Hello everyone and welcome back to Shay's Scribbles! Today I wanted to share with all of you a short story I wrote quite a few years ago. It's a story of a girl's heartache and pain through a difficult time in her life and her best friend's life. But, before I give it all away, here it is for you to read yourself!
Looking
For Rainbows
The sky rumbled
as lightning flashed, rain poured from the heavens with deafening
might. Dark clouds covered the sun and blocked out its usual cheery
rays. It was a depressing, gloomy afternoon, especially for the lone
figure sitting next to the window, staring out at the sheet of rain.
“The sun will
come out tomorrow, Sunshine.” her dad, passing by, stopped to say.
“I know, but
right now that just doesn't seem soon enough.”
He walked over
and sat across from her. “Sometimes the best way to get our mind
off the situation at hand is to think of or do something else.”
“But what if I
don't feel like it?”
“Then you
should do it anyway.”
The girl thought
for a minute before looking up with her decision made. “We could
all play a game.”
“That sounds
more like my little sunshine.” he smiled as they joined hands and
walked out of the room to find the rest of the family.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
5 years later...
“Your move.”
thirteen year old Rosalina Hartford said for the third time.
“Oh, sorry.”
Adette Rollins turned her attention back to the chess board in
between them and precariously moved a piece.
“I wouldn't do
that.” Rosalina warned, but her friends attention was already
elsewhere. With a shrug she captured Adettes queen and put her in
check mate all in one move.
“How did that
happen?”
“Face it,
Adette, your mind hasn't been on the game.”
“No, I guess it
hasn't.”
Rosalina pushed
the game aside and focused on her friend. “What's wrong?”
Adette sighed. “I
have something I need to tell you but I don't know where to start.”
She drew in a raged breath as a couple tears fell down her cheeks.
Rosalina waited as she gathered the courage she needed to begin. “I
went to the doctor the other day and, well, I'm not well, Rosalina.”
“You're
beginning to scare me, Adette. Surely it can't be that bad.”
Adette stared at
her through misty eyes as the tears now fell freely down her cheeks
and she didn't make a move to stop them. “I have cancer.”
Rosalina sat
there in a daze. She slowly felt herself comprehending the situation
as unbidden tears fell down her cheeks. Getting up, she walked around
the table and silently hugged her friend. The two of them sat there
for a few minutes, holding each other and crying. No words were
necessary to express the sorrow they felt.
Finally they
released each other and attempted to wipe the tears from their eyes.
“How bad is it?” Rosalina asked.
“The doctor
says it's a bad case.”
“But you'll be
okay, won't you?”
“We're hoping
so.” she managed a small smile. “And we're praying. Please pray,
Rosalina, I'm scared.” tears clogged her voice. “I don't want to
die.”
Rosalina hugged
her again as their tears began to flow anew. “I'll pray, Adette, I
promise. I don't want anything to happen to you either.”
Please, God,
don't take my best friend.
Later that day
Rosalina told her parents the news.
“The sun will
come out tomorrow, Sunshine.” her dad said against her hair as he
held her crying form.
“I know, Dad, I
know,” she sobbed. “But right now that just doesn't seem soon
enough.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
2 months later...
The two girls sat
on Rosalinas bed with a card game between them and an unspoken fear
over them. It was as if ignoring Adettes illness would make it go
away, but they both know that that fantasy wasn't true.
“Rosalina, can
we talk?”
“Sure. About
what?”
“My cancer.”
“Adette, I cry
just thinking about it – don't make me talk about it.” She
swallowed hard to force the already forming lump down.
“Then just
listen.” she replied. “Look, I don't know if I'm going to survive
this or not, but if my days are numbered then I don't want our last
months together to be like this.” Silent tears fell down their
cheeks. “Our relationship has become strained to where our
conversations are seeming forced. We need to talk about,” she
paused, “it.” All Rosalina could do was nod. “I've come to
peace with it, I'm ready if it's Gods will for me to go.”
“Don't say
that!” sobs shook her body.
“I want to know
how you're doing with it.” Her only answer was continued sobs.
Adette went to the other side of the bed and wrapped her arms around
her friend. “Give it to God, Rosalina. You can't go through this
without Him.”
“I know, but
I'm too mad at Him. He's the one who made you sick in the first
place!”
