Invisible String - Jake Kiszka

Child In The Garden

...

Marjorie knocked on the front door of her best friends house three times. She heard shouting and three pairs of little feet running and scuffling around from inside. She looked down at the little girl that held her hand and smiled excitedly. The child beamed up at her with the same excitement written on her face.

About ten years ago her husband Tom had told her that their daughter was going to be the spitting image of her. And that she was. She had the same green eyes and blonde hair, which was tied into a single braid all the way down her back. She was very small but quite the spunky, spirited child. Nothing other than a complete tomboy, having no interest in dolls, dresses, or other girly play things. She preferred playing in the woods behind their house, in the creeks and streams, and running barefoot up and down the dirt road that connected her only friends' house to her own.

There was a commotion behind the door and little voices fighting over the door handle. A deeper louder voice was heard and the smaller footsteps seem to scurry away, followed by some heavy footsteps and the sound of the lock turning and the door opening. A friendly figure stood in the doorway to greet them. "Hi, Uncle Kelly!" The little girl yelled and ran to hug him. Marjorie followed her daughter inside and greeted her long time friend, and best friend's husband,Kelly. "Hello beautiful girls!" Kelly exclaimed. "Dinner's on the grill and should be ready soon. Karen is in the kitchen, Marj."

"Thanks Kelly. Tom should be here any minute. He had to run into town to grab some things from the store for me."

The little girl let go of her 'uncle' and followed her mother down the hall and into the kitchen. As they came through the doorway they both saw Karen standing over a cutting board with a knife and an assortment of random vegetables.

"Marjie!" Karen exclaimed. "I'm so glad you're here, now you can help me. I need the onions sliced so Kelly can put them on the grill with everything else." The two started a conversation about the weather and other things that did not interest a ten year old girl. She walked over to the dining room table that was just opposite of the kitchen island and looked around the room.

She had practically grown up just as much in this house as her own. There were a few paintings on the light green walls and white curtains that hung from the rod above the big window looking out to the front yard. To the left of the window was her aunt Karen's wine cabinet. A house plant sat on the top and hung about halfway down the side. The top half held her wine glasses that she had collected over the years, and some of which she had inherited from her family. The bottom half was where all of her bottles of wine sat. Some were fancy wine saved for birthdays and anniversaries, and others cheap enough to come from the grocery store. It never made sense to the girl why the wine was kept on the bottom and the glass on top. She understood that the glass was easily broken, but wouldn't she want to keep the alcohol further away from her children? There was a lock on the bottom cabinets, but it was useless as it was broken. It made no sense to her but it seemed to work for Aunty Karen.

She walked passed the table and the wine cabinet into the sitting room. Aunty Karen loved this room. It had vintage velvet couches and pretty plants hanging from the ceiling. She always had books sitting out on the coffee table next to the little figurine center piece. She dragged her fingers along the table and went to look out the window on the far side of the wall. From that window she could see her own home. It was very small in the distance but she could see the white paint and the black roof.

She must have tuned out all the noises around her as she looked out the window because she was very startled when she heard a small voice behind her yell, "Boo!" and felt hands grab her sides. She let out a shriek and quickly turned around to find the face of a little boy looking back at her. He had a mop of brown hair on his head and a cheeky grin on his face. He had meant to scare her, and he did just that. "Sammy! You scared me!" She scolded the little boy who was about a year younger than her. Unfazed by her lecturing, he just looked at her with a smile on his face. "Dad said you were here so I came to find you." He told her. "We're all playing outside and you have to come play too." And with that he grabbed her hand and began to lead her passed the dining room, through the kitchen, by the stairs, down the hallway, and out the back door.