Boys on a mission

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• I see a man with his hand on his jaw looking sad and lost in thought.

• I feel that the man is dejected and is overwhelmed by grief and sadness.

STORY
“Mummy, may I ask you a question?” Joe asked his mother after finishing his dinner at the dining table.

“Yes, love, what is it?” she asked.

“Well, it's about Mr. Jones from the haunted house…” Joe replied.

“Haunted house! Mr. Jones? What are you talking about, this child?” his mother replied, going into panic mood.

“The house across the playground, with Mr. Jones always sitting outside and hardly responding to greetings or talking to anybody…” Joe explained.

“Ohh Mr. Jeffrey Jones! His house isn't haunted don't be silly,” his mother replied, breathing a sigh of relief.

“Well, the lights are always off, and he's always sitting on the porch looking sad and gloomy. My friends and I are scared to pass in front of his house because of the ghosts” Joe replied wide-eyed.

“Hello family, Daddy's home” he heard his father bellow from the door.

“Daddy, we're in the kitchen” Joe called excitedly.

“Welcome honey, dinner, or a bath first?” Joe's mother asked.

“Definitely dinner, I'm starving and something smells delicious” Joe's father replied, sitting at the table and ruffling his son's hair.

“Dad, is Mr. Jones' house haunted?” Joe asked his father.

“Mr. Jeffrey Jones or someone else's house?” his dad asked.

“Yes Dad! Mum says it isn't” Joe replied folding his hands across his chest and getting fed up with the adults in the house.

“Well she's right. The house isn't haunted, why would you think it was?” his father asked.

“My friends said there are ghosts of his family inside the house, and they torment him and that's why he's always outside. Because he's scared and can't ask anyone for help. If he does, they'll kill him” Joe whispered.

His parents smiled sadly and marvelled at the wild imagination of their 6-year-old son and his friends.

“So…that's not true. Before you were born, something terrible happened to Mr. Jones. He, his triplets and his wife were on a road trip and had a terrible accident, and he was the only survivor” Joe’s father told Joe.

“And as if that were not enough, we found out later that his wife was pregnant and that his family never wanted to go on that trip, but he begged them to, and now he blames himself for their death, and it seems he feels guilty” his mother said sadly.

“That’s really sad, he reminds me of Grandpa and how sad I felt when he died and you guys tried so hard to cheer me up” Joe said, climbing onto his father's lap to hug him.

“Yes, son, now you can tell your friends the real story and not be scared of the house or Mr. Jones. We all tried to help, but he just wanted to be left alone, and we respected that” his father replied.

“Off to bed you go, young man” his mother said and bundled him to his room to tuck him in and read him a bedtime story. And just before Joe fell asleep, he decided to do everything in his power to cheer Mr. Jones up.

The very next day, Joe told his three friends the whole story, and they felt sad for Mr. Jones. So they also decided to go along with Joe's plan. They began waving and saying hello to Mr. Jones on their way to school, and even though he didn't acknowledge them, they didn't stop.

Gradually they summoned the courage to sit with him on his porch every evening and talk to him about their activities of the day. As usual, he didn't appear interested in the boys or their ramblings, but since he didn't chase them away, Joe and his friends felt they were making progress.

One faithful day six months later, as the boys were about to head home after their evening session, they said their goodbyes and were astonished when Mr. Jones nodded at them. They excitedly ran to their homes to tell their parents the good news, which made their parents happy.

The boys were so proud of themselves and figured in that in another six months Mr. Jones might start waving at people. And in maybe two years they could get him to smile, talk or even let them into his house. The four little boys were on a mission, and they were determined to accomplish it no matter what.