I See You're Writing Again
Under the cut is my first entry for brigits_flame. The prompt was 'heavy' and this is what I came up with. Don't feel obligated to read it, but if you do feedback is always welcome. Not very often that I write something in the fiction genre and show it to other people. Got the idea... actually, I'm not fully sure of where I got the whole idea for this from. I just started writing and this is what I got - looks like my muse finally decided to come back to me. :) Granted, she did so at two in the morning when I should be in bed sleeping... eh, I'll take what I get. Oh yes, I will make concessions that I used my nickname for my own brother in this story because it just worked like that. Names for the characters never came to me and I'm not one to force them.
Skipping Stones
"Eleven times!" the dark-haired woman exclaimed. She turned to look at her brother, her grin challenging. "Beat that one."
The young man looked at the stone in his hand and then at the smooth surface of the lake in front of them. He did not return his sister's smile. "You're sick, aren't you?" he asked.
She shrugged and bent to search for another stone. "Some people think so."
"That's not what I meant and you know it."
"You don't have to worry about it. Can't catch anything I have anyhow." She straightened with several stones in hand. "Come on, I thought we rode out here to have fun. Toss your next stone."
"I know you went to the doctor last week," he told her, lobbing a stone half-heartedly. It did not even skip once. "Is it your... uhhh... girl parts again?" He glanced over at her quickly, seeing the corners of her eyes tighten. If he did not know her better then he would have sworn that there were tears there. But no, his sister never cried.
There was a strange catch in her voice when she replied. "Not this time, kid."
He bristled, the old nickname from their childhood rankling despite his concerns. "I'm not a kid anymore, you know."
"Still my little brother. You'll always be 'kid' to me." The stone she released skimmed lightly over the surface - nine times. "Damn, I let go too late. You've got to remember not to hold on for too long."
"If it's not those parts-" He never knew what to call them- "then what's wrong?"
"How about I don't tell you and we pretend you never brought it up?" She glared at him with eyes that were too bright. "Not your business."
"You're my sister so yeah, it's my business. Tell me what's wrong or I'll tell everyone you went to the doctor."
"Everyone goes to the doctor."
He took a deep breath and lifted his head, gray eyes meeting green. "Not everyone comes back and cries every night."
As he had expected, her eyes flashed and the remaining stones in her hand dropped as she stepped towards him. "I don't cry," she hissed, the shimmering in her eyes giving lie to the words. "Take it back, you take it back right now!"
Normally he would have backed away despite being taller, knowing her mercurial temper better than anyone, but not this time. The subject had been weighing heavily on him for a week and he needed to know. "I won't. Somethings wrong with you!"
"I told you it's none of your business!"
"Yes it is!" He grabbed her shoulders and gave her a shake, swearing when she stamped on his foot - she always went for his feet - but not letting go. "Tell me!"
She stamped harder this time and he had to let go before she broke his foot. Backing away she held up her fists, tears streaming down her cheeks. Neither of them said anything until she sort of slumped back against a tree with her eyes closed. "My kidney's are failing."
It was an unusually cold day for summer, but that had nothing to do with the chill that ran down his spine. "What?"
Her eyes opened and there was a very familiar look of contempt in those green depths that for some reason made the chill fade. "Are you an idiot or something? Failing kidneys means that I'm dying."
That put the chill right back. "Transplants and that whole dialysis thing-"
"You are an idiot." She raised a hand to scrub at the tears that had fallen, red rimming her eyes. "Can't really afford it without insurance. And I'm not one of those pity cases you see on TV sometimes. It took a whole paycheck just for the appointment and blood work... college kids can't pay for this stuff. Not with our parents." She pushed herself off of the tree and picked the fallen stones back up. "There, now you know. Come skip stones with me before it gets dark." And she turned back to the shore, the conversation at an end as far as she was concerned. "Bet you can't beat nine skips, let alone my eleven." She never did like serious topics.
Fourteen months later the young man stood on the edge of an empty grave several miles from the beach, dry-eyed as he watched the coffin lowered into the ground. They had never really talked about what was happening, even when it became undeniable, but she had taught him how to skip a rock properly. He could still remember her grin when he had gotten a stone to skip sixteen times. "Finally - you remembered to let go!"
