My (not so) Short Short for the Day

As she followed her “dead” sister into the dark unknown, Ellie thought about how weird  her day had become.

            It had started as a pretty normal morning.  The alarm rang at 6am.  She slapped the snooze one time before dragging herself out of the warm, comfy covers.  She ran a brush quickly through her hair before pulling it back into a ponytail.  Then she shrugged into a school tee and jeans before heading downstairs.  The kitchen was empty, as usual, since her parents were up by 4am and gone by 5:30.  Since she was in high school now, her parents didn’t worry about her getting off to school on her own.  They trusted her to be responsible and make good choices.  At first, she had wanted to rebel but just couldn’t bring herself to misbehave.  The closest she came was eating Sugar Smacks for breakfast instead of Wheaties.  She smiled as she scooped up another spoonful of sugary goodness.  “Mmmm…weekend cereal on a Tuesday.  Soooo evil!”  Ellie crunched loudly.  She let her mind drift off. 

            She finished her cereal, rinsed the bowl and put it in the dishwasher.  As she slid the rack back in she heard a loud boom.  It was so loud she froze for a moment.  Was that a sonic boom?  She didn’t really know what a sonic boom sounded like but figured it must be super loud.  She closed the dishwasher door and straightened up.  Ellie peeked through the curtains.  Everything was quiet, no cars, no kids on bikes, no dogs barking.  It was strangely silent. Then Ellie noticed the clock was flashing.  That’s weird, she thought.  Some kind of power outage.  Ellie looked around but the kitchen lights were on.  She looked at her watch, swore and rushed into the living room.  She only had 15 minutes to get to school.  Slinging her bag onto her back, she slammed the front door shut, jumped on her bike and pedaled furiously.

            One math quiz, a science lab, an English essay and history worksheet later and school was done.  Next came soccer practice. It was brutal but Ellie loved it!  She loved to run and kick and build up a solid sweat.  When her heart was pumping so hard and her muscles burning, that’s when she felt so energized.  A quick wave to her teammates and she headed home.  This time the bike ride was much more leisurely.  Her mind drifted off again leaving her legs on auto pilot.  She had ridden that route so many times, she didn’t need to pay attention anymore.  Her mind had just conjured up an image of Shane, the cute boy in her math class.  He also happened to be the captain of the soccer team, tall, dark and handsome with the most amazing smile. 

            All of a sudden, there was a loud boom.  Just like the one from this morning.  Ellie jerked causing her bike to swerve sharply to the right and directly at the old Oak tree in her front yard.  She wobbled and turned the handlebars sharply to the left, too sharply.  She slammed on her brakes and flipped over her handlebars, but at least she missed the tree.  She sat up and rubbed her elbow.  Then she noticed how quiet it was.  No one was around.  No one on the streets, no one in the yards, no one on the sidewalks.  Totally silent.  Just like this morning.

            “Ellie, are you ok?”  A figure stepped out from behind the Oak tree. 

            Ellie squinted, still rubbing her elbow.  “Who’s there?”

            The figure walked over to Ellie and offered her a hand.

            Ellie’s eyes widened in shock.  Mechanically, she took the hand and let the girl help her up.  She tried to speak but her mouth wouldn’t work.  She could only gape at the girl.

            “Well, so much for a happy reunion.”  The girl smiled.

            “Wendy?”  Ellie blurted out.

            “Surprise!”  Wendy said with a grin.

            “But…how?”  Ellie stared in disbelief.

            “That’s a long story.”  The girl said, then looked around quickly before turning back to Ellie.  “But that’ll have to wait for another time.  Right now, we have to go.”  Wendy waved her along.

            As children, Ellie had followed her big sister everywhere without question, without fear.  She trusted her completely.  But now, Wendy was back from the dead somehow, and asking her to follow.  As unreal as this all was, Ellie still trusted her.  So she followed Wendy behind the Oak tree and into the dark unknown, 

My (not so) Short Short for the Day

Abby shot up in bed.  The sweat soaked sheets sticking to her bare arms.  Her screams pierced the night.  The nurse slammed open the door, prepped the needle and injected medicine into the IV drip.  She set down the syringe and gently grasped Abby’s shoulders. 

            “It’s ok dear.  You’re safe.”

As the medicine eased Abby back to sleep, she could hear the nurse say, “Such a lovely girl full of so much sadness.”

            “How about we start with you telling me about that day.”  Dr. Anders said pushing his glasses up and crossing his legs.

