Happiness At Last.

• Tia Milligan, Grade 6
• Short Story
• 2010

One cold winter’s morning, a young girl named Maria awoke in her double bed. The sun shone through her glass window, as it urged her to get up. The sound of her step dad Frank humming and birds twittering in the distance filled her ears as she glanced at the cream ceiling. She stared blankly at the photo that hung in the corner of the room. Her eyes filled with tears, as she cleared her throat loudly.
The picture was backgrounded at a nice small park. On the swing set was her, and her mum. Mum’s dark blue eyes shone in the sun just like Maria’s. Her nose was small and a bit narrow, which was bordered by the deepest, most beautiful hair. It bobbed around her shoulders as it parted in the cool summer’s breeze.
Maria clambered up, moving slowly towards the kitchen. The halls walls were full of photos, mostly of the family. The lime green paint which her mum had chosen could hardly be seen because of all the photos.
Maria walked into the small kitchen and moved over to the black barstools. The kitchen was also painted a light green, with the dishwasher and fridge side to side. The tiles were white as little stains littered across the floor like the wind had helplessly blew, and small grains came through the window and stained the floor.
“Hello Maria!” Frank said in a happy tone, moving over to the white cupboard. Frank tries to make the most of life, and being happy even when he knows how hurt he is inside. His hairy fist reached into the cupboard and brought out two black plates.
“Morning Frank,” Maria mumbled looking down at her plain nails. Today was just one of those days were you just don’t want to go to school. Maria liked school until the day of her mother’s death.
“Be great at school, be happy, I love you,” Those were her mums exact words before her death. But Marie just couldn’t like school, especially because she was teased by the bullies because she doesn’t have a mum. Suddenly a loud thump woke her up from her day dream. It was the black plate with golden pancakes cooked to perfection.
Maria stuffed down the last of the delicious serving and her soft hand reached out and snatched at the glass of orange juice. The last of the juice was swallowed down, and she got up out of the finely stitched chair and moved towards her bedroom. Once again, the pictures glared in the sunlight that shone upon them, coming from the windows. The ground was cold beneath her feet as she moved swiftly down the hall.
She stepped over all the clothes littered across the floor and finally reached her closet. She opened the cold gold handle and looked inside. The clothes were half hanging on the coat hangers, and shoes over piled in the small space they had to fit in. Her hand was like it hand a mind of its own and it just knew what clothes were right for the day.
Maria pulled her silky red t-shirt over her head, as well as she stepped into her black genie pants and plain black sandals. Maria walked out the back door quietly. With her head down, she walked in silence staring at her small feet. The sky was grey and clouds formed together like it was going to pour. She finally looked up and saw the place she had set out to go to. She slowly walked over.
Maria stood nervously on the cliffs edge watching the storm clouds rolling in. Tears filled her pale blue eyes, and soon perfectly round tears trickled down her pale face. The sound of tiny rain drops hitting the rough surface filled her sensitive ears. Cold winds whipped across her face like someone slapping you, hard.
Maria collapsed to her knees, fully crying. The clouds parted to let a tear of sunlight through. The sun moved in between the clouds, and shone onto the glistening water. In the sunlight, it formed a perfect circle formed. It was as though her mum was calling from heaven, wanting her to jump in.
The winds whistled, and Maria heard noises that sounded like her mum years before she had got sick with cancer. She shook her head trying to get her mum out of her head, but with the tear in the clouds she just knew it was her mum wanting her to jump. The winds whistled harder, and Maria shut her pale blue eyes tightly, so very hard to forget about the winds. Finally her wary blue eyes opened.
The scrawny figure inhaled the fresh air, and reached up to her plain brown hair. She gently undid the black lackey ban, her brown hair bobbing around her scrawny shoulders. She quickly slipped off her black sandals. She once more breathed in the scent of her mother’s presence.
The young girl’s steps fell softly on the red dirt like raindrops on autumn leaves. Her bright red t-shirt flapped in the breeze as she neared the edge of the steep cliff. “One, Two, Three,” she whispered under her breath.
Maria took one more step, and jumped off the edge. Her body was in the soldier position. Her thin brown hair stood on end forced by the weightlessness drop, her shirt flapped wildly in the vicious wind. Her face was as pale as a concrete slab. Her dazed blue eyes stared at the glistening water, as her small nose twitched.
Her feet followed by the rest of her body, hit the blue water with a splash. Her figure disappeared into the sea. Her small head popped up out of the water, and then disappeared. At last, she was finally at her happy place.