Short Stories

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Chapter 1

"Mommy, look at what I got for you!" the energetic little girl exclaimed as she held out a mangled dandelion.

Listlessly folding clothes, her weary mother turned her head towards the animated voice. "Oh, that's nice, Nancy; what a pretty flower! Now go back outside and play with your brother."

"Don't forget to put it in water, Mommy!" Nancy replied as she scampered back out the door. Only five years old, she already baby-sits Johnny, her two-year-old brother.

"Ok, Nan," Mommy half-heartedly promised, her attention drifting back to the household chores awaiting her. The "prized" dandelion silently dropped to the floor and shriveled up into a skinny speck. Vaguely she heard laughter coming from the back yard, and a hint of a smile appeared on her face. "At least the kids are happy and well," she pondered. With a hundred things to do, she poured another cup of coffee and continued her routine.

Cries from Johnny thirty minutes later broke into Mrs. Armstrong's labors and thoughts. Pushing her head out of the upstairs bedroom window, she called out, "Nan, what's wrong with Johnny?"

No answer. His cries became more desperate... something is wrong, terribly wrong.

Throwing the freshly washed linens onto the bed, she hurried to the stairs, hollering again, "Nancy! What's the matter with Johnny?!"

Again, no answer. Reaching a panic state, Mrs. Armstrong took the stairs two at a time, quickly reaching the doorway to the backyard, her eyes searching frantically for her children.

Johnny's voice is at its highest pitch as she bent down and removed him from his swing seat. Comforting him with hugs, she quickly pivoted around in a frenzied pursuit for her daughter, but Nancy is nowhere in sight. The gate to the fenced yard is closed; there is no sign of her on the premises.

Looking back, she scanned the back yard for Nancy as she rushed into the house. Within a few seconds she dialed 911 to report her missing daughter. As she waited for the arrival of the police, her last conversation with Nancy played over and over in her head. Her heart broke as she realized she hadn't really listened to her daughter; the treasured dandelion lies shriveled up on the kitchen floor. She had never put it into water.

Bracing herself for the ordeal that's facing her, she made a vow to tell Nancy when the police find her that she is sorry for breaking her promise. "Next time I'll listen, Nan. Promise."




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