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| NATALIE NOBES lives in Southern Ontario where she writes, sketches, and dabbles in computer graphics. |
| "clouds" Bumblebees buzzed their way through the sweet scent of honeysuckle. My brother and I sat on the front porch swing and watched clouds puff up. Bobby never could quite see the magic shapes I saw, but that didn't stop him from trying. "See the big nose? Looks like a face. Right, Lisa? Right?" "That's a unicorn horn." "Looks like a nose." "Nope, that's the horn." I heard him say 'nose' real soft and low. Then he rubbed his hand over his crew cut. It bothered me so when he did that, but he kept on doing it. All kind of prickly, but soft he'd say. Make up your mind I'd tell him. "Look Bobby, over there." The clouds were just changing into a rabbit when the porch shook with a bang. Mine blast. A big one. Bobby jumped up real fast and I darned near laughed, except the blast was way louder than I'd ever heard and it scared me some. Every time it happened our ma would say how one of these days the whole town was going to fall into the ground on account of how many tunnels were being dynamited out. But she'd never say so when Pa was around to hear. Bobby's voice got all shaky. "Whoa, that was pretty..." The siren sounded. Cave in. Pa was working day shift. My stomach turned all jelly like. Bobby plunked himself back down beside me. "Pa's okay, ain't he Lisa? "I was trying real hard not to think about what happened to Mr. Collier and looked at the clouds. Bobby just wouldn't stop asking so I shoved him right off the swing and he ran in the house crying. I felt real bad. Didn't mean it. Least not that hard. A few months back Lucy Collier's daddy got his leg pinned under a big rock slide and I heard folks telling how they had to cut it off right there...in the dark...below the ground...leaving the leg under all that rock. All I could think of was that leg with the boot still on, just rotting away. I wonder if he thought about it too. I hardly went over to her house any more. I couldn't stop thinking about that leg and I couldn't stop looking at those clouds. The phone jangled inside the house. The magic shapes were gone. *** Ma came out and let the screen door slam behind her. "Watch your brother. I'll be back soon as I can." She had on her good hat. I looked at her and all's I could get out was, "Ma?" She smiled and patted my cheek, "Nothing to fret about Sweet Pea. I'll be back before you know it." And she took off down the street real quick. I wanted to cry 'cause I was so scared. Ma told me everything was going to be fine and I wanted to believe that was so, except when she went off down the road, she was still wearing her slippers. ### |
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