%%USERNAME%%    %%ACCWORDS%% %%ONOFF%% |
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| >> Static Item >> Short Story >> Inspirational >> ID #1055169 |   |
| |||||||||||||
|
Nadia's Wish Wind howled outside of the windows, making the panes shake. The glass clattered against its weak jail, nearly cracking from the relentless battering of the wind. I sat on a box in the tiny nook between one wall and the next one, trying to hear the perpetual sounds of Christmas music over the screaming wind. I couldn't hear the music this time, and I felt an emptiness creep over me, tinged with the icy wind from outside of the window. I wouldn't lie to myself, not this year. I couldn't pretend that everything was okay, and that Santa was going to come this year bearing more than a smile and an apologetic hug on Christmas day. My mom was working jobs from six in the morning to just past midnight, and still we scrounged to pay the bills. I wished it didn't hurt so much. My heart...my soul seemed to shatter into a million slicing glass shards as I sat there. An ambulance raced by the house, bloody red and indigo sirens flashing and wailing. Maybe I could get a job, just enough to cover a present for each of my siblings. No, what kind of idiot was I? "Nadia? What's that sound?" The boy's voice was soft and smooth, untouched by the worries that plagued his mother and me. "Hey, Daniel. That's an ambulance." My six-year-old brother stood at the end of the hall, blue blanky and threadbare rabbit dangling from a chubby fist. He walked up to me and put his curly blond head on my lap, looked up at me through his luminescent blue eyes, and a smile that only innocence could spawn glimmered up at me. "Hullooo!" Daniel paused, and crawled onto my lap. He pressed his warm face against my cold one. "Nadia...I don't want you to be sad." Tears brimmed in my eyes, making my brother's face waver. "I'm not sad," I whispered. "You look really sad. Did you hurt yourself? I'll kiss your boo-boo." That was what mom had always said when she'd been around. The memories filled my mind to overflowing. I smiled. "Thanks, Danny. You've already helped me." "That's good." His chubby little arms hugged my neck, the only place they could reach all the way around. "I love you, sissy!" How could there not be any presents for this angel? How could food be so scarce, and why did I have to care about this stuff? I was fifteen! Girls my age should be...shopping, and smiling, trying make-up on and grinning into every reflective surface, waiting for their true love to stare back at them. "Go back to bed, sweetie. You need your sleep." Daniel raced off to the bedroom he shared with his two older siblings, and I heard his bed squeak as he jumped onto it like he always did. This wasn't fair! Not for me, or for Daniel, Luke, or little Savana. I always tried to keep my head up, to hold on to what little we had, and keep smiling...keep moving forward, but sometimes I couldn't stop thinking about what I could do if only we had just a little more. My mom said that there was a God somewhere up there, but I wondered what he was doing. Maybe he was having a really long lunch, or reading some great book, and that's why he didn't notice tiny Savana starving. For a long time, I would sit down and pray beside her filthy bed, but not now, not anymore. I only begged him in the quiet moments. "Please do something. Please, listen! Do you even hear me? Do you care?" The wind battered the window even harder, making the weak window frame murmur its complaint. Cool wind rushed through the cracks and froze me. I fell asleep like that, warm tears gathering behind my tired eyes. They dripped into my dream, where I cried for all of the things that I couldn't give to my family. ____________________ Morning came too early, and mom was just getting up as I awoke from my place in the cramped nook. My neck felt as if an iron brace was restraining it. My body felt stiff and cramped from being stuck in the small place all night. One more thing to add to my list of things to never ever do again. My mom was creeping past with the bag that held her clothes for all three jobs she worked, but I let my eyes stay mostly closed until she left. She was leaving too early...usually she was still here until eight. In fact, she'd been hurried yesterday, too, and the day before. I hoped that she wasn't working a new job. She couldn't stand anymore hours. When she was gone, I roused Luke, Savana, and Daniel to go to school. I made sure that all of them had their thick winter coats, one of the things Mom had invested in this year. The Christian learning program where I dropped Savana, Daniel and Luke off at was only a couple blocks from our home, so we walked. When they were all safely in school, I went back to the house to clean. I had a couple study books, but since sixth grade, I'd been going over to a neighbor's house and practicing Algebra and Geometry after cleaning up the house. I couldn't stand the thought of going over to old Ms. Rex Granger's house, so I tried to study in the house, but couldn't stop thinking about Christmas. Today marked Christmas Eve... I really could get a job, if I needed to. Some outside work, even. Shoveling the thick piles of snow that hadn't melted yet after the big storm last week. I couldn't commit myself to the books, so I took a walk. As I jogged down the road, dodging pieces of the litter that should have been cleaned up decades ago, I saw someone