As the full sized van rumbled West into the sunset, the small framed boy held his left hand to his warm forehead wishing the pain would dissipate.
He already was laying down in the aisle between the middle bucket seats with his shirt off to cool him down.
He was no stranger to motion sickness. When he felt the onset of the malaise, the young lad went into his routine procedure to seek relief.
The temperature that day was a record setting high.
This precipitated the boy’s discomfort.
Quietly crying, he desperately clutched out for consoling thoughts.
These bouts of sickness were as common as the highway’s passing white dashed lines.
Unknown to the boy, the vehicle was only minutes away from his home.
In his mind it seemed as if it were years away.
Abruptly the van came to a stop.
The boy raised up his head to peer out of the side window with hopes of being through with the ride.
However, he noticed the red octagonal obligation that delayed him with great frustration.
Defeated, he once more rested back down on the floor boards. He adjusted his shirt that he was using as a makeshift pillow.
He pressed the plastic water bottle to his parched lips and tilted his head back.
The last remaining drops stubbornly refused the pull of gravity. Once they yielded their position, the scarcity of them left the boy wanting.
The relief was fleeting.
In agony, he searched his thoughts for something to distract his attention from the pain.
He liked baseball and bubble gum, but not the strawberry flavored bubble gum. It's artificial taste was too sweet and not like the light refreshing berry.
He liked running, jumping, climbing, playing, and reading.
His head hurt too much to read right now.
He reflected on how he always got motion sickness if he tried reading while on the road.
With that, the exercise seeking consolation fizzled. The boy’s spirit once again dampened.
When would they ever be home?
When would he ever stop being in so much pain?
At that moment when it seemed that he would surely break from the building pressure, when he was at the last ounce of his meager strength, the van bumped up the slight curb and came to a full stop in their driveway.
Just knowing they were home brought a wave of relief to the boy.
Returning home to where he belonged, to where he was safe, infused his spirit with respite.
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