Wednesday
Picture 2
Kimmydon's Choice: Picture 1
Title:
I was roughly the size of the house. Well, it felt that way. I was sitting on the couch, stuck, drifting off while my head rested on Peter’s shoulder. My maternity leave had started today. Home alone, all day, and just walking around exhausted me. I was so heavy. Napping had been a lost cause; it was impossible to get comfortable. Instead, I had spent the day folding away the baby clothes and arranging things on the change table. That had killed all of an hour.
Flouncing in the rocker, I had looked at the jar of rolled up dreams. Before leaving the room, I moved them to a shelf that could be seen from the crib.
My eyes drifted shut again, not listening to the news Peter had on. I felt his breath in my hair before sleep claimed me at last.
A small girl sat on the grass, her legs crossed beneath her skirt. Her hair was golden curls and she smiled with bright pink lips at me. Three empty jars sat in front of her.
I took one step, and the sun seemed to set. Everything was red-tinged, though the girl showed no reaction. Her small white teeth, all the same shape, showed now in the smile. I was still a full pace from her, so I went ahead and took a second step.
Darkness closed around us, and I sat across from her. The jars, which I had thought empty, glittered, as though fireflies were trapped inside. She lifted one with her tiny hands, holding it to me.
“Don’t drop it,” she warned. “The dream will end.”
I took the jar gingerly and looked inside. I saw an infant, a baby, a toddler, a young girl - the same one with me now - a young woman, a woman. My breath caught as I watched her grow in the jar.
A sudden stabbing pain gripped me and the jar fell to my knees, shattering and seeming to splash me.
“Beth!” Peter shouted, waking me. “Beth! I think your water just broke!”
He was right. I didn’t have time to wonder what the dream meant, only to hope I could remember it, remember the little girl and her jar of dreams.
AN: I know it's short, but that was really all the picture needed. Next week I'll detour, but hopefully a birth or a parenting story will come... we'll see what prompts I get!
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