Stephen and Sharpies ~ Watty Awards 2012

Chapter Twenty

    The twentieth Sharpie is black, but it is darker than black, if that is even possible. I read the top of the letter and sigh. Finally, a letter about something else, besides Stephen and me. I look around and see Taylor and Abigail talking, I can see in their eyes that they know. I shake my head and sigh in disgust. What kind of person would rape a sweet girl like Stephen? It’s brutalizing. I clear my head and begin to read the letter.

-Alec

    Abigail Dooley, my sister. If she looked at the Sharpie, she would tell you that the color is htun. It is from a book, Fairest by Gail Carson Levine. The color is described as darker than black. She loves fantasy books and I always read them to her at night. I read a chapter and in return she reads my poems. She would anyways and I would still read to her even without the trade, but it works out. I love to read to her, she gets lost in the words. She told me the moment I finished, Fairest, that her new favorite color was htun. She has never seen it, since htun is imaginary. Though she says it is the color of Sharpie twenty.

    I love my sister to death, of course. I feel so bad for her because when my father was arrested she was so young. I was in school and couldn’t be there all day. She learned it was better to stay out of sight because Mom wouldn’t remember her after a bottle of beer and a shot of whiskey. She was out of sight, out of mind. When I would come home after school she would be under my bed and be hugging her teddy bear so tight that its head popped off once; I sewed it back on though. I would pull her out from under the bed and we would go downstairs and then outside and watch the sunset. I started babysitting young and we would buy ice cream whenever I had a little extra money. She learned to cook when Mom was asleep and would clean our room to surprise me. Abigail had it hard and I had it hard. Together we climbed the wall and one day we will be over it and on the other side.

    Abigail was only eight when she caught pneumonia. I stayed with her for the entire time. I got a neighbor to take us to the hospital and pay for the ER and medication. I promised to pay her back, but she never let me. Two weeks, that’s how much school I missed during that time. I was yelled at and the truancy officer came to our house. I had made sure to call Abigail and me in sick everyday so it wouldn’t happen. It didn’t matter, they came anyways. I tried to hide from them, but Mom was on the couch drunk and they could see too. We got letters sent to us, but we got caught up in school work quickly and they finally let it go. It was hard, but we managed and Abigail still has troubles once in awhile.

    We don’t ever have money it seems, Mom got inherence when our dad left. Some relative died and we ended up with the money because he was gone. She used that to pay the rent and then we ran out of the money. I had to start babysitting and starting paying rent, amazingly it was enough, rent was really cheep. Then we moved and another inherence check came from my grandma and grandpa; they both died within a week of each other. We started using that to buy a house and pay on it. I started working and I started saving for college and I had to buy Abigail’s inhalers. She has asthma if you didn’t already know. Anyways after a while the money began running low and it was up to me again to pay bills. The house was fine, but alcohol, electricity, water, and food really adds up. My college fund began to dwindle, Abigail got fewer inhalers, and Mom got a lot more booze. It wasn’t fair, but it was my life. Now hopefully my dreams will come true, I told you about them earlier.

    I try to remember her dreams and then a light bulb went off. I remembered the dreams of college and getting away from her mom. She wanted to start off fresh, leave everything behind. I just have to wonder if that includes leaving me behind. I want to be part of the future not just the dist under the rug.