Vignettes

My first post. This was a project for school so hey, why not share it?


The End of Spring

Never mind how beautiful the outside was, the world was blooming and the grass simply startled from the morning dew and a kissing sun. The trees kissed back and the cloudless sky rewarded them with a breeze. Never mind that outside, because we were all content to be there.
We were cheering. A few of us wanted to throw our graduation caps in the air like they did on TV but we were still young, afraid of what our mothers would say. So we pretended to throw them and laughed afterwards, trying to spot our parents to tell them to wait outside. Just five more minutes of innocence.
"Sign my yearbook," one of my friends said, shoving a book and pen in my face. I smiled and signed her book, not knowing the future me would wonder what importance a 5th grader could possibly put in a "yearbook." Who gave 5th graders yearbooks anyway?
I finished, handing her the book bound in leather. She got me into an awkward sort of hug, me clumsily retracting after a few eternal seconds.
"Promise to keep in touch?" She asked and I nodded, knowing I'd like to but wouldn't, seeing as speaking wasn't something I'd quite mastered. I think I saw her a few years later, loud and promiscuous. After that I never saw her again.
Most of my friends, close as we were, I never saw again. I wish I would've said goodbye, a goodbye suitable for people gone for eternity from your world.

Leaves of Fall

It was one of those summer showers, I think. The sun blared alarmingly, radiant and large. It was still cool though, winds blowing and rain coming from no where. Trees were still green, full and proud and standing like soldiers awaiting the reaper that was autumn. I could see it all from my window, the bright sunshine through the dreary rainfall.
The strain of the day wore me thin, splashing inside my head like the rain against the window. Clear your head, my thoughts said through the haze. Clearing sounded good.
I picked up the phone and dialed, waiting for an answer. It felt like ashes and wine were in my throat when I spoke, but that was better than the cinder blocks I felt before.
"Hello?" I don't know if anyone would've heard me if they had answered. It was silent before the answering machine played and I hung up and dialed again, daring myself to speak louder. Again, no answer.
My best friend must be out, my thoughts coughed out, knowing I shouldn't be surprised. Four walls weren't as comfortable for some as they were for others.

"What do you mean gone?" The questioning was repetitive, classmates asking the same questions over and over.
"Where did he go? When?" I had answers for them, but none for me. He had moved away, him and his family. A block had settled in my stomach since I found out, a block of acceptance. And I was guilty I accepted that he was...
"Gone? Just like that? Is he coming back?" Years of friendship, it now all seemed wasted. What if he became just another face I never saw again? I wish I wasn't left so unsure. But this was the beginning of a new friendship. Me and uncertainty became the best of buds.



Coldest Days of Winter

"No I'm fine." I don't think I was. But then again, I couldn't feel anything.
I couldn't see much through the fog. It was a thick, festering haze, bitter and numbing, isolating almost. Good.
The wind was cutting, burning and chilling exposed fingers and faces as they walked toward the warmth of car pools or trains or buses. There were leaves, hundreds, lining the concrete, their colors rusting, looking as if they were dieing.
"Then talk to me!" She exclaimed, moving closer. "I'm your girlfriend, thats what people in relationships do. They talk."
She was right. With any type of relationship you had to communicate. I, however, was interested in the thread that was loose from my glove. She sighed.
"Is there somethin' I did wrong-"
"I can't be with you." I interrupted, more abruptly than I meant too. The wind howled and the dead leaves now roared to life, furious.
"Why?"
"This just isn't working-" I said, my voice trailing off, lost in the fog.
"'Cause your not makin' it work!" She shouted brutally. She had the right, I didn't even know the real reason I wanted this thing to end...
"I know." I said in agreement, but with less feeling than I wanted.
"You keep pushin' everyone away! I thought I could stop that but I guess not." I wish I hadn't pushed her away, or a lot of other people for that matter. For the first time in a long while I think I actually felt something that day.

Warm and Cold Front

"Your a jerk Tye." My friend Shiyah said after regaining his composure.
The Manhattan skyline towered somewhere that seemed far off, resembling massive concrete and metal arms reaching out toward the sky, glittering ice falling over a wonderland of a city. It snowed over us as we walked, laughing to keep ourselves warm. The flurries looked so delicate, floating toward the ground. Even when they hit ground they landed slowly, their death simply being a transformation.
"I think asshole is more suitable." Ali commented, causing me and Shiyah to look at him as if he had grown a second nose. "What?"
"Nothing...it's just I never heard you curse before." I said. I admit, I was used to Ali's proper use of speech and dignified manner, modestly approaching a conflict in a timid way rather than..."asshole."
"Well I feel comfortable around you guys. I mean, I consider both of you my best friends." He looked to the ground, which was already covered in a thin layer of snow. We were quiet, searching each other for a response.
"Yeah...I do too. Even da asshole over here." Shiyah said, grinning and I looked up to face them. Something warm passed through me, shaking my spine and soothing my stomach.
"Well...I guess you guys are alright." I said and we all began laughing and before I knew it, I was ducking a snowball. I wish I could say how much I appreciate them. My two best friends, who have done more for me than they'll ever know.


Roses in Snow

I carried two roses, unaffected by the chilling February air. Two roses, both a deep red with delicate petals and sturdy stems. I held both of them out in front of me and squinted, sort of blending them with the snowy backdrop. The effect was breathtaking, even though the occasion was saddening.
The tombstone of Ali's father was covered in snow and flowers. It was the anniversary of his death and I had come along for 'moral support'. But all I did was stand there, watching my breathing vaporize in the winter air.
"You ok?" I asked, partly to break the silence.
"Yeah."
This would be a good time to show how much his friendship means too you, my thoughts frantically pushed. But no words could come out, at least none of gratitude. I wish I could say something, just something to make him feel better. Anything to end the pain and the emptiness he felt, anything to end the sadness which hunched his back as he walked.
Something would come.


The Beginning of Spring

I remember how beautiful the outside was, things were still growing and the sun was already creeping. It crept across the May skies and everything seemed to slowly awaken as if re-animated, breathing along with us. Yeah, I remember the outside and the feeling of life.
We were cheering. We knew a secret that most hadn't figured out. Life was something that had to be lived to the fullest and even shared with people you trust and care about.
"Talk to you guys later," I said into the receiver as my door opened.
"Later," my two best female friends said and I ended the call. Shiyah and Ali walked about my house as if they lived there. That warm shiver went through me again.
"What are you, tryin' to get rid of us with new friends?" They mocked and I looked at them both.
I wish I hadn't pushed people away for so long. I told myself it was to protect me, but somewhere down the road I didn't even know what I needed protection from.
I said, "Oh please, suck it up you wimps."