Homeless Legacy: Chapter Ten: Matilda's Final Show

Adriane and Bobby are able to stay at the motel more often now that she has been doing gigs regularly. She was taking her career very seriously. Bobby was forced to join her most evenings. He resented this because it cut into his sleeping time on most school nights. He had his own way of coping.

The audience thought it was part of the act. Adriane always felt a sting when the audience laughed at her. She took her art very seriously. Entertaining was important and she wasn't a comedian. No one laughs at the great Matilda Wonderbar.

Bobby was constantly too tired to do well in school. Despite his tiredness, he was always the first one inside.

The other children never did quite warm up to Bobby.

Bobby tried to catch up by doing extra school work.

Despite all of the extra work he did, Bobby's mood suffered throughout the school year. He ended with a B average. School was over for the semester and Bobby was going into high school in the fall.

It was Bobby’s birthday. He did not give any hints about this to his mother. At about 10 o’clock at night, it dawned on Adriane that it was his birthday. She wanted to do something special and settled on getting Bobby a birthday cake. Since it was so late, she had to take him with her.

They broke into the back of the Bistro to serve themselves some of Bobby's cake.

"Make a wish." Adriane said. Even though she meant well, Bobby could hear gloomy undertones in her voice.

Bobby stared at his cake, his first birthday cake. He chuckled to himself a little at the idea of a wish. Nothing would actually change with a pointless wish, he thought to himself. He inhaled a large breath and blew out the candles.

Since Bobby grew into a teenager, Adriane had been taking her career even more seriously. The great Matilda Wonderbar was booked every night of the week. She was nearly a master magician. Bobby went to all of the shows that he could.

He would even indulge her by acting like he didn't know how she pulled of the tricks.

Adriane was going overboard with her career. She insisted that others call her Matilda from now on, her stagename. Eventually Adriane would only respond if someone addressed her as Matilda.

Thinking her obsession was a little odd, Bobby still supported her. He thought it was important to be there for family.

Adriane eventually mastered her career. For days she had been feeling that the others didn't truly appreciate her art. With no ceiling above her, Adriane refused to retire and was putting on more gigs than ever.

She hated the hesitant chuckles from the fools that she called onto stage.

Adriane thought that she should go out onto the streets once more, to show everyone some real magic.

In the park across the street, Bobby's interest was piqued at the large crowd by the theater. When he got closer he realized his mom, uhm... Matilda, was putting on a show. She quickly glanced over Bobby. She announced that Matilda Wonderbar was going into the box of danger- never to return.

Once Adriane stepped in, her eyes locked on Bobby. She didn't blink once as the box filled with smoke.

When the chamber cleared, nothing was inside.

Silence fell over the crowd of people as the expectantly waited. Still nothing.

Half of the crowd had left after only a few minutes. Bobby was extremely concerned, he had never seen his mom do this trick before. The few people left standing around thought that Bobby was part of the act, they laughed and played along. After another half hour, Bobby was the only one in front of the theater.

With no idea where his mom went, Bobby decided to sleep near the theater. That way she could find him when she returned.

Days went by without a sign of Bobby's mom. He continued to sleep in front of the theater.

Once he saw her sitting there, next to the theater.

"Mom?! Is that really you?" he rushed to get closer. With every step he took, she slowly vanished away.

Bobby woke up in a sweat, had that really just been a dream? His heart sank in his chest. He would never see his mom again. He sat there and stared at nothing for several hours. Letting the feeling of disappointment soak in.

Bobby kept busy to get his mind off of things. He got a part time job at the salon. With no where to stay he needed money after his mom left him with nothing.

He tried to get into the spirit of fall and carve his first jack-o-lantern.

When he stood up to survey his work, he was so disappointed. His jack-o-lantern looked how he felt inside.

When Adriane's props were removed from the theater front, Bobby migrated to the park.

Bobby was trying to keep warm in front of the fire pit, cooking the last minnow he had caught in the fall.

Memories flooded in as he looked around the park. Memories of him with his mom. He looked over at the table where him and his mom shared lunch once.

Only now it looked so cold and far away to him.

Bobby tried to block the thoughts of his mom, and ate his fish quickly.

He slept in front of the school from that night on.

Bobby was still eager to learn, but much more for the other amenities that school had to offer. He relished at the thought of free lunch. One day he awoke to get into the warmth of the school and found the doors locked.

Disappointment fell over him as he realized it was a snow day. He wandered the grounds wondering what he would do next.

That's when he saw it.

Did someone think this was a cruel joke? To use one of mom's old hats and put it on this abomination. Bobby couldn't stop staring at the hat.

Rage surged within Bobby.

He began to yell at the mute snowman.

"How could you leave me!? Do you know what hell you've put me through!? How could you do this to your own son!?"

He tore through the snowman. His arms wildly slapping through the snow.

He grunted as he kicked the snow and stomped it down.

The snow settled and Bobby let out a sigh of relief. After his outburst, he felt immensely better. He had to get out of here, to find his Mom. He deeply wanted to talk to her.

Bobby walked away from the school and towards the bus station. Thinking he would save a lot of time and energy, he cut through the woods.

He saw a light twinkling from afar and wanted a closer look. He almost thought he was dreaming again. The eerie light was one of the most beautiful things he had ever seen.

Bobby lost track of time as he stared at the lights. When the lights suddenly stopped, Bobby flinched. He felt paralyzed at what he saw next.

He tried to run, but it was already too late for him.

With a faint whirl, the strange air craft disappeared leaving no trace of Bobby.

An indefinite amount of time passed before Bobby regained consciousness. He woke up on the ground, shirtless, next to a garbage can. After a few minutes of rummaging through the can he managed to find a jacket.