I had forgotten that I had written this...
His
Eyes
Anna Rohaly
Blue
eyes,
the
color of
the
sky before a storm.
These
eyes pierce me
like
a ray of light
through
the clouds.
They
look for me across
the
room, drawing
my
gaze to meet his.
His
face softens
and
the clouds
drift
from his eyes,
blue
eyes.
Its been a while since I posted so I'll put this up too :-)
The
Triumph of the Jet
Anna
Rohaly
Maria
was pushing the cart while her two children trailed along behind her.
Four year old a Sarah was trying to put cereal boxes into the cart,
revealing her sweet tooth in her choices. Lucky Charms, Coco Puffs,
and Trix were all dragged behind her as she toddled towards the cart.
Maria sighed as she refused the cereal for the third time.
“Jeremy
can you – ” She turned to see that he was gone again. She heard
little “hero noises” coming from the other side of the wall. She
left the cart and walked around to the other side of the isle.
“Jeremy please stop disappearing and stay with me!” The eight
year old boy turned to face her, making his superhero cape flutter.
He caught the edges of the red cloth and ran towards her so that the
cape flew out behind him. Maria smiled and together with her goggled
son turned back to the cart and – Sarah! Maria flew around the
corner but it was too late. Sarah was already gone.
~*~
Henry
looked up and saw the young woman and her be-goggled and caped son
come running around the corner, he assumed that she was the mother of
the child who had been there just a second ago. He turned to see
where the child went and understood the mother's worry. The girl was
gone.
“Did you see my daughter?” She asked, fear creasing her face in the most unattractive way.
“Did you see my daughter?” She asked, fear creasing her face in the most unattractive way.
“I
did and I thought she was just behind me but she's gone now,” Henry
said apologetically and watched as the pair rushed off. He turned
back to look at the wall in front of him, not really knowing what he
was looking at. He had never backed a cake and his wife Amy's
birthday was tomorrow. He wanted to do something she would consider
sweet. He sighed. They hadn't been doing so well lately and he really
felt like she was just a few more fights away from leaving him. He
had wanted to buy her a beautiful cake from the bakery, but with his
medical school bills coming in to bite him, he couldn't afford one of
their cakes and a present. Besides, she would enjoy his attempts to
bake even if he failed miserably. He sighed again, staring at the
boxes of cake mix, vaguely hoping the easiest one would just hop off
the shelf and into his basket for him.
“Excuse
me, sir?” he turned to see a beautiful woman, a few years younger
than him, walking towards him. She was wearing the store uniform and
her golden hair sparkled under the florescent lights and her name tag
glinted “Allyson.” She looked remarkably like Amy as she smiled
at him. “Did you need help with anything?”
Heat
flooded his face as he had to stop himself from checking her out. She
was gorgeous and it made his head reel.
“Um,
yeah, if you know how to bake a cake,” He said, feeling like an
idiot. He looked over his shoulder, just to make sure Amy wasn't in
the store watching him. He turned back to Allyson and put on a
charming smile.
“I
think I might remember how,” She said, “Lets see what we've got.”
Together
they turned to the cake mix and Henry looked with new fascination as
she pointed out a chocolate cherry cake on top. It was Amy's favorite
cake, it occurred to him vaguely as he tried not to imagine Allyson's
mouth.
“Alright,
this recipe calls for some eggs and milk, so we have to head to the
other end of the store,” Allyson was saying. Henry nodded and fell
into step with her as she turned to walk down the isle. On the way
there, they passed the woman with her daughter by the vegetable stand
and vaguely wondered how they had found her before his thoughts
turned again to Allyson.
~*~
Maria
had left the man standing in front of the cakes feeling quite annoyed
as well as worried. If she had seen a child wondering around a store
she would have stopped them and asked if they were lost and talked
until a parent arrived. Apparently he did not know the first thing
about children.
Her
panic was rising as she and Jeremy raced up and down the isles and
Sarah was no where to be found. Reaching the other end of the store,
she turned back and ran towards the manager's station where she knew
Michael would be working.
She
had met Michael shortly after her husband had died. He was a nice man
and she knew that he would be willing to help her look for Sarah.
“Michael!”
She called to him. He turned and waved, then paused, seeing her face.
“Michael,
I can't find Sarah, she wandered off while I had my back turned and I
can't find her. I've looked everywhere and I – ” Michael was
already on his way out from behind the counter. He put his arm around
her shoulders.
“Breath
Maria, it's going to be alright,” His blue eyes looked at her, “We
will find her. I promise.”
They
went off towards all of Sarah's favorite spots in the grocery store.
They sprinted to the cereal isle, to the candy isle, and to the dairy
section before going back to comb the rest of the store with Jeremy
and his cape flying out behind him. Michael was making an
announcement over the loud speaker as the man who had last seen her
baby walked past. Maria could not help but wonder if he actually knew
where her child had gone.
“Maria,
lets go look in the cart, possibly she dropped something in there,”
Michael said taking her hand and leading her back to the cart. “Is
there anything missing?”
Maria
looked down into the cart and began checking off the items in her
mind.
“The
vegetables,” She cried, “The vegetables are gone!”
“Maybe
she went in that direction then,” Michael replied and together they
took off down the isle to look for her.
“Sarah!”
