Safiah
wasn’t an earnest tree lover.
Safiah eyed the note lying in
Malia’s fingers. Sam’s letter, she recognized. It was smudged with
stains that resembled tears. Holes were beginning to form in those
spots. The water was too much for the brittle paper to handle and
it was shredding. Malia gathered the torn pieces and placed them in
her pocket.
“What’s happened, Malia?” she
whispered.
A golden headscarf, Malia admired.
A light blue dress. Such beautiful colors, she marveled. Safiah
always wore the most stunning of colors.
“Malia, why aren’t you speaking?”
Safiah’s eyes were not simply bright with worry. They were gleaming
with fear. “Something has happened, hasn’t it? It’s your brother.”
She waited for a reply. None came. “Malia, you can tell me what
happened. I can help.”
The morning bells chimed,
signaling the start of classes. It was ten in the morning. Safiah
did not flinch a muscle. A boy on a mountain bike, a backpack
strapped across one arm, zoomed past them. A cluster of giggling
girls strolled by, their hair tied back sophisticatedly, a black
leather handbag harnessed to each of their shoulders. A middle-aged
man jogged briskly with his dog through the park while whistling
classic John Lennon tunes.
“They don’t know where he is. He’s
gone, Safiah,” she looked at her friend. Friend, she thought. In
spite of everything, somehow she had managed to make a friend.
Safiah exhaled heavily and
contemplated. After several moments of silence, she spoke. “Malia,
that doesn’t mean he’s not coming back.”
“Doesn’t it, though?”
Safiah looked to the sky. At the
swirls of white and blue. “When I was a little girl, I got lost in
the corn fields. Every afternoon, it was my obligation to harvest
the vegetables. And I got lost within acres and acres of starch.
For hours I tried desperately to find my way back. And eventually,
I did.” But she looked uncertain. “And maybe... maybe you’re
brother will....”
“No.” Malia lifted herself from
the ground, swiping her backside. She looked at her hands. They
were soiled with gunk and green smears. “No. This is not like that
at all. I have no way of knowing whether he’s alive or...
or....”
“You can’t think like that. It
will destroy you. Your brother would not want you to think like
that,” Safiah stood now, as well, her dress stained with grass. But
she didn’t mind.
“You know, I supported him. I told
him that if this was what he really wanted, that he should go for
it.” Malia was no longer speaking to Safiah. She spoke to the
trees, to the shrubs, to the clouds, but not to Safiah. “I am to
blame, in a way.”
“ No, Malia, that is absurd.
You are not at fault here.” Safiah tried to reason with her. Almost
uselessly.
“But what about Danny? He promised
me... he swore. That he’d protect him.” She no longer fretted over
allowing Safiah to see her tears. Her vulnerability. Her weakness.
“How could he let this happen? How could he do this to me?” It was
almost as if Safiah wasn’t even there.
Her light blue gown was
camouflaged. Blurred with the light blue tint of the sky.
“Malia!” she shouted. Her voice
was no longer a thin needle. It was a fierce storm.
“What?” Malia turned to face
Safiah. Her eyes were wide with desperation. She instantly
regretted shouting at Safiah. Her helpless friend. Her life such a
tragedy. Not too different from her own.
“Let me help you,” Safiah offered.
Malia froze.
That’s what
Danny said , she thought. When everything was falling apart. He said he would
help me. She pictured his Red Sox baseball
cap. Now when everything’s
falling apart all over again, where is he? The one he never went anywhere without. Similar to him and her
brother. Always together. What
would Danny do now that Sam was gone? How would he go on without
him?
“You already have.” She looked at
Safiah. Her eyes sparkled with pain. Safiah’s heart was probably
still
wasn’t an earnest tree lover.
Safiah eyed the note lying in
Malia’s fingers. Sam’s letter, she recognized. It was smudged with
stains that resembled tears. Holes were beginning to form in those
spots. The water was too much for the brittle paper to handle and
it was shredding. Malia gathered the torn pieces and placed them in
her pocket.
“What’s happened, Malia?” she
whispered.
A golden headscarf, Malia admired.
A light blue dress. Such beautiful colors, she marveled. Safiah
always wore the most stunning of colors.
“Malia, why aren’t you speaking?”
Safiah’s eyes were not simply bright with worry. They were gleaming
with fear. “Something has happened, hasn’t it? It’s your brother.”
She waited for a reply. None came. “Malia, you can tell me what
happened. I can help.”
The morning bells chimed,
signaling the start of classes. It was ten in the morning. Safiah
did not flinch a muscle. A boy on a mountain bike, a backpack
strapped across one arm, zoomed past them. A cluster of giggling
girls strolled by, their hair tied back sophisticatedly, a black
leather handbag harnessed to each of their shoulders. A middle-aged
man jogged briskly with his dog through the park while whistling
classic John Lennon tunes.
“They don’t know where he is. He’s
gone, Safiah,” she looked at her friend. Friend, she thought. In
spite of everything, somehow she had managed to make a friend.
Safiah exhaled heavily and
contemplated. After several moments of silence, she spoke. “Malia,
that doesn’t mean he’s not coming back.”
“Doesn’t it, though?”
Safiah looked to the sky. At the
swirls of white and blue. “When I was a little girl, I got lost in
the corn fields. Every afternoon, it was my obligation to harvest
the vegetables. And I got lost within acres and acres of starch.
For hours I tried desperately to find my way back. And eventually,
I did.” But she looked uncertain. “And maybe... maybe you’re
brother will....”
“No.” Malia lifted herself from
the ground, swiping her backside. She looked at her hands. They
were soiled with gunk and green smears. “No. This is not like that
at all. I have no way of knowing whether he’s alive or...
or....”
“You can’t think like that. It
will destroy you. Your brother would not want you to think like
that,” Safiah stood now, as well, her dress stained with grass. But
she didn’t mind.
“You know, I supported him. I told
him that if this was what he really wanted, that he should go for
it.” Malia was no longer speaking to Safiah. She spoke to the
trees, to the shrubs, to the clouds, but not to Safiah. “I am to
blame, in a way.”
“ No, Malia, that is absurd.
You are not at fault here.” Safiah tried to reason with her. Almost
uselessly.
“But what about Danny? He promised
me... he swore. That he’d protect him.” She no longer fretted over
allowing Safiah to see her tears. Her vulnerability. Her weakness.
“How could he let this happen? How could he do this to me?” It was
almost as if Safiah wasn’t even there.
Her light blue gown was
camouflaged. Blurred with the light blue tint of the sky.
“Malia!” she shouted. Her voice
was no longer a thin needle. It was a fierce storm.
“What?” Malia turned to face
Safiah. Her eyes were wide with desperation. She instantly
regretted shouting at Safiah. Her helpless friend. Her life such a
tragedy. Not too different from her own.
“Let me help you,” Safiah offered.
Malia froze.
That’s what
Danny said , she thought. When everything was falling apart. He said he would
help me. She pictured his Red Sox baseball
cap. Now when everything’s
falling apart all over again, where is he? The one he never went anywhere without. Similar to him and her
brother. Always together. What
would Danny do now that Sam was gone? How would he go on without
him?
“You already have.” She looked at
Safiah. Her eyes sparkled with pain. Safiah’s heart was probably
still
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