behind me, walking slowly...as if he had been following for a while. I didn't dare take a close look, but from what I saw, it was a guy, probably in his late teens. Every time I looked back, he was in a different place. Mom had always told me to be careful, taught me how to avoid these people. There were too many guys who didn't just want to say hi, too many gangsters. Ahead of me, traffic screamed across the street. There would be a tiny opening, and if I ran just in time, I could make it through, and he wouldn't be able to come across. The cars passed before I knew it, and I ran just a bit too late. Some part of me knew that I was going to die then. Too many cars came too fast. I couldn't make it safely back to the sidewalk because of a semi truck, and the other side of the road seemed miles away, obscured through linked trails of cars. The second lane, where I stood, had only a brief gap. My brain registered all of this in a split second. I wanted to move--anywhere--my body wanted to go in all different directions, so I just stood there. Why couldn't I move, or think? I'm dead... The guy who'd been following me said, "Go right, now!" I don't know why, but I listened. Maybe reaction was beyond conscious control now. I stumbled into the next lane. "That's good, now when that red Ram passes, run really fast into the lane you were just in!" I felt like I was going to throw up. The smell of oil and exhaust made my head spin. What lane was I just in? What was a Ram? A blur of color roared closer. "Now, do it now! To your right!" Right... I jumped just as a red truck passed, and I wanted to laugh. Oh, yeah, Dodge Ram, the truck. "You're doing good." I saw flashes of the boy as thick traffic passed in the final lane that kept me from safety. "Look, it's just one more lane. A car's coming in your lane, but you have to wait, okay? You have to wait until it's right on you, because I don't see a gap yet!" I looked. "Okay!" I'm not sure if I called it or whispered it...or even spoke aloud. This gap would be my last chance to get through. The car behind me seemed to be slamming on its brakes, but it wasn't slowing fast enough. Closer, just a bit closer... Dizziness almost overtook me, and the cars seemed to thicken and waver in front of me. "Wait, okay? Wait..." There! I ran across the street, onto the sidewalk, and very ungracefully collapsed. Cars rushed by, oblivious to what had just happened. I think that the guy caught me when I fell, but I don't quite remember. ____________________ I woke to something cold...freezing, even, dripping into my eyes, down my face, curling around behind my ears. I lurched straight up, and rammed into something hard. "Whoa! You're awake!" I saw my own home when I opened my eyes, and I tried to grab the intruding stranger. He backed off, and I felt nauseated, so I let him alone. The wet stuff must have been water, because there was a rag in his hand. "You were out cold," he said. "What are you..." My voice was hardly a whisper, and I cleared my throat. "What the hell are you doing in my house?" "I'm...I saw you come from here. You were running, and I saw you drop something. Anyway, I've seen you at the school program before. My sister goes there to catch up with school; she's behind a grade. Too bad they work until Christmas, though. Kinda ruins the holiday spirit." "Yeah." My hands ran over my shirt, stopping at my neck, where my necklace used to be. "Oh, God..." He held it out. "Don't worry; the clasp is fine. It must've been hooked wrong." "I didn't even realize that I'd dropped it...or that I was even wearing it! Thanks." I'd gotten this from my dad. It was the only thing that helped me to remember him when his image became too clouded in my mind. "Thank you." I suddenly realized that this guy was wearing name brand jeans. He was sitting on the collapsed couch with books under its cushions to keep it straight, and had been using one of the five-year-old wash cloths to wash my face. The room was powdered with dust, and it smelled just a bit like mildew and garbage. The icy winter wind blowing in through the countless holes, some of which were big enough for light to infiltrate, rid the smell a bit, though. I reattached the necklace and got up, grabbing the duster and swiping the table next to him clean. "No problem; hey, don't do that! You just almost got ran over. Sit down." His voice was forceful, so I sat. "I'm going to stay here for a while, okay? To make sure you're doing good. Then I'll get my butt out of your way. That sound good?" "I'm fine." "You're so pale I could point your heart out through your skin and bones. You need to eat something." Before I could stop him, he jumped up and rummaged in the cupboards and found what I knew would be there. Nothing. "I have some cash. How does a burger sound?" "I don't...I couldn't waste your money." He looked at me, and for the first time, he seemed to think that maybe the reason I was so slim might not be from choice, but rather from necessity. "You're coming with me! As far as I've heard from my sister, you come in with three kids sometimes. That alone makes you eligible for a burger. Three siblings...that's gotta be harsh." "They're really sweet, all of them. They can be pretty evil sometimes, though." "How can you say that? One's enough for me. My sis Abby likes to see me suffer. She's...demonic." I laughed. "Really, she can't be that bad!" "Let's go get that burger. By the way, I'm Dell." "Nadia." I let myself be