by Jessica Lawson
Beep, beep, beep went the alarm on her watch. Her eyes opened. She rose to her feet, grabbed her cell phone, lip-gloss and mirror and opened the screen door to her house stepping into the living room and her nightmare.
“Jennifer!” cried her mother from the living room. She knew she had to go in, Mom had heard her come in; there was no avoidance. The smell of smoke was so strong it almost knocked her out upon entering the living room.
“Why don’t you get them yourself,” was Jennifer’s reply.
“You little brat I otta whack you one, go get those cigarettes now!”
Jennifer flipped her beautiful hair over her shoulder, turned and went to fetch her mom’s smokes. After handing them to her she went, got dressed, called a few friends then left for the movies. Upon coming home three hours later, Jennifer could hear the fight loud and clear but just ignored it and went to bed.
She closed her eyes and said her nightly prayers, “Dear God, what did I do to deserve a mother like I have? I wouldn’t be able to get by if Daddy didn’t send that money to me from wherever he is this week. It’s his fault. Before he left, Mom’s life was great . . . but now look — she’s a mess. I wish I was a butterfly, then I could fly away from here to somewhere special and bring Jacob with me. I could be free.”
She stood up to get out of bed, half-asleep, reached for the door, and then realised she was in a new world. It was weirdly rounded. She broke through the walls and saw she had been in a cocoon.
She spread her wings and seeing her brother on a branch up ahead flew up to see him. And together they flew away from the pain and frustration they left behind and flew into the magic world of butterfly dreams.
Jessica Lawson writes poetry and fiction. The 13-year-old is a member of the Miramichi Writers’ Group.