381 Family Tree (2/2)
Mrs. Atkins walked in just in time to hear Noah's words of comfort. She was holding a piece of paper, that was longer than normal, in her hands. She looked nervous, but as soon as we made eye contact, she regained her composure. ”Jake. I did some research for you.” She showed me the longer paper in her hands.
It was a family tree..? An odd looking tree. It was like two trees put together at the trunk.
”It's called a mirror family tree.” Mrs. Atkins explained. Noah and I were both looking at it. ”I was thinking you can put your birth family on one tree and then us on the other.” She smiled, yet it felt sad. I felt sad. ”We consider you as family, so it's okay for you to consider us as your family.”
It became hard to swallow. Mrs. Atkins was a real mom. A true mom that really showed what kindness is. She didn't just disregard my only birth parent, but included her. Two trees for two families. One before, and one after.
”Thanks.” I mumbled as I took the longer sheet of paper. I placed it on the table and began. I wrote my name, then my mother's. Then I completely flipped it and started on the other tree, writing my name first.
”Does that mean I can put Jake in my tree too?” Noah bounced around in his seat. ”I mean, it would look weird if he turned his in with me on it, and then I didn't do the same.”
I froze.
”Of course, silly.” Mrs. Atkins said lightly. ”Make sure to use your nice handwriting. I don't want your teacher to think that you still write like a first grader.” She went back to stern-mom-mode. ”After you write it in pencil, and make sure there are no errors, then go over it in pen.”
”Yea, sure.” Noah said without looking up. He just started his own tree, using the old one as a reference. She walked away, leaving us to our work. Noah noticed that I still wasn't writing and looked up. ”What's up? Are you unhappy with the extra work?”
I shook my head. ”Nope. Not at all. I'm—touched. Your mom is...really different than mine.”
He tapped my sheet. ”She's your mom too.” Then he leaned over and pointed at the blank lines for siblings. ”Don't forget to arrange us by age. Oh and for grandparents, we write their names and then in parenthesis, write deceased.”
”Oh, okay.” I started to write, using Noah's old work as a base. When I got to Mr. Atkins parents, I felt slight anger on his behalf as I wrote down his dad's name. He was mean and hurtful, yet still got to be in the tree? Mr. Atkins is too kind.
I paused after that last thought, then glanced at the upside down tree. I...wrote down my mom's name. I sighed to myself. I guess we're the same. Just fools that still have a longing for the family that raised us. That gave life to us.
I looked at the empty dad line. The empty siblings line. It..couldn't hurt...to look for them. I guess. I don't have to tell anyone. I frowned. But where do I start? If Mr. Duncan can't find my father, then how can I? I sighed and shook my head. No time to think about it now. I have to finish this little project, then prepare for school. Tomorrow we would also have a game against a non-league opponent.