Poems and Short Stories/ Volume 1

Cherry Pop!

The candy shop owner, in his forty's, flipped the open/close sign. the big, popping words of 'OPEN" screamed through the window viewed by the passers and costumers.

The owner twirled his white Handlebar mustache with his right hand, the other was sliding against his shaven chin. It was always this pose that makes him think the most. A costumer, a mother of a young girl (about 5 years old), came in the store.

She asked what candy is best for her little girl. The owner replied.

"The best candy is the candy that best suits her taste buds" he sang cheerfully. He bent his knees to the level of the height of the daughter. "What flavor you like the most?" The child pointed at a jar full of blueberry suckers. Chuckling, the store owner pick one out of the jar and gave it to the girl. The mother paid him a dollar.

"Come again!" he sang once again as he watched the costumers leaving the store.

It was indeed a slow day, for that it is Monday. The owner twirled his mustache once again, waiting for school children to come out and buy his candy. Then a boy, about 14 years old, enters the shop. His jeans were split, revealing the boy's knees, and his grey jacket was dirty and stained. His hair ruffled up and filled with dust. SO much enough, the owner cannot tell the boy's hair color. Flies dropped dead to the store's clean floors. The young boy went up to the owner.

"How much for that Cherry-Pop sucker?" he asked, pointing his filthy finger to a jar full of red suckers. The rubber on them were branded with a stem holding two red cherries, yellow triangles around to indicate how delicious they might be.

"A dollar," the candy store owner replied. The boy shoved his hand to his jacket pocket, pulling out a limp, a button, and two quarters. 

"Is this enough?"

"No, sorry," the owner replied once again, shaking his head. He closed his eyes and guilt seep through his heart.

CRASH!

The owner opened his eyes, only to see the boy standing beside a broken jar of Lime-Lemonade suckers. Eyebrows furrowed furiously on the boy's face as he picked up the sucker from the ground and ran away. The store owner gasped and chased after the boy.

"Hey! Give that back!" he called out, but the dirty child kept running and running. The owner was almost out of breath, and so was the boy. The young boy turned right to an alleyway and  jumped over the fence, but scraped his knee against him. The kid fell down to the other side and tears filled his blue eyes.

The owner ran up with all his strength, grabbed the fence and climbed over it, gently. He picked up the boy.

"Is okay, is okay," he smoothed the child as he took him to the hospital. 

A WEEK LATER

The candy shop owner flipped the open/close sign. The big, popping words of 'OPEN' shouting through the window viewed by costumers and passers. The owner twirled his white Handlebar mustache as he wondered what happened to the boy he took to the hospital.

The doctor said that the child only have a scratch on his knee, but due to the fence being rusted and old, he must take a flu shot. Sadly, the young boy has no money to afford it. So the old man took care it, spending his retirement money on the boy's hospital bill. 

When the doctor learned that the young boy has no parents or guardians, he was sent to the orphanage.

The old owner sighed, then a mother, the one from yesterday with a 5 year old daughter, entered the shop. Her left hand was held by the little girl. The right hand was held by a clean 14 year old male. His jeans uncut and was wearing a nice green buttoned-up shirt. His blond hair was combed.

"Well what do you two want?"

"I would like a Blueberry-Blast!" said the little girl

"And I want the Cherry-Pop, please!" said the 14 year old boy as he smiled greatly.