Little Lamb

She couldn't let go of her loss.

“Tommy, let go!” she screamed, pulling on the arm of her stuffed puppy, worn out in the years of love it had gotten. He laughed at her and did as she said. Stumbling backward, she fell against a loosely closed door and jarred it open, and landed on the butt of her thin cotton pants. Eyes watering, she clutched her toy to her tiny chest and stuck her lower lip out. Tommy rolled his dull green eyes.

                “C’mon Lucy, don’t cry,” he said, crouching down and messing her limp blond hair. “I was just playing with you.” He gripped her little hands and helped her up, looking past her into the room they’d knocked open. Used for storage, it was littered with various boxes, some without labels. Without much thought, Tommy slipped past his little sister and into the room.

                “Tommy!” the little girl said, spinning around and staring at him. “You can’t go in there! Mama will get mad!” Brushing his sister off, Tommy moved past an old looking dresser covered in dust, towards a particularly boring box. It had no label, was damaged from the moister that would sneak into the room, and set on the floor to collect dust.

                The boy knelt down next to it as his little sister rushed in, sitting next to him roughly and looking at the thing.

                “It’s just a box,” she said, setting her puppy lovingly on her lap. “Let’s go outside now.”

                Tommy shook his head, pulling it open. Nestled inside it were various baby toys, books, even old photographs. He reached in and pulled a rattle out, smiling and holding it in front of Lucy.

                “This was yours,” he said, and she frowned at the beat up thing.

                “Ew, it’s all dusty! Get it away!” she smacked it, and Tommy let it drop back into the box with a smile. He found an old, faded photograph of a baby in a cradle, and on the back had his name scribbled in messy handwriting, his father’s, and a date that was blurred beyond recognition. Letting it drop, he eyed something that didn’t seem quite dirty enough to be in the box. Reaching in, he clutched something soft, almost fluffy, and pulled it out. “What’s that?” Lucy asked, scooting closer to her brother.

                Tommy shrugged. “A sheep,” he said, looking at the stuffed thing in his hands. He turned it over, and a tag around its neck flipped, revealing a name. “Jason,” he whispered, and Lucy cocked her head like a puppy.

                “Who’s Jason?” she asked, and Tommy only shrugged. Just then the door swung open wider, a lanky figure standing in the dim light. Jumping, Lucy and Tommy scrambled up as their mother peered in, weary eyes locking onto them like a radar.

                Before a word could be spoken, Lucy was rushing past her mother, down the creaky stairs to wait patiently on the steps outside for daddy to get home. She knew daddy wouldn’t scold her for going into the banned room. Tommy looked at his mother for a second, then dropped the lamb and rushed past her, disappearing behind a squeaky door.

                After a moment, the woman began to move. Ghosting into the room, she stooped down and picked up the lamb, turning it over in her hand. Upon seeing the name Jason, she began to sob pitifully.

Reviews

[Ashley]

this is very good. the story quite quickly hoos the reader and i like the ending, it leave the reason the sheep is imortant completely to the audiances imagenation, but i think its that jason was a child who died early in life. anyway good characterisation becuase although there is little time to establish characters well you certianly pulled it off. well done although short this is a good story.