Waiting

Waiting

The gate was stuck, I was late, I had to get it open. I couldn’t climb it. Well, I didn’t want to, I was wearing my new skirt and I doubted it would survive the fence.

Knowing it was stupid, I tried hitting the latch with a rock. It didn’t work. Plus I smacked my finger into the gate and it hurt like a son of a gun. Which I had no idea what that meant, I just heard my Dad saying it all the time.

I yelled “Ouch!” of course, and it scared a bird out of a nearby bush. It was blue, but wasn’t a bluebird, or a blue jay. As it flew up, it spread out its wings and the underside of its wings looked just like a rainbow! It was beautiful!

I stood there, watching it fly up. It flew higher and higher until it disappeared into a white fluffy cloud, and then the cloud zoomed away. Zoomed! It didn’t float, it zoomed, it just took off!

As I watched it disappear, I felt something warm and wet, on my leg. Looking down quickly, I found I was actually laying in my bed, looking at our dog, Mazie, who was also laying on my bed, and had licked my leg. I was not outside, I was in bed.

Glancing at the window, it was dark outside. No sun, no bird, no gate... Suddenly, I jumped out of bed and ran to my closet! My new skirt was still there! As I walked back to bed, a little sad, I decided that when I grew up I was going to make sure to have a bush like that bush, and that gate too, and then, maybe that bird would come back.

I’m seventy four, still waiting.