Show Me Who You Really Are

Two

The new house was much bigger. It had 3 floors and an attic that looked like it's own personal bedroom. The bedrooms were huge and there were three staircases; two for the second/third floor and one for the attic. Gabi looked around at the big burgundy curtains that lay over the towering transom windows like blankets; flowing in and out from the light breeze outside.

The interior was picked by corresponding colors such as beige, white, brown, green, and burgundy. The walls were a light beige in every room and hall. The parquet flooring was a nutmeg color and arranged with big squares and little squares, according to Gabi's interpretation. The bathroom floors were beige and dark brown marble tile and the toilet, sink, and bathtub were green; yuck! Who would make those green?! The kitchen had a textured glass door that led to a balcony that towered over the backyard. The refrigerator was white and the curtains also burgundy and the counters matched the marble design of the bathroom floor, but the colors were burgundy and beige this time.

Gabi went to the smallest of the four bedrooms and slumped down on the soft, freshly vacuumed, white carpet and sighed. "Okay, girls," their mom began, "your beds and dressers will be coming in tomorrow night so I'm going out to get sleeping bags and pillows." Mia nodded and walked around the house observing everything, while Gabi walked out the back door downstairs to the backyard.

She sat on the edge of the empty pool area and kicked her feet back and forth. Through the hedge that separated the house from the pathways that people walked and jogged on, she saw a desolate park. She ran in the house and grabbed her shoes.

"Where ya going, Gabs?" Mia asked while heating up a hot pocket. "I-I-I'm g-g-g-go-going to th-the p-ark." Gabi said looking down. She felt the tears starting to swell up as Mia lifted her head. "Hey, why don't we go back to the note card thing?" She said with an eerie smile. Gabi sniffed and nodded slowly.

The note cards were an easier way for Gabi to communicate. She struggled with stuttering due to a lack of function in the nerves that control her mouth and tongue. She would lose feeling in her mouth causing it to feel extremely uncomfortable when she spoke. Because of the discomfort, she'd have to go back over certain syllables or entire words depending on the comfort level.

Gabi wiped a stray tear from her cheek then ran to the park. Mia sighed and finished her lunch. Gabi paced around the park. There were a bunch of white oaks and paper birches. When she got to the end farthest from her house, she was excited to see the only willow. She ran over and found a boy there picking at a flower.