Kerry Feltner
May 2, 2012
Flash Fiction
Caro Clark
Levitate
She had been one-speeded her entire life. Treads on her feet, her arms, her legs, her mind. She wore them out.
From the mornings she came bounding. The evenings left her alone and weary. Milly knew the process.
The Process:
Work hard in high school: AP credit, sports teams, honor societies, club president, community service, etc. Work hard in college: honors thesis, sport team, study abroad, school newspaper, etc. Be efficient. Excel. Don’t sit easy. Absorb all time. Leave nothing to chance. Tell him how you feel.Think of your parents. Be polite. Cultivate your sense of culture. Be more than you are.
“Mom, I received an offer for Americorps,” she said. “I was picked out of hundreds of applicants.”
Her mother sighed into the phone, creating further distance. “What do you expect me to say?”
Milly would resent this.
“I guess I just thought you’d be excited for me,” she said. “I am never good enough for you, right? I can never live up to your expectations.”
“I don’t understand why you’d even apply,” her mother said. “I have nothing more to say about it.”
Nothing more was said. The day came to leave and Milly found her ticket. She chose to leave. Her mother chose to cut her off.
She was born again. The sky, a womb, holding her inside.
No comments:
Post a Comment