Impossible Goodbyes was first published by Foliate Oak Literary Magazine in May 2017.
Impossible Goodbyes
The tree swayed gently over the little girl’s head – forming a canopy that dappled little pools of darkness across the sand pit surrounding her. In this separate world entirely of her own, she sat alone, etching strange shapes into the sand with a short stick she had found lying on the ground.
Isolated in this oasis of her own making, the little girl had forgotten all about her parents still arguing inside their house – the sounds of shouting and screaming having faded into background noise, as ignorable for her as birdsong was to other children.
After a few minutes passed, she suddenly looked up, her head following the sound of stomping coming closer – like the steps of the giant her father had read to her about. Not a moment later, the front door slammed and her mother came racing towards her.
"I’ll be back soon, Debbie," her mother whispered hurriedly, gently brushing the hair from the little girl’s face. "I promise…"
Debbie looked up to her mother with a look of pure adoration and held out to her the stick she had been playing with.
"For me?"
Debbie’s mother wrapped her fingers softly around the top of the stick and tried to pull it gently towards her. Her expression unchanging, Debbie pushed the stick down into the sand as if she were stamping a flag into some new, unknowable land between them.
"Do you not want to give me it?"
Her mother tried for a second time to take the stick away, to treasure it as a parting gift until she was ready to come back. But as though Debbie were innately trying to keep her mother close to her, she held on tighter than before – her face contorting into an expression of sadness and confusion.
"I have to go, Debbie! Mummy has to go!"
Unable or unwilling to prolong the goodbye any longer, her mother planted a quick kiss on the top of Debbie’s head before quickly dashing to her car. As she opened the door to the driver’s seat, Debbie’s mother turned to her daughter for a final time – the bright light of day illuminating every tear falling freely down her bruised face.
Still not understanding the situation, instead believing her mother upset at her for not giving away her precious plaything, Debbie ran – the stick held firmly between her hands – after her mother’s car…
Isolated in this oasis of her own making, the little girl had forgotten all about her parents still arguing inside their house – the sounds of shouting and screaming having faded into background noise, as ignorable for her as birdsong was to other children.
After a few minutes passed, she suddenly looked up, her head following the sound of stomping coming closer – like the steps of the giant her father had read to her about. Not a moment later, the front door slammed and her mother came racing towards her.
"I’ll be back soon, Debbie," her mother whispered hurriedly, gently brushing the hair from the little girl’s face. "I promise…"
Debbie looked up to her mother with a look of pure adoration and held out to her the stick she had been playing with.
"For me?"
Debbie’s mother wrapped her fingers softly around the top of the stick and tried to pull it gently towards her. Her expression unchanging, Debbie pushed the stick down into the sand as if she were stamping a flag into some new, unknowable land between them.
"Do you not want to give me it?"
Her mother tried for a second time to take the stick away, to treasure it as a parting gift until she was ready to come back. But as though Debbie were innately trying to keep her mother close to her, she held on tighter than before – her face contorting into an expression of sadness and confusion.
"I have to go, Debbie! Mummy has to go!"
Unable or unwilling to prolong the goodbye any longer, her mother planted a quick kiss on the top of Debbie’s head before quickly dashing to her car. As she opened the door to the driver’s seat, Debbie’s mother turned to her daughter for a final time – the bright light of day illuminating every tear falling freely down her bruised face.
Still not understanding the situation, instead believing her mother upset at her for not giving away her precious plaything, Debbie ran – the stick held firmly between her hands – after her mother’s car…
