Summer Shorts - Anthology

Let's go fly a kite by misspopgoingnowhere

Let's Go Fly A Kite by misspopgoingnowhere

"Let's go fly a kite."

"I don't wanna!"

"C'mon, Melody, don't be a baby."

"I don't wanna! I don't wanna! I don't wanna!"

Vincent let out a heavy sigh. He shut his eyes and lifted his head at the blue sky, his face absorbing the summer heat. The waves rolled onto the sandy shore where the two siblings were standing. Particles of sand and foam clashed between their toes.

Melody pouted and stomped, but it only splashed water onto her shorts.

"I want to eat ice cream!"

"We can't eat ice cream."

"But I want ice cream! Ice cream! Ice cream!" Melody screamed.

"Melody! It's only 7 am!" Vincent screamed at his five-year-old spoiled sister.

Then, Melody cried.

Babysitting is troublesome; Vincent thought trying to block out his sister's annoying cries. All he wanted was a peaceful summer. Their dad had bought him a kite, and he wanted to fly it this morning at the beach. Melody woke up early at the same time, and their mom wanted him to take Melody with him.

"But, mooomm . . ." Vincent whined earlier to his mom in the kitchen.

"No, buts. Take your sister with you until I'm done cooking pancakes."

"But she's so annoying."

"Vincent! That's no way talking to your sister like that!" his mom scolded.

"Ugh! Fine . . ." He was defeated.

And so, here he was at the beach in front of their rented beach house. His sister beside him crying about eating ice cream, and him still clutching on his new kite.

"We can't eat ice cream for breakfast!" Vincent shouted in frustration. "Besides, I don't have money, and stores are probably still closed!"

"Nuh-uh!" Melody cried harder with her balled fists blocking her eyes.

"Ugh! Ok, fine. Let's have a bet," Vincent said.

The wind gently breezed through Melody's awkward fringes. Her tears were beginning to dry on her chubby cheeks.

"A bet?" She hiccuped.

"Yeah. If you can fly my kite, I'll buy you ice cream."

Melody thought for a while, and with a cheery voice, she agreed with a, "Ok!"

Vincent sighed again. His sister can be easily tempted if it involves anything sweet. They walked a bit farther where the waves won't reach them. It was still early in the morning. A few vacationers were jogging alongside the boardwalk, and a couple of surfers in the distance waiting for the next big wave.

"Ok, here," Vincent said. He handed his kite to her. The kite was decorated with multi-colored stripes and in the middle was written, Vincent, in bold, blue letters.

Melody grabbed the kite with her tiny fingers.

"Careful," Vincent warned. "Don't break it."

"I'm not going to break it."

"That's what you said last time when you touched my science project."

His science project was a display of the solar system for his seventh grade class. He was going to present it that morning until Melody thought it was fun to spin the sun too fast that it rolled over under the kitchen table.

Melody didn't answer. She eagerly held the kite on her hands.

"Well?" Vincent waited.

"Um . . . how do you fly it?" Melody asked.

"See? You can't fly a kite, so I'm not getting you ice cream."

"No, wait! I can do it!"

"Nope, you can't." Vincent teased.

"I can do it! Watch me!" Melody stuck out her tongue at him. Vincent twisted his face back at her.

Melody held onto the rope, and she threw the kite away from her.

But, the kite didn't fly as she hoped. It twirled once and plummeted onto the sand.

"Hey! You're going to break it!" Vincent shouted rushing over to the kite to see if there was any damage.

"No, I didn't!"

"Ok, that's enough."

"No! No, wait! I can do it! I can fly a kite, Vincent!" Melody pleaded. She didn't let go of the string when Vincent tried to pull it back from her.

"No, you can't." He snatched the string away from her hands.

"Vincent!" Melody cried again. "You're mean! I hate you!"

"Yah, yah, yah, whatever." Vincent rolled his eyes. "You, crybaby."

"I'm telling mom!" Melody ran back to the beach house leaving her older brother alone.

"In the end, he did buy me ice cream," Melody chuckled in front of the guests. She was standing behind the podium with a handkerchief in her hand. Her voice trembled at the memory. The closed casket laid in front of her displaying a handsome photo of her older brother in an Army uniform.

It was another summer. The sky was blue, the sun shining through the clouds, and the wind gently blew just like the summer twelve years ago at the beach.

"I wasn't aware back then that it was Vincent's birthday. He might have thought I was pretty annoying. Even when he was alive, I would bug him to buy me things." The guests laughed with her.

"I have a lot of fun and annoying memories with my brother. The summer at the beach when I was five was very memorable for me. It wasn't because of the ice cream. I guess it was because that was the first time he taught me something. He taught me how to fly a kite. He even taught me that Mary Poppins song, "Let's go fly a kite."

Melody started to hum the song, then chuckled again at something she remembered. "He was a pretty awful singer."

The guests laughed again. Some covered their mouths from laughing too much while some wiped away tears from their eyes.

"There were words I shouldn't have said to him," Melody continued, "but I don't mean everything I say. I hope he forgives me, heh. I'll miss bugging him with my annoying self. And wherever you are, Vincent, I hope you are soaring higher than any kite watching over me from Heaven. I love you, Vincent. I'll always remember you in my heart."

Melody smiled and gazed up at the blue sky. This is going to be another summer to remember, she thought.