Beside Serenity

C

It was as if the edges of the window were the beginning of a frame which surrounded a perfect painting. Two squirrels chased each other through the tall grasses, leaping in and out of sight. Purple, pink, white and yellow flowers sprouted out of the ground. Each of them faced towards the setting sun, which crept through the treetops and created a kind of lighting I'd only seen in movies.

My admiration of the field was cut short by my sister, who was bored by the radio's commercial break. Repeatedly, she poked her finger into my upper arm.

"Stop," I said, turning away from the window to stare at her face. Her pale skin was overwhelmingly dotted with freckles. She looked up to me with a grin and shook her head. Her short, dark hair swayed with her head, like a skirt on a woman dancing the Hula. She quickly and surprisingly threw her hand towards me and jabbed my side.

"Stop!" I yelled.

"Abby," My mother looked stone-like through the rearview mirror, "He said stop." I stuck out my tongue and tilted my face toward my sister, provoking her. It was obvious this annoyed her. I turned back toward the window and looked out at the same perfect painting as before.

After another cycle of music, the radio went back to commercial. My sister called for my attention. When I turned to face her, she spit at me.

"Ew!" I shrieked.

"David! Shut Up! I'm trying to drive!" My mother screamed, looking up from her phone to stare with angry eyes through the rearview mirror.

"Sorry." I apologized, wiped the loogie from my arm with my sleeve, and looked toward the clean floor of the new car. Then, I looked over at my sister, who mimicked my provocative face. It annoyed me.