morning. Casting his gaze upon the clock, Victor noticed it was already 8 o’clock. 

Still, he felt like turning over and resting some more, but the sound of the rustling of sheets coming from his right gave him enough motivation to begin his day. 

Slowly, they descended the stairs and followed the divine scent of freshly made pancakes, freshly squeezed orange juice, scrambled eggs with cheese, and coffee into the kitchen. A hearty breakfast awaited them. Despite being last to the table they was plenty left to eat. 

Together, they went on a walk through town, giving their guests a slight tour. They must have been quite a sight, what with them all being dressed differently. At around 1 pm, they stopped for lunch at their favorite restaurant, Jackie’s Kitchen. Upon returning home, their pathways diverted. Victor had to study, while the rest went to the nearby national wildlife park.

Victor said his final goodbyes as he headed down to John’s place. Arriving at John’s house, he noticed Tim and the others were already there. John was with them. Not knowing what else to do, Victor joined them but tried to study anyway. Soon into his studies, he realized it would not work out. When they brought out Monopoly, Victor decided to set his books aside. He was struggling to focus, so he failed to see how continuing would benefit him. 

A wicked idea began to form in the mind of Kevin. One that involved toilet paper and other people's properties. But Kevin did not reveal his full plan. He simply suggested they go downtown to old man Richardson’s house. Old man Richardson, as they called him, was the retired former principal of their High school. He was well into his late 80’s, 88 to be precise. Not well-liked was Mr. Richardson back when he still patrolled the school grounds. That did not change even after retirement. 

The group departed in the direction of his house and arrived around 15 minutes later. Kevin pulled out the toilet paper and began to hand it out. Puzzlingly, Victor and John received the rolls and stood still. Kevin and the others began to throw the paper all over Mr. Richardson’s car and house. Horrifingly, Victor observed for a second until he was urged to join them. He looked down at the roll in his hand and realized he had been wrong all along. He refused to join them. But they tried to press him even more. 

His cousin showed up all of a sudden. He came in the nick of time. Peer pressure was being applied, and we do not always do what is right when pressured. He called Victor right about the same time as Mr. Richardson stepped out of his house, yelling in outrage. Everybody scampered. Victor was going to join them, but Ariel had a different perspective on everything.

Mr. Richardson approached them. Confronted with the angry face of Mr. Richardson, Victor was filled with shame and guilt. But Ariel was right. They needed to face this head-on. Calmly, he explained what had taken place with his eyes stedfastif starring t the floor.. The look of anger started to subside. When Victor looked up into Mr. Richardson’s face again, he saw more annoyance than anger. 

“You should look for better friends, kid,” he said. Then added, “Help me clean this up, and I will let it slide this time. You do tell those buddies of yours that I am calling the cops next time.”

Cleaning up took about an hour. Another afternoon was wasted. As they were walking home, Ariel and Victor passed by the baseball field. There, they found their “buddies”. Continued they on without acknowledging their presence. But they were spotted.

“Where have you been? Oh, Ariel, is it? What have you two been up to?” Kevin wanted to know, “We helped Mr. Richardson clean up your mess.” Aiel answered pointedly. 

“What?” Kevin asked and burst into laughter. Deciding to no grace him with any more time, they took a step away from the baseball field fence. “Hey, where are you going?” “Home, it is late.”

“It is not that late. Come play ball with us.” Victor was tempted for a second, but Ariel responded, “We would rather not. Oh, I almost forgot. We were asked to tell you that the cops will be called next time.”

The way Ariel delivered the message bothered Kevin. It stirred up the anger in him. He beelined for Ariel, ready to give him a piece of his mind. Tim quickly moved to intercede, as did his little brother. John’s pleas fort them all to stop, feel on deaf ears. In the desire to reach Ariel, Kevin pushed John to the floor and almost overthrew Tim. Tim was stronger, though. The others joined them to calm things down and managed to drag Kevin away. Tactically, they choose to leave and head home. “I think we should all be going home. Ariel is right; it is getting late. See ya around, guys.”

The others stood there in silence. Slowly, the adrenaline dissipated from their bodies. Silently, both sets of family members began their trek home and contemplated if perhaps a change was needed.

It was not only Victor who was reached that day. A return began to stir up in another heart, too.

---

How think ye? If a man have a hundred sheep and one of them be gone astray, doth he not leave the ninety and nine, and goeth into the mountains and seeketh that which is gone astray?

Matthew 18: 12 (KJ21)

SOURCES

1. Image BROUGHT HOME was created via canva.com.