Aurora Magazine 2018

me away from my more rambunctious cousins and ever to my favorite part of this world. My uncles are laughing, and I snuggle into Daddy’s arms. My favorite firework blooms again, and I tell Daddy. Mommy stays inside with my brother. She hates fireworks and has long since tired of my wild personali- ty. This was the beginning of my storm. Here, I am alone. The storm is here. I barely am covered by the roof of the house. Inside, I hear the stairs creak as mom helps him up the stairs. I know his bones creak and hurt they way the stairs do. I know he needs help showering. I know I can’t be so dependent, but somehow, I still am. Daddy carries me as the fireworks come to an end. He says goodbye to his brothers and my cousins, and I cry be- cause I want them to stay. Daddy just continues his goodbyes. I am overtired, and he is just happy to have his princess in his arms, even fussy as she is. The storm whips around me and I want more. I want it to break, fall apart, tear things to pieces. I am empty, devoid of anything yet filled with every emotion imaginable. I am angry, truly angry, and I have no Idea why. How could things go so horribly wrong? How could I be this way, and how could he? He is the beauty before and after the storm, and now it just rages like a horrible monster. Daddy reads a story to me before bedtime. My brother shares a bed with me, yet all I see is Daddy. He is my world. Even now, as images of hobbits and elves dance through my head. Here I am complete. Gollum enters the story, and Daddy laughs as I hide under my blanket. I can’t hide from this. The storm still continues, but I have been out too long. I go inside H A N S E N

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