May 25th, A New Beginning

     For today's prompt, we had to find a contest or submission deadline on a theme we like, and write a story as if we were going to submit to that market.  For me, I chose one where I had to write flash fiction which is like a freeze frame.  (A snapshot of a real story)  The characters in this story are fictitious figments of my imagination and any resemblance to real persons is totally unintentional.  This is an excerpt from a work in progress and belongs to me.  Thanks to Sandra for her help with the story and to Chris for information on organ donating.

     Alice walked into the fast food franchise with her mother, Lorna.  They stopped long enough to give their order and pick up their food before making their way to a table.  The minute they’d sat down, Lorna took out her cell phone and started texting. 

     Alice’s smile lit up her face and her blond curls bounced as she looked up at her mother.  “Mommy, guess what we did today?  We went to the wood park and pretended it was a castle.  Jimmy Joe pretended he was the dragon, and Sarah Jane got to be the princess in the tower.”

     The woman absently nodded.

     “Millicent got a new baby doll that wets when you feed it.  It’s heavy too, just like a real baby.”

     The woman’s eyes were still glued to the cell phone in her hand.

     There was silence for a couple of minutes while she ate her chicken fingers, then she tried once more to talk to her mother.  “We are going to the zoo for a class fun day.  Cara’s mom and Brittany’s dad are coming.  You can come with me if you want, Mommy.”

     An unintelligible noise was her only response. 

     Looking around, a woman sitting at the next table caught her eye and she smiled up at her. 

     The woman returned her smile and asked, “Are those chicken fingers good?”

     She nodded her head.

     Lorna looked up long enough to look at the stranger intruding on her time with her daughter before returning her gaze back to her phone. 

     Alice was quiet for a while and then looked up at her mother once again.  “I love you, Mommy.”

     Without taking her gaze off of the cell phone, and with no inflection of affection in her tone at all, Lorna replied, “I love you too.”

     She finished her meal in silence and a after a few more minutes, Lorna set her phone in her bag to gather up their trash and throw it away.  She pressed a button on the phone and lifted it to her ear as they made their way out of the restaurant. 

     Lorna reached the car first and opened the back door, then she turned to see what was keeping Alice.  As she saw her skipping toward the car, a large truck came out of nowhere and swerved into the child’s path.  The squeal of brakes was loud in the otherwise still day, and the sound of a thud as a ton of metal met a small form sounded overloud to those who were present.

     Lorna’s phone fell from her hand as she rushed to the too still form of her little girl. 

     There was a doctor in the crowd who hurried forward and asked for permission to treat the child.

     Lorna nodded numbly.

     Lainey had watched that same scene for the past two weeks.  Ever since the transplant that saved her life.  Just a year ago she’d been on top of the world at graduation.  When she’d taken the physical to join the Navy, everything changed.  She’d found out about a heart defect that would rapidly zap her of her strength. 

     She felt the tears on her cheeks as a soft light went on.  The sound of a wheelchair nearing the bed had her turning her head toward the sound. 

     Mark had come to her every night for the past two weeks.  It was as if he knew her demons and wanted to help her through a difficult time.  His hand reached out and took hold of hers.

     She felt the heat and tried to smile as she said, “I’m sorry if I woke you.”

     He grinned.  “Nah.  I was battling my own demons.”

     Her grip tightened on his hand.  “Does it ever go away?”

     He looked off in the distance before giving a shrug and saying, “I don’t think it ever goes away, but we learn to adapt.  Why don’t you tell me about it?  Maybe it will help you.”

     “They said it’s not real.  I’m just dreaming it because I read the file.  But the dream came first.  I have this feeling like I’m supposed to do something, but I don’t know what it is.”

     Mark drew closer to the bed.  “Sometimes people explain things away because they don’t understand the truth.”

     Lainey looked up into warm brown eyes.  “What about your demons?  Won’t they get jealous if you take on mine too?”

     Her thoughts went to the little bits of information Mark had given her on his nightly visits.  He’d been stationed in Afghanistan and during a routine mission his team had run into an IED.  Mark was the only one to make it out alive.  He was here because the eye that had been injured in the blast had developed complications and it was necessary for it to be removed.  He’d come into the hospital on the same day that she had.  Although there was a patch over his right eye, the bandages would be coming off soon so the doctors could see how his new eye was working.

     She scooted over so that she could place her head on his shoulder.  She liked when Mark came to visit.  She felt safe.  At twenty three, Mark was just four years older than she was.  He made all of this less scary, and made her feel like she wasn’t alone in the world anymore. 

     He winked.  “Why don’t we take them on together?”

     She closed her eyes before giving a nod as she said, “They don’t stand a chance against the two of us.”