Photo by Oksana Lyasenko
Creative Nonfiction
The air outside is poison, so I locked all the windows and stuffed T-shirts under the doors. Then I stockpiled teddy Grahams and toilet paper inside my closet. That’s my secret stash. Outside, the leaves have withered, and the breeze whisked them away. The sun became eclipsed by dark clouds covering the sky in an invisible, lethal gas. The outdoors is deserted. Backyard fun is canceled. I’m a stone’s throw from the jungle gym that I’ll never use again. I’d use the trampoline if I could make it back, but I wouldn’t last. For now, I’ll bounce on my bed, and the summer breeze will come from the ceiling fan. I need to occupy the hours somehow. What if all the grass was orange and the sky turned purple? What if a lion emerged from the woods and emptied his lungs into a guttural roar? Now that we’ve all gone into hiding, there’s no one to challenge his authority. I get more sleep now because it’s more fun to dream. My stuffed animals have become my best friends. Teddy likes to sing to me,
“Oh, and I will be with you when the darkest winter comes,
Oh, and I will be with you in the bright and sparkling sun,
Oh, and I will be with you when all this is through,
Oh, I swear, I’ll go anywhere with you.”
He went platinum with that one. He never managed to top it, though.
The Author
Jeff Hess is a senior at Western Connecticut State University pursuing his bachelor’s degree in Professional Writing. He helped establish and runs the Torch Student Magazine at university. Jeff has been published in the Black and White Journal for the Arts. In his free time, Jeff likes to play frisbee and captains the Ultimate Frisbee team at Western Connecticut.
Jeff Hess
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