In the Sky

Divorce destroys more than marriages.

Lucy sat on the edge of her bed, the small coloured square of blotting paper softly illuminated in the warm glow of the ceiling bulb as it lay between her fingers. A gust of wind from her bedroom window blew through the room, making her shiver as the noises from downstairs started up again.

 

“Why are you even here? I told you never to come back!”

 

“Well excuse me if I just want to pick up my things!”

 

Lucy let her head drop to her chest, letting out a sigh. It surprised her just a little how used she had gotten to the sound of angered shouting.

 

 

 

They had always had the occasional disagreement like any other couple, but recently it had been getting worse. So often now Lucy would find herself coming home to find her parents locked in a shouting match, so many times their family dinners would end with fierce arguments that had her running upstairs and burying her head under her pillow to avoid.

 

 

 

She slowly raised her hand, lifting the square towards her mouth. The fight began to increase in volume, and Lucy cringed. It was a darkly nostalgic situation, so similar to the one that had precipitated this whole thing.

 

 

 

She lay on her bed with her iPod on full volume, but even that wasn’t loud enough to drown out the vicious screams that permeated through the closed door. Through the pounding beat and the thudding bass, she clearly heard her mother’s final shriek.

 

“That’s it! Get out of my house, I’m filing for divorce!”

 

Abruptly she flung herself to her feet, ripping out the earphones and throwing her iPod to the floor. Grabbing a coat slung over the back of a chair, she raced downstairs and out the back door, hurrying away from her house. She walked briskly, with no clear destination in mind, until the hushed voices and muffled laughter of the local park fell on her ears.

 

“Hey, Lucy! You want some?”

 

Out of the corner of her eye she recognised a group of her schoolmates.

 

“Come on, I won’t even charge you your first trip.”

 

A hand grabbed her arm, halting her movement, and a tiny square of paper was offered out to her.

 

“Everyone does it.”

 

She looked down at the square, and for a single fleeting second she found herself ready to say yes, wanting to stop running from the people around her. But then the second was over.

 

“I don’t do drugs,” she said tersely, twisting herself free and stalking away.

 

It was a few more hours before she made her way home, pushing open the door to a thankfully empty foyer. Stepping inside, her foot kicked up against something and she bent down to see. Lying on the ground was her mother’s engagement ring, the diamond glinting in the silvery moonlight seeping through the half-open door and the surrounding gold bent and twisted, as if it had been stamped on. It was not an image she would easily forget.

 

 

 

Lucy opened her mouth, gently settling the square onto her tongue. She let her lips fall closed and took a deep, shuddering breath, knowing that just a few months ago she never would have done this.

 

 

 

The taunting started soon after.

 

“Such a chicken, Lucy.”

 

“Always mummy’s perfect girl.”

 

Normally it wouldn’t have affected her, but that short moment when the temptation had almost proved too much to resist was suddenly taking on a new light.

 

“Mum, can I talk to you?”

 

“Not now, I’m trying to find a lawyer.”

 

“I know, but this is important.”

 

“I said, I’m busy.

 

“Please mum, I’m just not sure what to do because there are these people at school that-“

 

“Goddammit, Lucy, I don’t have time for this! Do whatever you want!”

 

 

 

She let herself fall backwards onto her bed, tasting the bitterness that was beginning to seep through her mouth. She really had changed these last few months, and her parents didn’t even realise how much.

 

 

 

“Finally grew some guts, eh? What will your parents say when they find out what their good little daughter’s been up to?”

 

“Shut up, just give it to me.”

 

 

 

Minutes passed and the yelling continued, but gradually the world began to distort. Lucy could feel her heart begin to pound and the blood begin to rush through her temples as the words of the argument morphed into shapes and colours that writhed and danced across her vision. Her last coherent thought was ‘They won’t find out, they don’t care anymore.’

 

A lazy grin spread across Lucy’s face as she let her head fall to the side, her dilated pupils falling on the half opened window and the stars of the night sky splaying across her blurred vision as a mass of glittering diamonds.

Author's Note

"Lucy in the sky with diamonds" is a nickname for the semisynthetic psychedelic drug Lysergic acid diethylamide, also called LSD (and the name of a Beatles song, though that wasn't what I had in mind).

This was written for an English assignment which required you to write a conceptual statement regarding authority and the individual, and then to explore that statement through an 800 word narrative. My statement was "In the absence of a clear authority figure, the social pressures upon an individual and the expected conformations of society become the authority."

Feedback is greatly appreciated.

Reviews

[Trixolomanea]

This is very well written, not overdone but detailed enough, clear and rational... the story has a good idea as a backbone and is enforced by good writing. I really enjoyed reading this and I love that you used Lucy and the thing with the stars so it both has a double meaning. Well done!

[Egress]

Let me applaud you for writing a story that means something. Clear, realistic, made me think, "whoa, I'm glad I actually clicked on this."
Reminds me of reality. Good job-- I'll be waiting for more.

[Sarusai Hiryu]

I agree with your concept, up to a point, but that is not really the issue.
Good story: clear, fluid, great dialogue. I especially like the way you showed Lucy's sense of rejection and isolation.

[Sunflower 20]

great story. i loved the way you changed the time, from present to the past, and the dialogue in between was cleverly done. great job :)

[JazEli]

This was amazing. I agree with your concept and how you morphed it with a story- let's just say is was very well written. A very nice life lesson..
Enjoyed reading it.
-JazEli

[Susanna F]

Wonderfully written. I agree with your concept absolutely, and it was riveting to see it unfold. Another great story.

[Marie Harrison]

Well told story of emotional abandonment of her parents. Great job!

[Jasmine]

I understand what divorce can do to the children caught in the middle. This was a good example of how parents can get caught up in their own lives so much that they let their children run wild and don't think to give them the love and support they need.

[Jesse Jacques]

written wonderfully. no spelling or grammar mistakes. great use of words.

[FantasyWriter01]

Great job! Keep up the nice work.
-FantasyWriter01