A Breath of Fresh Air | Previous Challenge Entry

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TITLE: A Breath of Fresh Air | Previous Challenge Entry
By Marlene Bonney
08/21/16
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I think I am a goner. My siblings and other relatives are all thriving, successful and attractive. I seem to be the only exception. Just look at my sister, Rosie. She is just bursting with life and energy! She gets up each morning with renewed passion—while here I sit like a bump on a log. Even my older brother, Jack (a budding preacher) is known for his handsome physic; he jokes around all the time, “life of the party” his middle name.

My closest cousins, Iris & Lily, radiate even when they just stand still. I am envious. Will it ever be my turn to shine? I know people doubt my very existence as my silent cries for recognition go unheeded and my absence grows longer. My family makes excuses for me, each one more fantastic than its predecessors.

“Daisy? Oh, uh, I think she’s visiting Aunt Mari in New York at Madison Square Gardens.”

“She’s on vacation at Busch Gardens in Florida.”

“She’s taking her internship in Holland.”

‘Oh, really! I’m right here, thank you very much! Why not just tell them the truth? I’m a nobody, one in a sea of unfulfilled dreams,’ I think, feeling sorry for myself today.

It is an unusual afternoon, rain and sunshine playing tag with each other. I try to stretch my arms under the noonday sun to reach up and grasp its warmth, but fail again, as I have failed every day of my life.

‘Why,’ I wonder for the umpteenth time, ‘Why does the rest of my family have it so easy? They take their freedom for granted and yet are blessed and thriving!’

I peek at them all, as I do every day, from a distance that seems a mile away but, in truth, is only a few feet. Rosie is primping, her red dress furling in the breeze, sending a waft of her perfume through the air like a dispersing cloud. My brother, his uncontained vibrance spilling onto passersby, jumps around like an unruly jack-in-the-box. Lily’s yellow and brown striped blouse billows out in curled splendor as the day progresses, her green jeans a startling contrast. Iris; well, Iris is just Iris. She wears swirling colors that sway back and forth in the wind, a marvelous display of God’s unlimited imagination. I have heard that even Aunt Pansy spreads cheer wherever she is, just by her soft, smiling face. Mimi Violet (and her husband) have produced a prolific brood of children noteworthy for their dainty, yet engaging charms.

Dappled sunlight spreads across the pathway above me, interspersed with vibrating footsteps, some hurried and some slow, a spasmodic jackhammer on my roof. Just when I am nodding off into another hibernation sleep, a breath of fresh air tickles my skin, a hitherto unknown feeling! Little granules of dirt and sand rain down on my head; and then, a beam of light appears from my enlarging peephole! I raise my face in delight at the widening crack above me.

Can I actually escape my exile down here? I wiggle my body this way and that, a Houdini escaping his prison. The crack, like an opening window, enlarges enough for me to push through! I am tired from all this unfamiliar exercise, but I press on until my head and face rise to brightness so startling, my eyes have to close periodically as I slowly adjust to my new surroundings.

“Oh, goody, goody! Look! Daisy finally made it—three cheers for Daisy!”

I blink rapidly to keep my happy tears from flooding my crack, trying at the same time to duck from quickly approaching footsteps.

“Watch out, Daisy! Rush Hour!”

Then, an amazing spectacle occurs. Instead of trampling me, the pedestrians stop to marvel or walk around me.

“Will you look at that!”

“Amazing!"

“How did that single daisy survive under the pavement?!”

On enterprising young man returned a little later with a small wire cage to ‘keep you safe, little one,” but I cannot bear to be covered up. I have, instead, become the talk of the town. In the process, it seems the rest of my family is neglected, but they are so happy to see me alive, they recognize the miracle I am and take it in good stride. Although they are outstanding for their attributes, I am more notorious because of my very existence and perseverance.

I am so happy to be alive, my cheerful attitude captures the hearts of all who meet me.

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