The Flower in the Sidewalk #1

A little spark of hope...

Introduction:

We all know the pandemic is tough. So I'm not going to remind you 😉. But there are some things that will make us feel a little spark of joy, no matter how small. For example, a flower in the sidewalk. Or maybe that one day you see a butterfly on the flower you so happily planted. Maybe you had a really good slice of grilled cheese. Or maybe, just maybe, you read a super inspirational and funny blog post 😋. Whatever it may be, you'll always look back on that little thing and think to yourself, gee, that really made me feel better. I hope that by reading these short stories, you learn to appreciate the little things. They're just waiting for us to find them, and sometimes, if we look hard enough, we do.  

Let Me Start With a Quote:

"When the stars fade out and you're looking at a blank sky, be the stars you wish to see there."

-From yours truly, writer.reader.dreamer ❤

And Let the Short Story Begin:

I'm starting to think that nothing will make me happy anymore. I mean, even Tanya has turned away from me. She's only looking at her phone, the one with cracks in it, she has about 7 of them, and she always is telling me I'm being annoying. I don't understand her anymore...

    "Come on, Olivia!" Tanya shouts, gripping her phone in her hand, her long, painting nails tapping against it. She arms shoot out, above her head, and her face screws up with anger. "It's just a Snapchat. I'm not going to announce your deepest, darkest secret to the world!"

    "You're announcing my face," I shot back, my cheeks pink. Come on, Olivia! Come on... my brain beat in rhythm. You want to be cool, like Tanya, right? Yes. No. Did I? Momma raps on my bedroom door with her fist. 

    "Sweetie?" she barks, in her I'm-trying-to-be-cool-in-front-of-Tanya-but-also-be-nice-to-my-daughter voice. "You have oboe practice at 5:00."

    I wince and bite my lip. Hard. Tanya grunts and throws her phone on my bed, which makes it bounce up and down. I quickly catch it before it falls and Tanya glares at my hand. 

    "Ms. Oranha?" she asks, addressing my mom. "We need about 30 more minutes." 

    I can see Tanya smirk as my mom stammers, "Oh... of course, Tanya. I'm sorry. I'll move Livi's lesson to tomorrow." I try not to smile as Momma says "Livi". She only calls me Livi when she's mad at Tanya, and that rarely happens.

    Tanya pulls up Snapchat on her phone, which she snatches off my bed, and grabs me harshly. I whimper, but Tanya ignores me. She quickly smacks my back, which means to smile. I do, but it's stretched across my face like plaster and I don't look happy at all. 

    Tanya records us and sends it to all of her Snapchat friends. Many of them are ones I don't even know. I guess Tanya doesn't know them either. 

    As I look at her phone, I don't even know who I am anymore. 

That night, I fling open my door and tiptoe down the stars. Mom is asleep with (funny) a bag of lollipops in her arms. The Dum Dums are spilling out, all over the couch. I crouch and sneak over, picking a blueberry flavored one out of a crease.  

    Then, I back up, sprinting towards the keys, and unlocking the door. Thank goodness Tanya didn't beg for a sleepover. 

    I wipe salty tears from my eyes and look into the dark night sky. There nothing there. Where did all the stars go? Did the leave, just like Dad? 

    I squeeze my eyes shut and sit down on the sidewalk just outside of our tiny house. Quickly unwrapping the lollipop, I stick it in my mouth and throw the wrapper in the grass before me. 

    I open my eyes once more and stare into the sky. The clouds cover the moon, shrouding the starless sky. But then, as a gust of wind blows away a cloud, revealing a single star in the sky. 

    My star. 

Thank you guys for reading this The Flower in the Sidewalk episode/issue* for today. Tell me in the comments if you want more!

*or... whatever you want to call it...