Dressing Up

107K 681 10
                                    

The sound of feet sloshing through the snow brought me back to the present. I turned to see an elderly gentleman walking back down the dock towards town. My thoughts must have seriously been preoccupied to not even have heard the man return from, what I was sure, was a fishing trip.

I brushed off a plank and sat down. My little thoughtful spot. I swung my legs back and forth, trying hard to find something else to think about, and blanked out my mind. I flopped backwards, staring up through the branches of the tree beside me. I couldn't wait for the tiny buds to blossom.

Color. That's what I wanted. Just a little splash of color to look at. Something besides white, white and more white. Sure there were browns of every shade, but I wanted something warm and colorful.

I thought about the royal purple dress Kaida had chosen for me. That was definitely colorful. The purple confection twisted around my body like satin ribbons, tighter than a glove. It was sleeveless and almost completely backless, flaring at my hips and swirling around my knee's. Kaida said that I had to have it, even if we spent both our pooled money on it.

The store clerk had walked over when she'd seen me exit the changing room. And some how she had 'accidentally' tweaked the tag off while helping me zip it up. She surprised us both by saying that I could have it at half price. She said she was absolutely sure that I had to have this dress, no one else would look right in it. That was probably the only time someone other than Kaida had been unnecessarily kind to me.

I had no jewelry, so Mag's hair picks would be the only other decoration on me. I frowned. I could picture my plain-Jane weirdness next to everyone else. A room full of villagers, a good percentage of them tan with long dark hair, and dark almond shaped eyes.

Then there would be me. My skin iridescent, like snow under a moonlit sky, my dress showing off more than I cared to. My brassy maple colored hair curled around my face. The high heels that absolutely would never get worn again laced up my calves. I scrunched my eyes closed. Sure, I'd be invisible compared to everyone else.

*Sigh*

I was already a few inches taller than the rest of the girls, did Kaida need me to look like a totem pole too? I opened my eyes and glanced towards the sky, the clouds were drifting by slowly. At least we would have moonlight tonight. I laid there on the snow until my stomach grumbled at me. Hopping up I started back to Kaida's house. I was sure that someone had to be up, and I needed some food before I passed out from all the early morning exercise.

Kaida was sitting at the kitchen table eating a bowl of cereal. "Where's everybody?" I glanced around, no sign of Konai, or the rest of her family in sight. "Konai wanted to go fishing this morning, and his dress shirt didn't fit anymore, so dad's buying him some new cloths to wear. And the runts are still hanging out at my aunt's house, they should be there for the rest of the weekend." She eyed me suspiciously, "Hey, you not sleep so good last night?"

She had no idea.

"I'm fine, really." But it was obvious she didn't believe me. "Okay lets get started," she shoved the last bite in her mouth, "this might take a while." "Huh?" I grabbed a bowl and started eating, "No deal, I'm starving." But she didn't hear me, she ran upstairs, rummaging around, and came back with a bag of makeup.

"NO WAY, I told you, no more makeup." "Chill out Andrea, this will help." She smeared some white jelly around my eyes, and they felt cold instantly. Then she went to work on my hands, I had to swap out eating left handed while she buffed and painted my nails. I convinced her clear was the best way to go, simple and elegant.

Not that I really wanted the bright red nail polish that she had decided to wear. I was not that brave. After the initial torture of getting my fingers and toes done, she ordered me to take a shower, my early morning run had apparently offended her nose. I laughed all the way up the stairs.

Summer SolsticeWhere stories live. Discover now