Flash Fiction by KJ Stevens
Meelah is red-eyed. Barefoot. Wearing Strawberry Shortcake pajamas. She clutches last year’s Valentine’s Day mailbox to her chest. Reddish-brown fur and pink and white cards from third-grade classmates stick out from the slot.
I’ve been outside. Waiting. Keeping busy. The lawn needs mowing. Birdfeeders need filling. Hedges need trimming. The flowers thirst for water.
“He’s in here,” she says, shaking the box.
I follow her through the yard. She picks the dewy, overgrown garden. Points to a weedy spot between the purple tulips and white snowdrops. I sink the shovel into the ground and dig. Earthworms, split into halves, writhe in the freshly turned soil. A big gray cloud covers the sun. We’re engulfed in shadow.
“The tails die,” she says. “But the heads have the heart and brain. They can survive.”
I dig and dig some more.
“Mom taught me that,” she says.
∞
Meelah sniffles. Kneels.
“I wish she was here.”
I crouch beside her. The cloud passes. Sunlight beams.
“Me too.”
A tear slides down my face. Falls into the dirt.
“We’ll be okay,” I say.
She nods. Brings a big, fresh breath of the newly changed world inside of her and places the box in the hole.
“Night, Beasley,” she says.
Text © KJ Stevens
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