Coping Memories

Trinity bent over to pick up the fallen sign again. She sighed as the rain made the black ink drip. The nasty wind did not make matters easier either. Instead of thumbtacking the sign, she decided to duct tape it, no matter how horrific it looks. Her goal today was to sell her outgrown clothes, it was okay if her stand didn’t look as desirable as she hoped it would be.

The cardboard box that was packed with neatly folded clothes was now soggy. Trinity rubbed her temples, this is a disaster, I picked the worst location to sell. She decided to snap out an umbrella and talk with wandering individuals to persuade them. Unfortunately, her efforts were not enough.

The girl patiently waited until a young boy walked up to her stand. He was short with ruffled hair. Trinity glanced down at him and bent down so she could communicate with him face-to-face. “Do you find any of these outfits interesting?” He ignored her and fiddled with some clothes before placing them down in the box.

”Would you like to purchase any? I think they would be perfect for you.” Trinity suggested. Finally, the little boy glanced up at her and tilted his head, “Why are costumes and others worn out completely?”

”Well when I was your age I used to wear these.”

”Why are you selling them then?”

”I need money and I want to share my memories and imagination with others.”

”What kind of memories?”

Trinity looked up into the cloudy sky for a few seconds before rummaging through one of the boxes and pulling out a white night gown with small sparkling stars. “When I was eight my mom and dad had gotten into a fight. This happened often but this one was frightening. I was wearing this gown at the time and had been crying under my sheets. By the time my mother stormed out of the house, I was already fast asleep, and I had a dream about waking up in a cloudy heaven.”

”In the heaven, I woke up with wings. The wings let me fly across the entire place, and it was astonishing. The best part of it was that there were many other children there, the children all looked different but we’re wearing the same white gown. They were talking, playing hopscotch, prancing in the rain, or fixing each other’s hair. It was the most wonderful thing.”

“At that time I had been so separated from other children since my father often locked my in our house and forbid me from seeing anyone. With my wings, I flew down to the children and talked to them. Fortunately for me, they all thought and talked like me. I made so many new companions that I was dying to share with the person I loved most, my own mother.”

”I decided to search the entire heaven but found no sign of hope. I was devastier with the results so I sat down on the ground with tears streaming down my face. I finally had something special in my hands and the one and only person that loved me was nowhere in sight. A chilly air mass brushed my left arm, leaving goosebumps to begin, I turned to the the sky which was now dark, I peered into the darkness and saw tiny stars begin to form.”

“I wiped my eyes and stepped forward, the tiny stars slowly came together to form the shape of a familiar female face that I saw almost every day. My lips began to form into a smile that grew to a large expansion. Something in that exquisite sight, I felt like I finally felt the hope and peace within.”

”What’s the point of the story?” The young boy asked. Trinity didn’t respond and instead took out a torn red shirt and bandana. She smiled at them. “These wonderful things are the point, they helped me go through the struggles as a child, and the trauma my father gave to me.”

”So you go to another dimension?”

”Somewhat, mainly imagining the best of the worst situations.”

”I think your story was cool.”

”I think that you are an amazing listener.”

The young boy rummaged through his pockets, hoping to find some money to give to Trinity. However, he only came up with a few pebbles and penny.

”I enjoyed your story very much.” The young boy said. Trinity declined the offer and instead offered him a red sweater. “You can keep your rocks, but have this gift, it’s a sweater I wore when I became a red bird that flew out of it’s small cage.”

The boy gasped and slid his arms through the holes. He smiled, “I love it so much thank you!” Trinity formed the smile she had when she was in the cloudy heaven. “And what’s your name?” She immediately asked. “Firebird! Because now I am an unleashed red firebird!” He moved his arms so they could looks like wings.

Trinity mimicked him before looking up into the dark and clear sky. And there for the last time, she saw her mother’s face in the stars.

Epilogue: The young boy wore the sweater every single day and told everyone who asked the same story, however, not many people believed him. The boy had also been suffering at home and used the sweater to imagine wonderful and magical places to make him feel happier.

The young boy had dreams about pirate ships or strange new lands. The boy would go to visit the girl every time he got a chance and they discussed experiences together that they enjoyed. Trinity was one of his closest friends and he felt as if he could trust her with almost everything in his life.

However Trinity never existed was another factor of his coping. For all his years of his father’s abuse he longed for a friend who could understand what he had been through and what he dreamed of. The boy later grew to become a writer, and he shared his stories with others around the world.