This is my fifth post for the Indie Ink Writing Challenge. My prompt this week comes from the lovely and talented Karla who you should follow on Twitter at @totthoughts. Karla's prompt will be at the end.
+ + +
She watched them from her bedroom window. They were dragging Christmas trees, one by one, from the curbs of the neighbors’ homes down to Stephen’s house next door. Her mom wouldn’t let her go outside that day because her asthma had been acting up, and she was worried she’d catch pneumonia. She desperately longed to be with them. To try and convince her mom to change her mind, she put on her heaviest coat, a pair of long johns under some snow pants, her rainbow mittens, matching scarf and toboggan and said, “I’ll use my inhaler, mommy!” That did not change her mother’s mind. “But what if I just go outside for 30 minutes?” she begged. Her mom still didn’t change her mind.
She felt left out.
Feeling defeated and sad, she took off each layer of clothing and settled in by her window again to watch them. For hours, all day long, she watched. Her mom tried to get her to play games with her and her brother, but she wouldn’t leave the window. Her mom tried to get her to come have lunch and dinner with the family. She wouldn’t leave the window. Her mom brought her a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for lunch and star-shaped chicken nuggets for dinner. She ate while she sat by the window.
She felt left out.
After they had gathered all the trees they could find, they carefully stacked them against each other to make a fort. Then they brought sheets and blankets from their homes to seal it, making it impossible for her to see inside.
She felt left out.
As the sun went down, she watched them carry sleeping bags and boxes of things inside the fort. She couldn’t see what was in the boxes, but she continued to watch hoping she would see something. Finally, after the sun had gone completely down, it had become so dark that she couldn’t see the boys, the boxes or even the fort from her window. All she could see was a glow from the flashlights. She wondered what was going on in there.
She felt left out.
She went to bed. She tossed and turned. Many thoughts were going through her mind. Were they having a secret club meeting? Were they going to play Attack the Castle or Fire House? Were they going to sleep in there? Were they going to play GI Joe? Would they play Circus (who would be the ringleader)?
She felt left out.
She woke up early the next morning. She had dreamed they were having fun and playing all her favorite games inside the fort. She jumped out of bed and opened her curtains. The fort was still there, but she could not see anyone. She went to her mom's room to see if she could go outside. Her breathing sounded better, so her mom said she could go out for 30 minutes as long as she dressed in her warmest clothes. After getting dressed, she ran outside and over to the fort’s entrance to walk in. "Don't go in there," she heard, a split second too late. “You’re not allowed in here. Only boys are allowed in this fort,” Stephen said as he walked in the fort behind her.
She felt left out.
Four other boys from the neighborhood, Walt, Frank, Brandon and Kyle, were sitting on top of sleeping bags in a circle. In front of them she saw a bright red Duncan butterfly yo-yo, some baseball cards, comic books, a package of first edition garbage pail kids, and a plastic container with holes in the lid and a crawdad inside. “I’ll give you this ’87 mint condition Cal Ripken Jr. card for your crawdad,” Walt said to Frank. “Okay,” Frank said. Walt carefully set the crawdad next to him, while Frank inspected his new baseball card.
She felt left out.
She noticed some empty M&M wrappers on the ground. “Did y’all sleep here last night?” she asked Stephen. “Yes,” he replied. “What did you do all night?” she asked. He described how they stayed up really late reading comic books and playing Attack of the Castle and GI Joe. “It was so much fun! Our parents are going to stay here tonight too. And you’re not allowed!” he said with a condescending voice, making a mean face and sticking out his tongue. “Because you’re a girl!”
She felt left out.
She returned home after hearing her mom call her name. When she walked inside, her mom asked her if she had fun. She burst into tears. Her mom helped her take off her warmest clothes and then pulled her up in her arms and sang a song, "I love you a bushel and peck, a bushel and peck and a hug around the neck." Her tears dried up.
She felt loved.
And now, many years later, she wondered what her life would have been like had she heeded the warning. Now she knows.
If she hadn’t gone in the fort that day, she might have still felt left out. But she wouldn’t have run to her mom’s arms after Stephen was mean to her. That memory of knowing her mom would always be there to comfort her when she was sad or hurt has been with her and carried her all her life. Through many strikeouts, kids teasing her, failed tests, injuries, breakups and homesickness, her mom has always been there to make her feel loved again.
+ + +
The prompt:
"Don't go in there," she heard, a split second too late.
Now, many years later, she wondered what her life would be like had she heeded the warning.
Thanks, Karla, for a great prompt!
+ + +
Also, here was my prompt this week for Val:
You say you're a scrabble enthusiast. So, get your friends together, and play a game of scrabble (or, you could play an online game). Take all the words from the game and use them in a single story.
Go read her response on her website!