K is for Kenneth

K is for Kenneth who thought guns were a toy

We all grow up at some point and upon looking back at our childhood shudder at one particular moment we wish we knew better.  For Kenneth it was the day his little brother asked him to play cops and robbers.

I should probably preface this by saying Kenneth's father was anything but a cop. In fact, the only cops Kenneth ever saw were dragging his father out of the house by his collar at least once a month. His crimes ranged in intensity but he always seemed to slip right through the fingers of the police and end up right back where he started, drinking on the living room couch.

Kenneth's father had a "special room". One the boys were never allowed to go into, and to make sure of this it was locked up and bolted closed.  Kenneth had never seen the door open and had always just assumed he would never see the inside.  He fantisised about puppies and kittens and all the toys his father must be keeping from him.  Maybe even his mom! He did hear someone crying in there from time to time.

On this particular day Kenneth's father had been dragged away again and his grandmother had come to visit.  In his rushed exit from the home Kenneth's father had forgotten to lock his "special room".  The door was open just a crack and Kenneth and his brother could not wait to find the puppies and presents their father kept hidden in there.  Much to their delight the room was full of all kinds of toys ripe for the picking.

It was Kenneth's turn to be a cop this time.  His little brother always cried about being the bad guy but this time Kenneth would not give in.  He pulled the shiniest toy off of the shelf and took careful aim at his brother.  "Stop!" he shouted as his brother started to run.  In a split second he made the decision to pull the trigger, thinking like all his other toys there would be a pop and a whoosh and maybe some water.  Oh how wrong he was.

There was a pop all right.  A pop and a woosh and red water all over the floor. Grandma came running and all Kenneth could do was stand there in shock.  The cops came and snatched Kenneth up by his collar and took him away.

He always looked back on that day and wondered if he could have changed anything. Should they have left the room alone? Should they have just gone outside? Should he have told the police about his mother? After all she was the one who told him this was all just a game.