The first theme is, as always, beginning. This beginning I'm writing about refers to the start of the loss of imagination. Written while listening to:
~~~
Annie rocked back
and forth atop a polished, wooden rocking horse. Her hair moved as she rocked,
then wrapped around her shoulders and blew in the wind as the wooden horse
transformed and she found herself galloping through the plain. She waved to the
farmers she passed. One tipped his hat to her and blew her a kiss. Annie
giggled and continued on her way. Her horse snorted as they picked up speed,
shaking his mane. "Faster, Henry! We have to catch the sun! It's falling
out of the sky!" She pointed forward at the horizon where the sun was
indeed sinking toward the ground. Henry brayed and then jumped high off the
ground. As he jumped, wings formed on either side of him and he flew through
the air. Annie closed her eyes for a brief moment, enjoying the wind on her
face and the feeling of complete freedom.
After a moment,
she grabbed her lasso and began twirling it above her head. As it twirled, it
grew bigger and bigger. She hurled it forward and caught the sun. "Steady,
Henry!" She commanded as she tugged the rope with all her might. The sun
slowly started to rise back into the sky. She let go of the rope and watched as
the sun returned to its rightful place, high above.
"We did it!
We did it!" She stood up. The sudden movement spooked Henry and she felt
herself tumbling backward.
"Whoa,
girl!" She looked up and saw her father’s face. He had caught her in his
strong arms. "Now tell me, what did you do?" He asked playfully as he
helped her to her feet.
"Henry and I
used my lasso and pulled the sun back into the sky!" she looked out the
window where the sun was sinking to spite her. "I think we have to do it
again! We can't let the sun fall, then it'll be..." she trailed off.
"There's
nothing wrong with the night, sugar." Her father smoothed her hair back, picking
her up and placing her in his lap. Annie hugged him as tight as her little arms
could.
"But if the
night comes, then it’ll be tomorrow and you'll have to go." She looked up
at him, tears shining in her eyes. Behind her, the sun was continuing its
descent; crickets starting to play their sorrowful goodbye to the day.
"It's just
for a few months," he explained softly, though Annie picked up on an
uncertain tone in his voice. "The president needs me to help keep you and
Mommy and Grandma Georgia and Grandpa Joe and all your friends at school
safe."
"You can
keep me safe here!" Annie protested, burying her face into his plaid
shirt.
He laughed
quietly, ruffling her hair. "If it only was that simple.” He stopped,
coughing. Annie glimpsed up at him and noticed he also had tears in his eyes. “I'll
write you every chance I get and I'll be back before you know it." He
stood with her cradled in his arms. "Besides, you have ol' Henry to keep
you company while I’m gone. I built him with love." He set her down on the
seat.
"Yeah. And I'm
going to try to keep the sun up one more time, okay?" Annie said with all
the determination a five year old could muster.
Her father
laughed. "And if that doesn't work, maybe you and Henry can speed up the
days so I can be with you again that much faster."
"Yeah!"
Annie called out, galloping off and leaving her father behind.
~~~
Every day after
school, Annie would run to Henry and jump into his saddle. The two of them
ushered out the sun and greeted the moon as fast as they could.
"Henry, whoa!
There's a storm. I think it might be too dangerous!" Annie watched as
several foreboding, grey clouds quickly approach over the horizon. Henry
snorted and took off, soaring above the clouds. "Good thinking," she
breathed, clutching to his mane as thunder rumbled loudly below them.
Suddenly a loud
bell sound sent her tumbling to the wooden floor. Annie looked around,
forgetting where she was for a second. The bell sounded again. "Oh! Mommy!
Mommy! The door!" Annie danced around excitedly. The doorbell never rang.
"I think Henry and I chased off enough days!"
"What? Joseph’s
supposed to be gone for four more months." Her mother ran to the door and
pulled it open. A man in a suit stood there with a helmet. He looked very sad.
"What's
wrong?" Annie asked.
Her mom stepped
back. "Annie, go into the other room," She commanded.
Annie looked up
at the two of them and pulled Henry along with her. Normally her mom would yell
at her about scuffing the wooden floors, but her mom was too busy whispering
with the sad man to notice. "Why do grownups always send you out of the
room to talk?" Annie asked Henry with a sigh. "Mommy and Daddy do it
sometimes. I think they pretend they're using kung fu or something because
they're always yelling." Annie kicked her foot, catching Henry. "Ow!
Sorry about that. I'm better at riding than fighting."
Her mom was in
the hall for a long time. She could hear loud noises and what sounded like her
mom crying. This scared Annie. She hugged Henry and watched the doorway.
After what seemed
to be ages, her mom finally came to her, holding the helmet the sad man had
with him. "Did he give that to you?" Annie asked. Her mom stood
there, looking lost. Annie didn't know if her mom realized she was crying.
"Mommy?"
"Oh
Annie." Her mom sank to her knees, clutching the helmet to her chest.
"This was Daddy's."
"Doesn't he
need it?" Annie asked, feeling scared and confused.
Her mom pulled
her close. "Daddy, well," her voice was becoming choked with tears,
"he's not going to be coming back."
Annie struggled
free from her mom, tears forming in her eyes. "Why not? Where's
Daddy?"
"Do you
remember when your fish stopped moving and we told you he went to go live with
God in the clouds?" Annie nodded her head, unable to talk. "Well,
Daddy stopped moving while he was protecting us and..." Her mom stopped,
unable to finish what she was saying as she started sobbing.
Annie stepped
back, then grabbed Henry and ran away. Annie ran up the stairs into her bedroom
and slammed the door shut. "Henry, we have to go back to above the clouds
like we were before," Annie commanded desperately.
She jumped on him
and rocked as fast as she could. She heard the creak of the horse as he moved
back and forth. She could hear her own sobs. She couldn't hear the rumbling of
the thunder clouds. She couldn't see the clouds nor the fields or the farmers.
She couldn’t feel the wind on her face. She rocked desperately, closing her
eyes as hard as she could, squeezing out the tears.
Finally she
stopped, letting the horse still. She sat there, numb.
"Sweetheart,"
her mom said as she entered the room. She saw Annie sitting on the horse, not
moving, and picked her up, hugging her as tight as she could.
Annie started
sniffling. "Henry's broken. I can't go to the clouds. I can't save Daddy!"
She sobbed loudly. Her mom sat on her bed and held her, shushing her. Annie
cried and hiccupped until she drifted to sleep in her mom’s arms. She caught
one final look at Henry as her dreams overtook her. He stood still.