As everyone else started to leave the cemetery he let a smooth white stone from the beach fall into the grave. The pocket where he had kept it felt lighter than it should have as he turned away, even though the rock had not been all that heavy.
-----
Not my most brilliant piece of work ever, but... despite knowing that, I still like it.
Skipping Stones
"Eleven times!" the dark-haired woman exclaimed. She turned to look at her brother, her grin challenging. "Beat that one."
The young man looked at the stone in his hand and then at the smooth surface of the lake in front of them. He did not return his sister's smile. "You're sick, aren't you?" he asked.
She shrugged and bent to search for another stone. "Some people think so."
"That's not what I meant and you know it."
"You don't have to worry about it. Can't catch anything I have anyhow." She straightened with several stones in hand. "Come on, I thought we rode out here to have fun. Toss your next stone."
"I know you went to the doctor last week," he told her, lobbing a stone half-heartedly. It did not even skip once. "Is it your... uhhh... girl parts again?" He glanced over at her quickly, seeing the corners of her eyes tighten. If he did not know her better then he would have sworn that there were tears there. But no, his sister never cried.
There was a strange catch in her voice when she replied. "Not this time, kid."
He bristled, the old nickname from their childhood rankling despite his concerns. "I'm not a kid anymore, you know."
"Still my little brother. You'll always be 'kid' to me." The stone she released skimmed lightly over the surface - nine times. "Damn, I let go too late. You've got to remember not to hold on for too long."
"If it's not those parts-" He never knew what to call them- "then what's wrong?"
"How about I don't tell you and we pretend you never brought it up?" She glared at him with eyes that were too bright. "Not your business."
"You're my sister so yeah, it's my business. Tell me what's wrong or I'll tell everyone you went to the doctor."
"Everyone goes to the doctor."
He took a deep breath and lifted his head, gray eyes meeting green. "Not everyone comes back and cries every night."
As he had expected, her eyes flashed and the remaining stones in her hand dropped as she stepped towards him. "I don't cry," she hissed, the shimmering in her eyes giving lie to the words. "Take it back, you take it back right now!"
Normally he would have backed away despite being taller, knowing her mercurial temper better than anyone, but not this time. The subject had been weighing heavily on him for a week and he needed to know. "I won't. Somethings wrong with you!"
"I told you it's none of your business!"
"Yes it is!" He grabbed her shoulders and gave her a shake, swearing when she stamped on his foot - she always went for his feet - but not letting go. "Tell me!"
She stamped harder this time and he had to let go before she broke his foot. Backing away she held up her fists, tears streaming down her cheeks. Neither of them said anything until she sort of slumped back against a tree with her eyes closed. "My kidney's are failing."
It was an unusually cold day for summer, but that had nothing to do with the chill that ran down his spine. "What?"
Her eyes opened and there was a very familiar look of contempt in those green depths that for some reason made the chill fade. "Are you an idiot or something? Failing kidneys means that I'm dying."
That put the chill right back. "Transplants and that whole dialysis thing-"
"You are an idiot." She raised a hand to scrub at the tears that had fallen, red rimming her eyes. "Can't really afford it without insurance. And I'm not one of those pity cases you see on TV sometimes. It took a whole paycheck just for the appointment and blood work... college kids can't pay for this stuff. Not with our parents." She pushed herself off of the tree and picked the fallen stones back up. "There, now you know. Come skip stones with me before it gets dark." And she turned back to the shore, the conversation at an end as far as she was concerned. "Bet you can't beat nine skips, let alone my eleven." She never did like serious topics.
Fourteen months later the young man stood on the edge of an empty grave several miles from the beach, dry-eyed as he watched the coffin lowered into the ground. They had never really talked about what was happening, even when it became undeniable, but she had taught him how to skip a rock properly. He could still remember her grin when he had gotten a stone to skip sixteen times. "Finally - you remembered to let go!"
As everyone else started to leave the cemetery he let a smooth white stone from the beach fall into the grave. The pocket where he had kept it felt lighter than it should have as he turned away, even though the rock had not been all that heavy.
-----
Not my most brilliant piece of work ever, but... despite knowing that, I still like it.