dragged out. ____________________ We got two huge burgers, and I grabbed two packets of ketchup as we sat down. I took the little plastic knife I'd found, and cut my burger into fourths. I knew that I couldn't eat the whole thing, and besides, the others would love it. "Hey, what are you doing? You're harming that perfectly good burger," Dell exclaimed. "I can't eat this whole thing!" I laughed. He stared at me with raised eyebrows. As we ate, we both exchanged funny stories, talked about sports, and swiped ketchup and mayo off of our burger wrappers. I made a stick man out of toothpicks and pickles, and before I knew it, I had eaten half of the burger, and talked for three hours. I learned that Dell had finished school at fourteen, and I laughed more that afternoon than I had for the last year. After eating, I packed the remains of the burger away, and promised myself that I would leave. I felt terrible for having so much fun. Despite that, I couldn't get myself to leave. We continued to talk, digging through small talk and into personal opinions. We spoke about our homes and families. Dell lived with his dad and little sister at their house, just a few miles from ours, but inside of town rather than outside. Two-thirty came before I wanted it to. "Hey, I have to leave." "Where?" Dell asked, sitting upright. "I've got to get the house cleaned up before my mom gets home on break. She comes home after her first job to make sure the house is okay, and to check on me at Ms. Granger's...she teaches me in her spare time. Anyway, the kids get out of school soon." "Oh. I'll come with you. To be honest, that house is so much more than a one person job if your mom gets home in thirty minutes." "Whatever." We ran home, and I did my best to avoid any kind of traffic. Dell thought that was funny. Halfway home, I met my mom head on. She wasn't alone. A man stood beside her, holding her close to his thick coat. "Dear--Nadia? What are you doing here?" Dell gaped, and to the man, he hissed, "Dad?" ____________________ "This is...awkward." Dell's dad said as my mom seated herself next to him. "Oh, really, you think?" Dell said. "I mean, what are you doing with...I thought that you were at...work." "I was! Katrina and I.... I mean, Nadia's mother works with me, and I invited her out to lunch. I've been seeing her for the last few months at work. Please don't be mad, Dell. I know that you miss your mom, but still--" Whatever had happened to his mom was something Dell had excluded in our talk. But then...I'd excluded a bit, too. "I invited Katrina over for Christmas dinner tomorrow. I know that I should probably have asked you. I'm sorry about that." Dell slid away from me and lowered his head. His anger was something heavy and acidic in the air. "I miss your mother, too. I mean, she was wonderful. She had you and little Abigail, didn't she? But it's been nine years, Dell. I like Katrina, and I'm seeing her. Your mother will always be special to me, no matter what!" Dell lifted his head, though he still looked like he didn't approve. His cool blue eyes glared at his dad from under blond locks of wild hair. Dell's dad took a deep breath and said, "Dell, is it okay with you for me to see Katrina? I know that you miss your mom, and I should have spoken to you earlier. But I care for Katrina." Dell looked into his dad's eyes for the first time. He was completely still, thoughtful. The wind blew through one of the holes, whistling a sad tune. We were all still. My mom gripped Dell's father's arm. We stayed like that for a long time, completely silent. "Well...if she's Nadia's mom, she has to be pretty awesome," Dell finally said. ___________________ I awoke to screaming the next morning, and immediately lurched out of my nook again, where I'd fallen asleep. Adrenaline seared through me, banishing the aches and pains from sleeping upright again. I ran to the sound, and instead of seeing someone hurt and dying, I saw a box. Daniel was on top of it, licking at a candy cane that was taped to it, trying to pull it off with his teeth. I opened the box, pulling out a present for each of the children. Daniel got a huge teddy bear. Savana got a dress, and Luke got a check--for a bike, the attached note said. My gift was at the bottom, just a little card. I picked it up and read the inscription inside. Hey, Nadia! Your name means hopeful, did you know that? Anyway, I decided that your family deserves this. I talked to my dad, and we figured you'd probably like this.! I couldn't find anything that I knew you'd like, so I'll take you out for another burger, and we can talk that over. I hope your family likes the gifts. See, finishing school at fourteen doesn't leave a person completely stupid. P.S. Hey, Merry Christmas! Sincerely, Dell Tears filled my eyes, and Daniel sat up, grinning, holding both of his bears tight to him. "My bear can give you a hug to make you happy." This time when I spoke to him, it wasn't a lie. "I couldn't be happier, Danny."
© Copyright 2006 § Roseille - Writing ♥ (UN: concrete_angel at Writing.Com).
All rights reserved.
§ Roseille - Writing ♥ has granted Writing.Com, its affiliates and syndicates non-exclusive rights to display this work. |
 Log In To Leave Feedback |
Static Items
Books
Forums
Groups
Interactive Stories
Audio
Campfire Creatives
Community Notes
Crossword Puzzles
Documents
Folders
Images
In & Outs
Madlibs
Photo Albums
Polls
Product Reviews
Quizzes
Survey Forms
Web Pages
Word Searches
