Those Sunshine Days

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Those Sunshine Days

1950's-1990's

The train platform was not very busy, since it was quite late at night. A tall, gangly man held tight to a girl's hand in case she wandered off. Unlikely though, for her chin kept hitting her chest, then bopping back up in defiance of sleep.

She was a teenager, but didn't seem to mind holding onto his hand. There was an undefined love in her eyes, a loyalty.

"Arthur?" she asked sleepily, leaning against him.

"Yes?" glancing down, he felt a warm flutter in his heart; every touch she gifted him made him love her more.

She gave him a drowsy demand. "Tell me a story."

"What sort of story?"

"A sort of true one."

"Hm." He thought for a moment. "Okay. Are you listening?"

Nodding, she yawned. "I'm listening."

"All right." He lifted her up, her small arms wrapping around his neck. "Once, there was a young boy who took the same route to school every day..."

Speckles of light hit the moon face of a young girl sitting on a wooden fence, a black cat curled up on the post. She was watching a freckled boy walk home, a large book bag bumping against his leg.

"Excuse me!" she called, swinging her legs.

The boy stopped, startled. "Me?"

"Yes." She titled her head, a pair of dark eyes studying him. "May I ask you a question?"

"Sure." The boy stepped closer.

"Do you go to school?" she asked.

"Uh, yeah. Don't you?"

She shook her head. "Not very often, no."

"Why's that?"

"Just not allowed."

"Oh."

"I'm Ivy."

"Arthur."

"What did you learn today, Arthur?"

Arthur scratched his head. "Hm. Mostly geography today."

"Tell me, will you?" she asked. Arthur leaned up against the fence and told Ivy about his classes that day, what he had learned and all about his teacher, Ms. Ingles.

Suddenly it was almost five o'clock, and Arthur knew he had to get home for supper.

"Will you walk this way tomorrow?" asked Ivy.

"I always walk this way." Arthur replied.

"I know," Ivy scratched the ears of her cat. "Just checking."

Arthur walked home in the orange light, and Ivy hopped over to the other side of the fence, black cat in her arms.

The two saw each other often, on weekends especially. Arthur would create a pretend classroom in his father's barn, or if it was warm the woods. This continued for two years, in which time Arthur learned two very important things about Ivy Howard.

She would never, ever ask for help until the last second, and You never, ever knocked on her front door.

Mr. Howard was not a nice man. It took Arthur a while to link the identity of Ivy's father and the crazy man people in town talked about. It surprised him when he realized it was his Ivy that everyone called 'that poor, locked up girl'. Ivy wasn't locked up though; she just wasn't allowed to go to school.