Such is life

Disclaimer: I’m pretty sure Dom Monaghan’s biography doesn’t go like that…

Author’s notes: Dedicated to the little girl that died 12 years ago. All she ever wanted were her dreams to become true…
Feedback would be appreciated.

1. Autumn leafs and alcohol:

The minute Domenic Monaghan was born he was half dead and high. Or so his mother once told him. The nurse had injected his mother something to ease the labours, but unfortunately it had affected Dom, too, in some way and so when he got to see the world for the first time he was drugged and didn’t breathe.

The doctors realized that something was wrong when the baby didn’t scream, not taking in breath with an angry cry to announce its birth to the world. They threw his confused father out and rushed to the next room, leaving his poor mother behind, not knowing what had happened to her baby.


~*~


//High and half dead…that would be a nice thing to be…// Dom mused as he took another long gulp from his vanilla vodka, savouring its taste on his tongue before swallowing it down whole. What was it again that guy had just said on TV? Ah, yes…

“Everything’s alright with enough vodka!” he slurred and lifted his bottle of Dooley’s substitute. That stuff wasn’t bad, really wasn’t, but the only reason Dom drank it was because it coasted less than half of the real thing.

Again he looked at the clock. “Fuck!” he growled and put the bottle back to its hiding place behind the book shelf. It was already 1 o’clock. Dom had to stand up in about 5 hours and he couldn’t drink any more, because then he wouldn’t be able to drive to school in the morning.

//Life’s such a fucking bitch// he thought as he switched off the light and fell into dreamless sleep.


~*~


“Where’s mum?” little 2-year-old Dom asked his grandmother silently, looking at her from big unsure eyes.

The old lady sighed and lifted her bedcovers so that Dom could slip under it and cuddle against her warm and sleepy body. “Your mum is in hospital with your dad,” she replied with a warm smile, carefully stroking the blond strands from Dom’s eyes. “But she’ll be back soon and then she’ll bring your little sister with her.”

Dom frowned a little and then nodded earnestly. He wasn’t really sure of what grandma meant with him having a little sister. What was that anyway? But grandma sounded as if she was happy with him getting a sister and so Dom decided that it would be alright for him, too, and fell asleep in his grandma’s arms, dreaming of what such a little sister would be like.


~*~


Dom listened to the silence in his head and decided it was getting too loud, it was almost yelling at him and so he turned around and tried to fill the emptiness inside with sounds from the outside.

Drop. Drop. The rain was hammering against Dom’s window.

A car passed by.

Suddenly loud music filled the room and Dom angrily hit the “sleep” button on his alarm clock. He had to stand up and as every morning it was way too early for Dom who loved to sleep in late into the afternoon after having been awake half of the night.

20 minutes later Dom was ready to leave, dressed in too large blue jeans that were riding low on his slim hips and a black button-up shirt. As every morning he walked around in his room and grabbed the things he needed at school, taking a last look at his mobile while he wrung his leather bracelet around his right wrist. A little smile spread on Dom’s lips. Billy was there at the weekend. Well, that really saved his day.

Feeling a little better, Dom grabbed his bag and keys and left the room, knocking at the door next to his to signal his sister Samantha that they were leaving for school. He walked past the kitchen, waved his dad and his step mum goodbye and went outside.

//Fuck…// It was still raining.


~*~


Outside of the hospital was a cat, Dom’s father had told him before lifting Dom to the fridge to choose some salami to fed it with.

Today Dom would meet his little sister Samantha for the first time in his life. But that wasn’t important at all now that Dom walked down the little street to the hospital on his dad’s hand.

Dad had been right. There really was a cat at the hospital and Dom took the salami out of his dad’s pocket and threw it to the cat that ate it hungrily.

It was black and the tip of its tail was white as if it had put it into white paint. Dom smiled at the image of a cat painting its tail white and continued his way to the hospital on his dad’s hand.


