The Distraught Father

Ashtyn had been amazed at the various technological advancements seen in a modern day city. This was the first time he could remember going to a city. He finally got to see vehicles, streetlights, and flat screen TV's. His village was so far "off the grid" that there was no modern technology; leaving this big city as the only place for Ashtyn to see the wonders of modern era. This introduced Ashtyn's interest into Engineering and Robotics.

He spent the following years saving money, to attend classes in the city. He desired knowledge on advanced technology and using it to create robots and vehicles, as every child his age should desire. He bought various educational books on the subject, and would occasionally ask questions from his parents on the few subjects they did understand.

While studying in a vocational class, Ashtyn stayed with a distant aunt for 3 months without seeing his parents. The only plus was his dog, which he had named Daisy, was allowed to accompany him. Of course, she stayed with his aunt while he was in class.

The classes strengthened his resolve to make this his profession. So when he got home he worked harder than before and did his best to save enough money to attend a college majoring in Engineering and Robotics. He worked so hard, he nearly missed the fact that his parents had divorced while he was out of town. The three months without their son, left them feeling bored and empty; enlightening them to the fact that they were only together for their son.

"ASHTYN!!! WAKE UP!!!"

Ashtyn was at his dads today, but unfortunately, due to a weird divorce agreement, today was Ashtyn's busiest day.

Like most families in the twenty first century, Ashtyn's parents divorced each other and decided to split the kid (in this case Ashtyn). How do you split a kid?

Well they decided that Ashtyn would stay at his dads house Sunday to Wednesday, on Wednesday he would go to his moms house and stay their till Sunday, where he'd switch back to his dads again. The following month they would switch their schedule and do the opposite. Finally, at the end of the year rather than switching back in January he would stay till the following month. This was to avoid spending every holiday at the same house each year.

So as you could imagine today was Wednesday. Now, why was Wednesday Ashtyn's busiest day while Sunday was not?

Today Ashtyn would wake up, get ready for the day, work with his father in the blacksmith shop, then… he would go home, shower, change clothes, and help his mom in her pet store. The one plus to this busy schedule was his parents' had both agreed to pay him minimum wage.

"ASHTYN!!! YOU'RE GONNA BE LATE GET OUT OF BED!!!"

"Coming Dad!" He yelled back as he rolled off the bed. Ashtyn was a tall muscular figure at roughly 6 feet tall and 180 pounds. He had deep blue eyes, black long hair that nearly covered his eyes, along with tan skin from being next to the fire in the forge.

After showering and preparing for the day, Ashtyn made his way downstairs with slightly damp hair as he sat at the dining table. His dad had already prepared food, which was now sitting on a plate in front of Ashtyn. "I better not find any food in the trash today. You need to eat more to make up for all the energy you're spending at work,"

Ashtyn's overly large father sat across from him. He had found a couple eggs in the trash last week and made sure to berate Ashtyn for his wasteful nature. Ashtyn's large frame required him to eat larger meals than your average person. Today he had eight eggs, four sausages, and some toast. Of course, that didn't include his daily smoothie.

As Albin got up to wash his dish, Ashtyn 'accidently' dropped a sausage and some egg on the ground for Daisy to eat. She was lying on the ground just beside Ashtyn and would be dropped off with his mom, before he began working for the day.

After he finished eating he made his way to the sink to wash his dish while winking at Daisy for their successful corroboration.

CRASH

"God, you klutz go grab the broom…" as Albin began berating his son for dropping the dish, he turned around and saw Ashtyn curled up on the ground shaking. He rushed over and picked him up as he ran to the only doctor in town.

He pounded on the door with his non-responsive son lying in his arms, his heart was thumping so loudly. Sweat was pouring down Ashtyn's body in larger quantities than when he worked in the forge.

After what felt like hours, the doctor answered the door while rubbing his eyes with a slightly angry look on his face. "Do you know what time it…" The doctor paused as he observed Ashtyn. "Bring him in Albin, place him on the table I'll do my best."

Albin rushed in and placed his son on the table. Seeing a huge man like Albin nervously run into the house further amplified the seriousness of the situation. Daisy kept barking in the background as Albin was sweating buckets praying his son was okay. As he paced back and forth while waiting for the doctor to help his only son, he couldn't help but imagine the worst.

Once the doctor finished helping Ashtyn he made his way to the pacing Albin. "We don't have the equipment or medicine to help your son here." I've alleviated many of the symptoms but without better equipment I can't diagnose the problem, let alone cure it," The doctor paused as he looked apathetically at the distraught father, "The best I can say is to bring him to the closest town with a hospital, so they can better observe the situation."

"Thank you doctor," Albin went to his son who was resting on a bed at the side. Tears were slowly dripping down his cheek as he observed his fatigued son. Everything seemed fine before, yet here he was.

…

After an arduous journey Albin, Maurina, and Ashtyn made it to a hospital. While his parents inwardly hoped for the best, Ashtyn was being poked and prodded in an attempt to figure out exactly what was wrong. Ashtyn had been coughing consistently throughout the journey and was extremely tired mentally and physically.

While the divorced couple anxiously waited to here the results, Albin got up to get some coffee for him and his ex wife. As he returned with the hot coffee in his hands, he spotted his ex wife across the room speaking with the physician in charge of Ashtyn's treatment. He made his way towards them when Maurina dropped to her knees crying. His heart stopped as the coffee spilled on his feet.

Ashtyn had cancer and due to the time it took to reach the hospital, it was too late to start any treatment that may have helped him live longer. All that time working in the forge without a mask, had been detrimental to his health.

…

A month flew past as Ashtyn lay on a large bed, in a hotel near the hospital. He had been coughing blood for a few weeks and could feel his death drawing near. As his sweat-covered body was shivering under his blanket, he looked at his two sleep depraved parents who were blankly sitting beside the bed.

The biggest problem with getting sick is, having to hide your pain from those you love. Although Ashtyn was exhausted, from constant pain and consistently getting up in the night to puke and cough, when he looked at his fear stricken parents he forced himself to smile for them.

Ashtyn felt the pain slowly begin to fade, as he began to close his eyes for the last time; with a large smile on his face. 'I love you mom, dad. Please move on and live happy lives. Don't forget to take care of Daisy.'