Mini Short Stories: 2020 Volume 1

Catch - Story 30

Zoe would melt and freeze whenever she looked at her nieces. Lena always made her melt. That sweet child was such an angel. It was amazing that she had thrived despite the horror of her parents. The person who made her feel cold was her ten year old sister whose dead stare and dull eyes suggested very little of her had survived. On one hand she was dying of cuteness overload. On the other she was dying of shame.

Zoe had never met such a precocious girl. Luna was very opinionated and determined . There was a fighter in there who had learned to take care of a baby when she was still a baby herself. Zoe remembered being slightly terrified of her until she'd asked Luna to just talk to her. It was something that the counsellor had recommended and it worked a little too well. Zoe couldn't believe that her own sister was that evil to her own offspring. Some of the things Luna recited with eyes glistening from unshed tears were chilling. Would her sister have really sold her eldest daughter? The warring couples she witnessed as a divorce attorney cared for their kids. Even the most selfish ones considered their kids. She'd been ashamed of how quickly she'd fled because she'd been unable to handle it. She'd sat on the sofa berating herself because she hadn't consoled the cold lonely girl she'd run away from.

It was actually Lena who'd helped them to bond. Luna was devoted to her like a mama bear. At first, it intimidated Zoe, but then she was really impressed by it. She dug deep into her interests and discovered that Luna wanted to play classical piano, but unbearably, thought she was too dirty to learn music like that. Zoe threw a massive fit and let her know she would be going to every single class if she wanted to learn how to love herself. Luna cried happily and promised to go for once sounding like a little girl.

Zoe had never expected to enjoy raising kids and she did because she fell in love with them. She saw them grow up beautifully into teenagers who were both tough and graceful. Luna became an excellent pianist and started a band while Lena took up dancing so Zoe attended endless recitals until she met her future husband, got married and the number of people attending recitals began to grow.

Whenever, she would reminisce over the years, she felt that her life had been stuck until she met those girls. They had been a catch that had opened her heart, challenged her valour and had brought warmth everlasting.