Benjamin was sat on the sofa, a bowl of his favourite cereal, Cooke Crunch, sat on his lap. He was watching TV, a cartoon show for kids. The plot was fairly simple, a cat chasing around a mouse trying to kill it or something. It was mostly slapstick comedy, but it made Benjamin laugh none the less. He'd been at home for about an hour now, according to the clock, which read 4:39. It was a Friday, and the weekend was here, no more school for a whole weekend. It was an exciting time where Benjamin could stay up far passed his bedtime, sometimes even until 10 o'clock if his parents didn't catch him.
As of lately though, it had been easy for him to stay awake with out being caught since his parents had been sleeping much earlier than usual. Before, they'd stay awake until maybe midnight. However, ever since they brought his baby brother, Micheal home from the Hospital. Micheal cried a lot. Like, all the time. Sometimes Micheal even woke Benjamin up in the early hours of the morning, sometimes even before he was supposed to get up for school. He'd even do it on weekends when Benjamin didn't even have to get up early!
So, because of this, Ben's parents were sleeping much earlier than usual. Which, in turn, meant he could stay awake much later. Ben reached for his spoon, scooping up a load of Cookie Crunch and taking a bit. He looked at the TV, laughing a little as the mouse beat up the tall cat with a frying pan. His laughter soon stopped though when Benjamin heard footsteps upstairs, followed by shouting and a lot of odd commotion. Strange. He looked towards the ceiling, where his baby Brother's room was and tilted his head. It sounded like screaming, possibly crying. It was muffled so he couldn't tell. He then heard his Father, also being loud. He shrugged a little, looking down at the TV as he grabbed his controller to turn up the TV, trying to drown out the noise so he could enjoy his cereal in peace. His parents were always in Micheal's room. Always playing with him or giving him attention to stop the awful screaming and crying. It was a little frustrating, but he never complained to his Mum about it. She'd probably shout at him or call him miserable or grumpy. He hated it when she did that.
About an five minutes later, sirens could be heard by Benjamin followed by loud knocking. His Mother answered the door, letting in what Benjamin was sure were Ambulance people or something. He wasn't sure what they were called. He ignored it, going back to his Cartoon as he set his empty bowl down. He went uninterrupted for a while now until his Dad came down, eyes a funny red colour as if he'd been crying. Benjamin also found this odd. His Dad never cried.
"Son..." He said softly as he went to take a seat beside Benjamin, who didn't look away from the TV.
"Yes, Daddy?" He asked before finally looking to his Father. Yes, he had definitely been crying.
"What's wrong?" Benjamin asked, puzzled.
"It's M- Micheal." He replied softly.
"He's... Gone." He said in a shaky voice.
"Gone?" Ben asked quietly. Did he mean to say his Baby Brother was... dead? Maybe so. But why not tell him that? He assumed it wasn't easy to try and explain death to a nine-year old. His Father just nodded.
"Gone where?" Benjamin asked as he looked over his shoulder, seeing one of the Ambulance men leaving the home.
"The paramedics are taking him away." His Father told him, sniffling and tearing up again.
"Oh..." Was all Benjamin could say.
The two sat in silence for a moment, Benjamin staring at the TV, puzzled as he tried to think about the information he was just given. During the silence, his Father got up.
"I'm..." He sniffled and cleared his throat.
"Gonna go make sure Mum's okay." He then left with out a word and Benjamin sat in silence.
This was all very strange. His Brother was dead. Later hearing the words "Crib Death." From some other Paramedics and Police Officers that would regulate his home for the few hours. Though, Ben didn't know what that meant. He also didn't know why his Parents were so sad. Benjamin didn't stick the smother Micheal's in his sleep to make them sad. He wanted them to be happy. To be able to get a break from all the screaming and the annoying crying. It annoyed Benjamin, so surely it annoyed them too. So, why were they so sad? Benjamin sat, staring at the TV quietly, pondering this question before shrugging it off. It was Five o'clock; dinner would be ready soon.