Monday, January 27, 2014

The Colors of Autumn

Short Short by Stephen Davis

“Did you read the paper this morning?” Stephen asked his wife as she walked into the kitchen. She poured coffee into a red mug before she sat down.

“I did,” Diane replied, “another war is exactly what this country doesn’t need. It’s terrifying and it seems like war is everywhere.” She picked up the newspaper and began skimming through the front page article again.

“Well, at least we don't have to worry about seeing any action over here.” He attempted reassurance as he stood up and began walking towards the living room. “I’m going to take Gabrielle to the park to play for a while… Gabrielle it’s time to go.”

Stephen walked across the hard wood floor and grabbed shoes for his daughter. Gabrielle sat down on the couch nearest the door while her father laced up her pink and white Dora shoes. They walked down the brick steps, hand in hand, into a beautiful autumn morning. Elm trees lined the street in colors of red and yellow, piles of leaves littered the sidewalk.

As they both crossed the street and walked onto the grass, Gabrielle took off in a sprint to the jungle gym. Stephen continued to walk, following after, and began laughing. Gabrielle was yelling with excitement, so much that it would have been difficult for anyone else not to share in that joy. She jumped from the sidewalk onto the sand without care. Her feet quickly sunk below ground level, filling the sides of her shoes with sand. She ran up a flight of stairs only to disappear inside the three story plastic contraption, complete with five different slides. Stephen smiled again as Gabrielle was lost in the masses of children, all yelling and screaming with laughter.

“Daddy, Daddy! Will you go down the slide with me?” Gabrielle yelled, peering out a porthole at the top. Stephen hesitated for a moment, considering the implications of squeezing his way into a looping slide meant for someone half his size. Not wanting to disappoint, he began the adventure anyway. Stepping on the sand, he carefully avoided any spillage into his shoes. He dodged children running at full speed, children oblivious and seemingly impervious to damage. Stephen successfully made it to the fort and pulled himself up out of the crossfire of little bodies everywhere. He climbed to the top. Gabrielle laughed as he closed in and took off down the slide ahead of him, her laughter echoing down the tunnel. He dove in after her, tumbling down the tube, and stopped well short of the edge of the slide.

Stephen pulled himself to the edge, feeling scuff marks made by little feet under his palms. He saw Gabrielle crying and sitting on the ground, comforting her knee.

“Oh, Baby, what’s wrong?” He asked in a comforting tone, ignoring the sea of seemingly endless children running by.

“I fell and scraped my knee….there’s blood!” she wailed. Her Daddy knelt beside her and put his arms around her. He held her for a few moments before standing up and giving her his hand.

“Come on, let’s clean you up.” Stephen held her hand and walked her to a water fountain while she slightly whimpered.

“Don’t wash it Daddy, it will sting!” She pleaded, squeezing his hand tighter as he began to drip water over her knee.

“Everything is going to be okay my love,” he reassured her.

Something bright flashed in his peripheral vision. Multiple colors of light shined everywhere in the distance. Beautiful stars of red and yellow, the color of autumn.

Contributor's Note: Stephen Davis is a Cerro Coso student. This short short was written for English 141: Creative Writing.

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