Dearest

Another English project. The prompt was "Try to sound like Fitzgerald."

Shivering now beside the great, black doorway of her house, I could hear my mother’s disgruntled mumbling in my ear. It’s going to be 43 today. Do you want a coat? Of course I didn’t. I was going to be surrounded the entire time by the walls of the cavernous house and by the thick bodies of the animals that shared the space. If I was truly in dire need, I mused to myself, a thin grin creeping across the right side of my face, she would hold me herself. I rapped against the soft wooden frame with knuckles dusty from the months of endless winter that thrashed at their skin.

Inside, hearing the loud thuds placed deftly on the door, a sleek dog rose from his position by the stone fireplace. He barked frantically, launching his torso upwards to balance on his hind legs with each ecstatic yelp. From her spot in the kitchen, the girl looked up towards the door, beaming as she realized I had arrived. As she skipped to the door, her short, lace dress billowed behind her like a flag in the wind. She bent over slightly, grasping the dog’s hefty collar to keep him down as she opened the door to me.

Everything about her glowed. Her eyes were like pearls in the Mariana Trench, and from her skin wafted the scent of coconut. Light shone through the spaces between her legs, and glinted off of her mussed hair creating a halo around her. She was almost angelic; in my mind, I could see heavy wings of light unfolding behind her, growing until they consumed us both.

She hugged me, breaking my thought and pressing my papers to my chest. It was a delicate hug, as though a tulip were holding me, yet not weak so much as airy. “Come on inside. We’ve got about an hour until we have to leave. Do you want something to eat or drink?” The entire question was rushed,  and I could feel her words run past me into the open air before drifting like snowflakes gently to the ground. I chuckled and smiled, completely this time, following her into the warmth of the house.