Penny Earned

C2: Umbrella Sailboats and Heavy Rain

Edith carved her bare toes into the mud around the pond. She had accumulated a plethora of things today, just picking found items out of the water. She swept her hand through her silvery gray hair to take a better look at what she had found: a purple notebook with the word "ALGEBRA" sprawled on the cover (that was the only legible writing in or on the book; the rest of the ink had bled in the water), a printed essay, perhaps, it was in a similar condition, a number of pens, and a grass green backpack. She yanked on a strap to drag it out from the water. It wasn't abnormally heavy, but due to Edith's size, the backpack dwarfed her. After a moment, she'd mustered up the needed strength and pulled it into the mud. She pulled open the sticky zippers and as the flap fell open, the contents toppled out as well. There wasn't anything too exciting, just ordinary schoolwork accompanied by a half-eaten lunch and umbrella. Edith fiddled with the contraption until it sprung open into the pond. Holding onto the center pole, she stepped into the umbrella and because of her short height, it made a rather good sailboat. Edith leaned over the edge, tilting the repurposed ship and glanced at her reflection in the water. It was pale and tinted grayish due to the lack of sunshine the Well Town received with silvery hair and grass green eyes, a similar shade to the backpack she had found. The reflection mirrored Edith's black dress, which was made from the recycled fabric of a sweatshirt. Edith looked away, stood and held onto the center pole of her boat and spun, spiraling, swirling and dancing through the crystal body of water. The water slid beneath the umbrella, splashing the girl through the pond gracefully. Or at least gracefully until water started pouring from the hole in the well, quicker and heavier than rain and more powerful too. Edith leapt from the boat and swam through the rising water levels to the mud. She looked upwards. The water was like a heavy stream flowing from the sky.