The Tears Of The Stone Statue

• Soo Choi, Grade 10, Harrison School -
• Short Story
• 2019

Finalist in the 'Just Keep Writing 2019' competition

The balmy scent of mid-summer pervades the warm and cordial air and the grass beneath tickles my leg teasingly. The days were never this welcoming; I recall the violent hail and storm a year ago and the absurdly steamy day seven months back. And the light sprinkling. And the day when snow blanketed the grass.
But that is inconsequential, my dear. What is relevant is you and I.
How are you today, and don’t just say ‘good’ like you always did.
Are you enjoying the weather, perhaps you want a nice picnic?
Well, this is a picnic, though what happened has happened, and nothing is, or will be the same.
The breezy laughs; the affectionate hugs and gentle kisses. Remember the time we played hide-and-seek? And the memories of playing handclap games. The jokes I would recount and role-playing games, with me being the captain, all reminiscing our childhood.
Tears slowly, yet surely begin to swell in my eyes. I take a laboured breath in a desperate attempt to cease them, but the tears effortlessly resist it.
Oh, darling, when will you come and embrace me? Where would I unleash my joy, relief, wrath, grief and distress without your comfort?
I am, like yesterday and the days, weeks and years before that, waiting for you under the oak tree where we met and parted.
The sun is extinguishing over the horizon, and perhaps, tomorrow…
“Jimmy, look at that! Below the tree; it’s a stone statue!” Milly said enthusiastically, pointing at the stone figure.
“Milly, don’t go near that. Ma and Pa will be angry,” 12-year-old Jimmy answered his 9-year-old sister in an authoritative tone. “Haven’t you ever heard of the legend of the statue?”
Milly shook her head innocently, green eyes glistening with curiosity.
Jimmy surveyed the periphery quickly and lowered his voice.
“Crazy woman, the statue was. Tortured her fiancé to death. Confined him, said nasty words and use him as a slave, thinking it was a mere game. Eventually, he hung himself on the oak tree,” Jimmy said, scared that their absent parents would somehow hear, “The lunatic didn’t realise her sins and thought he abandoned her. She waited for her fiancé underneath where he died. Over time, her body solidified and she became a stone, never knowing what she’d done.”
“Oh no. I don’t like that, Jimmy, please stop,” Milly whispered.
“See, I told you Ma and Pa didn’t like it. Just forget what I said, Milly,” Jimmy sighed. “Let’s go; it’s dark and I’m getting goosebumps.”
The two left the sight hurriedly and Jimmy thought Milly would forget the story. But it was hard to erase what people told you to forget, and Milly eternally reminded herself of God’s punishments if she did such horrible things.