Tears streamed
down her cheeks. “I know, but we have to trust that He knows what
He's doing.”
“How can you
say that when it's very possible you won't even live to see another
year?”
“My life was
never mine to begin with – it's His to do with as He sees fit. I
have faith in Him that He knows what He's doing and that my death
will be for a reason, though I may never know what that reason is.
You need to have faith, Rosalina.”
“But its hard.”
“I know, but
those are the times when it matters most. I want you to come through
this made better for having experienced it and not crushed down. Can
you do that for me?”
Rosalina turned
and wrapped her arms around Adette. “I'll try.”
“That's all I
ask for.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The next six
months passed in a blur. Rosalina took it day by day, praying and
staying encouraging for her friend. Adette had ups and downs, some
days she seemed to have never changed while others she couldn't get
out of bed.
Late one night,
while Rosalina was sleeping, she began dreaming of her and Adette. It
was as if she was watching their life from a far as she saw them
graduating together, she smiled at the party they were having and how
glad they were to be done with school. Then the scene changed and
they were having a double wedding then it changed again and they were
celebrating the birth of their first child. They were doing it all
together and they were so happy.
“Rosalina.
Rosalina, wake up.” She opened her eyes reluctantly, not wanting to
end her dream, and looked at her dad groggily. “Rosalina, honey,
Adette's taken a turn for the worse, she's on the way to the hospital
right now.” She saw the unspoken message in her dads eyes.
She tried to push
the sorrow aside and focus on getting dressed, not letting herself
think about what would most likely happen that night for fear of
breaking down in tears. On the way to the hospital, however, she let
them fall freely. She began to think over what Adette had told her so
many months before, it felt like centuries ago. Her heart breaking,
she bowed her head. God, I know I can't go through this without
You. Please be with me tonight. Help me to come out of this stronger,
like Adette said 'better for having experienced it'. Please, God,
help me – my heart is breaking. Amen.
When they arrived
at the hospital they immediately rushed up to Adette's room. Rosalina
stood beside her bed and tried to control her sobs, tried to appear
strong for her friend. Taking hold of her thin hand she drew a shaky
breath and managed, “Thanks for being such a good friend.”
Adettes only response was a weak smile at her, but it was enough.
It wasn't long
after that.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The funeral was
held a week later.
Rain drizzled
onto the sad occupants of the graveyard as they came to pay their respects. Rosalina watched through tears as they laid her best friend
to rest and covered the coffin with dirt. It was the hardest thing
she had ever endured. The preacher said a few words but she hardly
heard them, all she could focus on was the empty feeling inside of
her.
The funeral ended
and everybody left but Rosalina continued to stand there, unable to
take her eyes off the fresh mound of dirt in front of her. Her heart
felt like it was breaking into a million pieces.
She felt more
than saw her dad appear beside her. Without looking up she asked,
“Why, Dad? Why?”
“I don't know,
Sunshine. I don't know.” he replied with a deep sigh and they stood
there in comfortable silence before the small grave marker.
As they stood
there the rain finally stopped and the sun began to poke out from
behind a cloud. They watched as a rainbow began to form above them
and spread across the sky. It was a beautiful thing to behold. “After
the flood,” her dad broke the silence, “God made a rainbow so
that whenever we see it we'll remember that He promised to never
flood the world again. But when I see a rainbow, with all its bright,
cheery colors, it makes me feel as though God's smiling down at me
and patting my shoulder saying, 'Everything will be okay'. He didn't
promise life would be easy, but He did promise to be there with us
every step of the way. That's what I remember when I see a rainbow.”
Rosalina
wordlessly turned into her fathers embrace and wept out all her
sorrow all over again. “It'll be okay, Sunshine – you'll make it
through this.” he whispered in her ear. “Lean on the Lord, He's
your strong tower in times of trouble. And, most importantly, always
look for rainbows. Even though the sky may be gray and rain is
pouring down, they'll still be there, you just have to look for them.
God will never leave you nor forsake you.”
She sniffled
before saying, “Thank you, Dad.” And, with that, she knew
everything would be okay. The road ahead would be hard and trying,
but, with Gods help, and maybe even her dads, she would make it
through.
The End
Let me know what you thought of it in the comments below!
Blessings,
Shay
