Summerween Writing Challenge #6 TWILIGHT
Photo A.M. Moscoso
Tumbleweed Cole is growing up in a very traditional family.
He has lived for his entire life in the suburbs of Seattle with his Mother Valerie and, his Father Nester and his sister, Junebug.
Tumbleweed played baseball and Junebug collected Barbie dolls and Unicorns, they went to their Grandparent’s home on Sundays for Family dinners and Junebug and Tumbleweed bought their Halloween costumes at a small dusty department store in Meakersville where there was an actual Soda Fountain with barstools at the counter and post office in the back of the building .
Last Sunday Valerie got caught short and she realized it was Sunday.
” Oh no it’s Sunday! ” she cried in distress from the basement where she was doing laundry. ” Nester, it is SUNDAY. I forgot. I thought it was Saturday!” she grabbed her laundry basket off of the folding table. ” Oh no,no, no! ”
She ran up the stairs and burst into the hallway that led to the living room and the dining room ( which they only used for special occasions, the rest of the time they ate in the kitchen ) ” Children, are you up? It’s Sunday! It’s time to get ready to go to Grandma’s and Grandpa’s!”
Nester appeared in the hallway with the morning paper in his hand. ” Of course they’re not up yet, it’s Sunday morning Valerie ” he said again gently in the hope she would not only hear what he was saying but understand him too. When she went, as their children would say ‘batpoo crazy ” he ability to understand what was being said went poof.
‘ Oh, it’s Morning? ” she ran dropped her laundry basket at her feet. Valerie had grabbed the wrong basket. Instead of the clean clothes she had brought up her family’s dirty laundry- inside the basket were blood stained and graveyard dirt encrusted dress shirts and slacks and Junebug’s little sundress with cartoon Unicorns marching around the bodice. ” It’s only Morning. I’m sorry dear. I got so busy with getting the food ready for today that I just lost track of time. ”
” Well. I have always said you need to relax Val, so come one. I’ll help you prep the dinner after we get some sleep. ”
Nester pushed the laundry basket against the wall and as he put his arm around his wife the shadows in the hall wrapped themselves around them like a soft warm blanket and took them up to their room…
and from the basement someone, maybe two somebodies were calling for help but the only people who could possibly hear them were dead to the world- until nightfall anyway.
AI Artwork by Cursejourney