Exercise 24:
You(or
a character) have often passed a particular house (or first floor apartment) as
you(or a character) walk to the train or drive home from work. This particular
evening it is just past dusk so that there is still a little deep blue color to
the sky, but all the lights are on in the house/apartment/place you(or a
character) notice. Something makes you(or a character) stop and look.
Looking
in the window, you(or a character) can see rooms and pictures on the wall,
furniture. It seems strangely family. Suddenly you(or a character) are in the
room, and it is a room you(or a character) have been in so many times....
Kia
Kia was a beautiful young woman with bright orange hair that
flowed down past her shoulders and curled slightly at the tips. At the moment she had her hair up in a loose
bun. She wore a plain white shirt, and a
loose royal blue hoodie. Her jeans were
torn at the knees, a sign they were well broken in. Upon her feet were black All Star sneakers,
they also looked worn.
With hands in her pockets she walked up the stairs of her dull
apartment building, and descended down the mildly dark corridor. Her eyes were upon the floor until they met daylight
on the stained brown carpeting. Pausing
in her stride she looked to her right.
That was when she saw the scene.
Before her was a mother, with brunette curly hair, a smile
spread across her lips. She was laughing
with her little girl, who had equally curly brunette hair, and the brightest
blue eyes Kia had ever seen. Kia heard
their laughter as the mother wrapped her arms around the little girl and
tickled her. The mom pulled her daughter
of about 6 into a hug and kissed the top of her head. It brought a smile to Kia’s own lips, and it
warmed her to the core.
Light cascaded through the window as Kia’s feet met the
floor and she walked through the threshold.
“Hey Leslie.” She said with a
smile.
“KIA!” The little
girl bolted toward her and wrapped her in a hug about her waist.
“Hey there
Diana.” Kia smiled rubbing the top of
Diana’s head.
Leslie’s smile turned to Kia. “Hey, how are you?”
“I’m fine, I just got home from work. I was on my way to my
apartment when I saw you, and since I haven’t come by lately, I just thought I’d
say hey. You two seem to be having a
great day!” Kia responded. “Anything particularly marvelous happen today
to put you two in such a great mood?”
“Mommy took me to the park and we swung on the swings. I
flew so high, I thought I would go into space!
Then, she took me to get icecream!
It was so fun!” Diana spoke, as
she held her arms out and ran around the room like she was flying.
“Careful sweetie, you don’t want to trip and hurt yourself.” Leslie warned.
“That does sound like a good day.” Kia responded.
“So, we’re going out to dinner later, do you want to come
with us?” Leslie asked hopefully.
“I’d love to but, I have to wake up early in the morning, so
I thought I’d just get a tv dinner and a hot bath and call it a night.” Kia responded, sounding rather displeased
with the idea of having to reject the offer. “Raincheck?”
“Sure.” Leslie said
with a smile, grabbing a glass off the table and heading into the kitchen to
set it in in the sink. “Don’t be a
stranger alright?” She leaned back
against the counter with her hands gripping it by her sides.
“I’ll try not to be.
You two have fun tonight alright?”
Her gaze fell to Diana who was playing with a stuffed bunny now, hugging
it to her chest, with its fuzzy little face pressed to her cheek.
“We will. I wish you could come!” Diana responded with
disappointment clear in her little voice.
“Next time.” Kia
said, taking her right hand out of her pocket and waving to the two ladies and
walking out of the apartment. It was
always such a delight to talk to them, if only just for a moment. The atmosphere made her remember her mother,
before her step father came into the picture.
Kia’s hand found itself safely within her warm pocket as she
stared at the brown stained carpeting and finally found herself at the end of
the hall to her apartment. From her left
pocket came a key, and within the door it went.
Soon she was in her apartment, going straight to the fridge and getting
that tv dinner, popping it in the microwave, and she stared at it as it turned
on the pedestal.
Kia felt a strange sadness inside of her. The memories of her childhood washing over
her, the smiles her mother and she shared.
Then the memories of her step father hitting her mother, and her own
face covered in bruises…
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Authors Note:
This is unfinished, and if anyone wants to finish it, feel free to. I'd love if you'd leave the continuation as a comment if you do. I know it's kind of dull, but I've been rather uninspired due to life's current situations. [ Updates might be slow for a while. I need to figure out a few things in life before I can continue, but I will try to keep updating. ]
