AND UNDER THE BOUGHS UNBOWED
ALL CLOTHED IN A SNOWY SHROUD
SHE HAD NO HEART SO HARDENED
ALL UNDER THE BOUGHS UNBOWED
EACH FEATHER IT FELL FROM SKIN
TILL THREADBARE WHILE SHE GREW THIN
HOW WERE MY EYES SO BLINDED?
EACH FEATHER IT FELL FROM SKIN
AND I WILL HANG MY HEAD, HANG MY HEAD LOW
AND I WILL HANG MY HEAD, HANG MY HEAD LOW
A GRAY SKY, A BITTER STING
A RAIN CLOUD, A CRANE ON WING
ALL OUT BEYOND HORIZON
A GREY SKY, A BITTER STING
AND I WILL HANG MY HEAD, HANG MY HEAD LOW
AND I WILL HANG MY HEAD, HANG MY HEAD LOW
Daniel's mother met his father while vacationing in Spain during the summer of 1978. He was thirteen years her senior but he had developed such vehement affection for the young woman that he drastically left all he had behind to pursue her all the way to Middle-Of-Nowhere Nebraska. They were married three weeks later and the following May Daniel arrived.
While Daniel was still a baby, his father started a wheat farm that began to thrive, allowing him to fully support his family and provide them with a palatial life. They moved from their two bedroom apartment into a new house in an upper-middle-class neighborhood in Omaha, where soon after they welcomed a baby girl named Elizabeth into their lives.
As the kids grew older, Daniel became very protective of his little sister. They formed a bond, as most siblings do, that continues to get stronger, even to this day. Around the time Elizabeth began to walk, it was time for Daniel to start kindergarten. His parents and sister proudly escorted him to his first day and watched as he ran off, with no signs of separation anxiety, and immediately began talking to two little boys who were standing in the corner by themselves. Daniel introduced himself to the boys and held out his hand to shake, as he had been taught. The taller of the two said his name was Brad and his buddy was Mark. Proper introductions out of the way, the two boys were confused about the hand shaking. Instead, Daniel offered up a high five to each. With the friendship so easily formed, Daniel turned to his parents and sister and gave them a goodbye wave that assured them he would be okay left alone.
That was the starting point of a lifelong, inseparable friendship. As luck would have it, they all lived within walking distance of each other, so whenever it was playtime, all three moms would walk out to the sidewalk and watch the kids walk to whichever house was that day's designated play spot. When the kids arrived safely, the moms would wave to each other before retreating back into their respected homes. This went on for several months before Daniel's mom decided to invite the boys' parents over, seeing as they had only met in passing up until that point. Things went swimmingly. From that night on, the three families remained close friends.
As the boys began to get older it got harder and harder to tell them apart, not necessarily in appearance but in attitude. Their personalities we so similar. The same jokes made them laugh. The same movies they watched over and over, Star Wars being their favorite. They were blood brothers. Thick as thieves, they were told.
The boys gradually grew into men, picking up an addition to their crew during their junior year of high school. The newly formed foursome finished high school together, each with a semi-steady girlfriend by their side, and went off to a local community college to earn their AA Degrees. The foursome was reduced to a threesome temporarily as their newest recruit had gone off to college in Billings.
Daniel was the first of the gang to become a father, albeit nearly a decade later. He impregnated his then-girlfriend, Aubrey, after a riotous night of massive inebriation. They ended up parting ways five months into the pregnancy. Daniel just couldn't deal with her destructive mood swings anymore and decided to give it all up and leave. At the time of his departure, just as a pair of frightened teenagers might do, neither of them informed their parents of the pregnancy. Daniel wasn't even present when their daughter was born and he has yet to inform his parents they have a granddaughter. The only people who know his secret, aside from Aubrey's side, were his three best friends who promised, no matter how much they all seemed to disagree with his decision, to keep it safe.
Around the time his child was being born, even though he had no idea, Daniel's lifelong best friend's parents died in an accident, devastating him and his family, who had all become extremely close friends. And when it seemed as if the worst was over, he was informed Mark had cancer.
Daniel didn't know how to deal with his feelings and for the first few months after learning of his friend's ill fortune, chose to avoid him instead of confronting him. Just like always, he often thought, taking the coward's way out. Brad very nearly came to blows with him late one evening over it. After being called nearly every horrible name he could imagine, Daniel eventually came to his senses and visited his dying friend. At first, just once a week, then it turned into a few days a week before eventually becoming an everyday gig. Daniel even began helping and supporting Mark as he went through his painful and, ultimately unsuccessful, chemotherapy treatments. As Mark lost his hair, it was Daniel's idea to shave his head, resulting in the rest of the gang to follow suit in an attempt to unite them; a move that caused the badly ill and newly bald Mark to make fun of them, saying their new haircuts were hideous and looked like his lopsided ball sack.
Mark was given six months to live nearly seventeen months ago. Daniel was happy to have his friend still be alive but was afraid that he may begin to suffer. He secretly wished Mark would just pass away in his sleep soon instead of hanging on, trying to be brave and risk even more pain. Every morning when Daniel woke up, he checked his phone first thing, hoping he had a message saying Mark was finally at peace.
Daniel was sitting on the toilet playing a puzzle game on his iPhone when it began to ring. It was Brad. He held his breath and felt his heart speed up. Brad never called, he was purely a texter. Daniel had a feeling his secret wish had been granted.