Maria called, panic rising when she did not see her daughter. Michael
held up his hand for a moment, pausing as an idea struck him. He
headed towards the table holding the apples and Maria followed
closely. As they approached the table Maria could see the cloth runner move. Diving to her knees she ripped back the cloth
and was met with her sight of her daughter trying to shove carrots
down a floor drain.
~*~
“You'll
need two eggs and and some milk,” Allyson said, flashing Henry a
smile that consumed his attention far more than her words. Still, her
smile brought a sweet memory of Amy from before they were married. He
pushed the thought away as Allyson began to tell him step by step how
to create this cake. As she kept talking he came to a decision. He
wanted to see her again.
As
he opened his mouth to mention to her the possibility of meeting
later at a bar just as her cell phone started ringing.
“Oh,
it's my sister, excuse me for just a second,” Allyson said, her
face looking worried. “We haven't talked for years.” She flipped
open her cell phone and turned away from him.
“Hello?”
Allyson said hesitantly. She was met with an audible stream of tears.
Henry had to stop a moment, pretending not to be listening. The
crying sounded vaguely familiar. The woman on the other side of the
phone started talking.
“Ally
its Henry,” He started at his name. “I don't think he really
loves me anymore” and she burst into tears again. He did not need
to hear Allyson's next comment to know who it was.
“Aw,
Amy I'm sure that's not true!” Allyson's voice had softened.
It
was his wife. Allyson was his wife's estranged sister. Henry picked
up a carton of eggs, feeling shame fill him as his ears filled with
the sound of his wife's desperate tears. He no longer wanted
Allyson's company. It was time for him to go home. He had a cake to
bake.
Turning
away and leaving Allyson behind him, he walked away to go home to his
wife. It was then that he heard the shots.
~*~
While
his mother had been searching for Sarah, Jeremy had grown bored of
searching for his sister behind mother. He would search for her
himself. After all, he was Jeremy Jet, the superhero of the century!
Holding his cape out behind him he began sneaking through the store,
whispering and calling his sister.
As
he approached the dairy section, he saw an old woman leaning over the
yogurts. She looked nice. He began creeping closer and closer,
practicing his invisibility powers to get near her. He watched
her and as he watched, he noticed a man walking quietly towards the
woman. The man looked suspicious. Jeremy Jet would keep watch over
the old lady.
The
man walked up to the cart and reached into her purse and pulled out
her wallet, glancing at the license. Jeremy gasped as the man pulled
out a gun and aimed it at the old woman's back.
“NOOOOOO!”
yelled Jeremy and he ran out from behind the shelves, flying towards
the man full speed. The man whirled around, shock on his face. The
gun went off and Jeremy Jet fell from the sky.
~*~
Henry
ran through the store towards the sound of the gun shots. Turning
around the corner he felt the air in his lungs freeze as he saw the
bodies on the floor. The woman's son in his cape and goggles was
lying floor blood pooling out around him and a man, a gun in his
hand, lay on the floor with a bullet hole between his eyes. An old
woman stood holding a smoking gun. Michael held up his hands.
“I'm
a doctor. Can I please help the boy?” he asked, hoping he wouldn't
be shot. The old woman knelt down next to boy and, reaching up,
pulled off a wig.
“CIA,”
she said pulling out a badge, “Please help him.”
Henry
dropped down to his knees and began to do CPR while the CIA agent put
pressure on the bullet wound.
~*~
Three
months later, Maria and Michael sat on the floor of Maria's living
room watching Sarah play with her toys. On the mantel above them was
the picture of Jeremy that they had used at his memorial service.
Maria tried to avoid looking at it when the doorbell rang.
“I'll
go get it,” she said quietly, and before Michael could give her a
worried look, she got up and walked stoically to the door. Pulling it
open she found a lovely young woman standing on the doorstep, her
blond hair reaching down to the middle of her back, a black velvet
box in her hand.
“Ms.
Mortel?” She looked hesitant and sad as Maria nodded. “I'm
Special Agent Heather Couff from the CIA. May I come in for a
moment?”
Maria
opened the door and let the guest inside. She lead her into the
living room where she sat down on the couch with Michael and called
Sarah. She came and sat on Maria's lap.
“I'm
not sure if you recognize me,” Heather said, “but I'm the agent that
Jeremy saved from getting shot in the back. I'm so sorry...”
The
young woman looked down at her hands and blinked hard for a moment.
Maria sniffled and hugged Sarah too tightly while Michael put his arm
around her. Heather looked up again.
“I
wanted to get this in time for his memorial service, but I did not
receive it until today,” She handed Maria the velvet box. Inside
was a medal, the Medal of Honor. “It took me a while to get
permission as Jeremy was not in the military,” Heather explained,
“It's a medal signifying an act of heroism. Because the man who
shot him was a high end security risk and because Jeremy's
sacrifice made it possible for the man to be eliminated, the
government has decided that Jeremy deserves this medal. I'm so sorry
that we cannot offer you more.”
The
conversation continued for a while before Heather left. They shared stories of
Jeremy's time as a “superhero” and the rest of his childhood.
When Heather left, they sent her on her way with the picture of Jeremy.
“Thank
you so much,” Heather said, cradling the photo in her hands. “I'll
keep this on my desk at work. It will be a nice reminder.”
When
she returned from seeing Heather to the door, Maria stood at the
entrance to the door. Walking over to Jeremy's picture, she placed
the Medal of Honor next to the frame.
“You
will always be my hero,” she whispered quietly, brushing the frames
with her fingertips.