Abby stared at him for a moment.  He had a white coat on like all the other doctors but he wasn’t like the other doctors.  He wanted to talk about “that day”.  Every time he came in, all he wanted to know was about “that day”.  She told him the same story every time but he never believed her.  She knew that now.  At first, though, she thought he did believe her because he listened attentively.  But with each consecutive visit, he became more and more frustrated with her.  So today, she debated whether to change her story.  Tell him what he wanted to hear, just to avoid that annoyed sigh, the removal of his glasses and the meticulous cleaning of them to avoid looking at her.  But she didn’t know what he wanted to hear.  She was telling the truth whether he wanted to believe it or not.  So with a deep breath, she began.

            “Well, it was a pretty normal day.  I woke up a little earlier than usual to get in some more study time.  It was my History final that day and History is not my best subject.  I was nervous but not worried.  I had studied a lot and felt good about how I did on the test.  After school I came straight home because tomorrow was my Math final.  I wanted to review all the formulas and get a good night’s sleep.  Mom and Dad went out for their anniversary. They always go out to dinner and a movie.  They get all dressed up and act so silly.  I always tease them about it, but I think it’s kind of sweet.  Anyway, I had dinner and was washing the dishes when I heard a car screech like it slammed on its brakes.  Then there was a horrible thud.  Without thinking, I rushed outside.  I could only see the taillights of the car as it sped off.  At first I thought the body might be a dog but as I got closer I realized it was a person.  She was about my size with long brown hair.  She was wearing all black or maybe it just seemed like that because it was so dark out.  I didn’t know what to do.  My heart was pounding so hard and then I felt weird.  Everything got fuzzy and next thing I know, I’m waking up here.”  Abby’s voice trailed off.  She looked at Dr. Anders who was rubbing the bridge of his nose.

After a moment, Dr. Anders put his glassed back on.  He recapped his pen and put it back in his pocket.  He closed his notebook and stared at Abby.  Finally, he took a slow breath in and let it out.

            “Abby, I can only help you if you want the help.”

            “I do Dr. Anders.”

            “Then you need to tell me the truth. “

            “I am Dr. Anders.  I swear.”

            “Sometimes people block out reality because it’s too painful.  But the only way to get better is to face it.  That’s why I’m here.  I’m here to help you face your reality.  But you need to be honest with me about what happened.”

            “I am…”

            Dr. Anders got up, straightened his coat, tucked his notebook under his arm and walked to the door.  “I can only help you, if you help me.”  He looked at her for a moment then left.

Abby leaned back in her bed and closed her eyes.  ‘Why wouldn’t anyone believe her?’

When she opened her eyes again it was dark and very quiet.  She must have fallen asleep for a long time.  She hadn’t felt particularly sleepy, though.  There was a noise off to her left, towards the window.  She turned her head, squinting into the dark.  ‘Maybe just the wind?’  But then something moved in the shadows.  It wasn’t outside.  Her heart leapt.  She grabbed her sheets tight against her and stared where the shadow was.  Slowly a figure emerged and carefully made its way towards her.  Abby was terrified but couldn’t move. 

            “It’s ok Abby.  I’m not here to hurt you.”  The girl said carefully moving into a patch of moonlight.  The girl had long brown hair and was dressed all in black, just like the girl from the street.  Except she wasn’t dead.

            “Why?”  That was all Abby could utter.

            “Well, over the years I’ve learned a very important lesson.”  The girl looked at Abby and smiled.  “Sometimes a person has to feel like they are going a little crazy in order to open themselves up to something extraordinary.”

            “I don’t understand.”  Abby said.

            “No, but you will.”  The girl said turning toward the window.  “In time.”

            “Wait, where are you going?”  Abby sat up, clutching the sheet.  “You could help me.  You could tell the doctors, everyone that I wasn’t making it up.”

The girl turned and gave Abby a sympathetic smile.  “I wish I could, but I can’t.  Don’t worry, it will get easier.  But I have to go now.”

            “No, I have questions.”  Abby pushed the sheets back and slid her feet off the bed.  “Wait.”

            “I have to go now Abby, but I will be back soon.”  The girl walked through the window and faded into the darkness.

Abby was standing by the window looking out, trying to see the shadowy figure when the lights came on.

            “Dear, are you ok?”  The nurse walked quickly over to Abby and gently guided her back to bed.

            “Yes, I’m fine.”  Abby said giving the nurse a reassuring smile.