~*~


//Same shit, different day// Dom thought as he parked his car behind the school building. Every morning the same suicidal kids ran in front of or behind his car. Didn’t their parents teach them anything? You really shouldn’t throw yourself in front of a car to check out who’s the stronger one.

It was still raining and the water mixed with earth to mud, making nice squishy sounds under Dom’s shoes. Cursing silently he walked into the greyness of the school building.

“Hi.” Liv was already there, he had seen her car already. Same parking lot as every morning. Dom started a half-hearted discussion with her about their homework, knowing too well that she wasn’t really listening anyway, already too drawn up in thoughts of her beloved Orli who just appeared behind the window.

“Mornin’!” he yawned grumpily, sinking to the bench next to Liv, giving her a small kiss. Am tired, my feet hurt, wanna go home… Yadayadayadayada… Dom knew it by heart.

2 minutes later Orli jumped up. “I need a fag!”

“But… It’s raining!” Liv chirped, afraid that her beloved could be wet by some rain drops and catch a cold.

“Well, I can surely stand under a tree while I smoke…” Orli thought aloud and grabbed for his backpack.

“Wait! I’m coming with you!” Liv was running after Orli.

Dom shook his head. No, he didn’t mind his best friends at school leaving him behind. Why should he anyway? Like that he could have a nice talk with the English homework. Again Dom shook his head. His first period would start in 10 minutes anyway. Another 45 minutes of being ignored completely.


~*~


Autumn always reminded Dom of his early childhood. He was happy then with his mum and dad and little sister. The air was filled with children’s laughter when the first red and yellow leafs would sail slowly to the ground and he and Samantha would try to catch them.

He remembered running in the wood, making a competition with his little sister who could find the most beautiful and big leaf. Of course he always won, because he was older, taller and could reach the higher branches while his sister had to pick the leafs lying on the ground that started to have their first brown spots on them.

Mum and dad watched them smiling when they came running towards them, each of them begging their parents with big eyes to call their leaf the most beautiful one.

Later the yellow and red leafs turned orange. Now the branches of the trees were naked and all their leaves lay on the ground. Dom could only imagine how exhausting it must have been for his parents to pile up the leafs again and again and then turn around to see that Dom and Sam had destroyed the pile by jumping into it.


~*~


Knock knock. “Dom? You’re awake?” The door to Dom’s room was opened with a tormenting loud squeal.

Groaning tiredly Dom yanked his blanket over his head, trying to protect his sleepy eyes from the light that was now flooding his bedroom. “Yes, dad,” he muttered, the sound muffled by the blanket. “You just woke me up.” Dom emerged from under the covers, glaring at his father.

“Sorry,” his dad grinned, not looking sorry at all. “Just wanted to let you know that Cate and I are leaving. Everything ready and packed for Paris? Money? Clothes? Passport?”

“Yes!!”

“Alright, mate.” Dom’s father walked to his son’s bed and ruffled Dom’s hair. “I’ll see you in two weeks then. Bye!”

“Bye, dad,” Dom yawned. “Have a nice holiday in Denmark, will you?”

His father just smiled and left the room.

A few moments later Dom heard that the door to their house was closed, the key turned twice in the lock. Slowly Dom counted to ten and then stood up. It was 8 o’clock on a Saturday, but he wouldn’t be able to sleep anyway. No reason to stay in bed any longer.


~*~


Inevitably the leafs of Dom’s childhood turned brown. All that was left of the once red and yellow beauty were dirty brown shreds.

Just as the leafs Dom’s childhood died.

Mum didn’t love dad anymore. She left them, because she decided she rather wanted to live with another man. Dom was 7 years old back then and he couldn’t understand it.

Before, he hadn’t even thought of the possibility that parents could stop loving each other, but although he cried and screamed, Dom couldn’t change anything about his parent’s decision.

Year after year passed and again beautiful red and yellow leafs would sail to the ground, but they had lost their magic.

Or was it him who had changed, Dom thought whenever he saw his face in a mirror. Who would he be now without his parent’s divorce?

His whole childhood would’ve been easier, more carefree. Happier.


Tbc...