Under The Dark Clouds

4

Flower – three days ago

Flower's foot sank away in the mud and she cursed, grabbing the edge of her shoe to keep it from coming off as she pulled free and continued her way home. She tried to avoid the mud as much as possible, but in some places, she simply had no choice but to go straight through.

A sigh escaped her as she made her way over the slippery ground. She'd have to clean her shoes again—only to repeat it once she got to school tomorrow morning. It was a pain, but it was the only way to keep them as decent as possible. The worn sneakers were the only ones she had.

In the distance, the various faded colors of the trailers peeked through the curtain of green leaves.

Almost home. It would be another ten minutes from this point.

Ten minutes during which she could pretend she was somewhere else instead of the trailer park. Ten minutes during which she could pretend her family had a bit more money. She didn't ask for much—even a well-kept trailer would do. Maybe a double-wide instead of the single-wide they lived in.

But most of all, Flower wished for her parents to act as parents.

To have a real family, even though Uncle Charlie did his best to make up for their behavior.

As Flower closed in, she deciphered a couple of voices that were awfully familiar to her. One high-pitched, laughing like a mad witch. A low, deep voice joined in and rumbled through the air.

Flower winced at the sound of her parents and debated staying outside. She could sit down in the grass and study. But her stomach contracted painfully, reminding her just how empty it was, and the thought of the food she'd hidden in her room was enough to keep her going.

At least she would have some sort of dinner tonight.

Briefly closing her eyes, Flower sighed through her nose, her feet finding the familiar path over the black soil on their own.

"They've been at it for hours," Uncle Charlie said by way of greeting as she reached his trailer. As always, he was tinkering around with a car, his hands black and smudges all over his face. His stern appearance and harsh voice often scared the other kids in the trailer park, but underneath all of that, her uncle had his heart in the right place. She would put it to a bet that she'd spent more hours in her life at his place than her own.

"What else is new?" she muttered.

His eyes softened. "I'm sorry, Flower. You deserve better."

Flower walked around the car, inspecting the progress he'd made. "Yeah, well, we both know that ain't gonna happen anytime soon. Unless I win the lottery." She snorted. "Oh wait. If I wanna win the lottery, I gotta have the money to play first.

"One day, Flower, one day," Uncle Charlie replied. "You'll find your way out."

But will I make it until then?

A sigh escaped her. "I dunno, Uncle Charlie. I'm just fed up with everything."

Uncle Charlie slammed the hood shut, the metallic sound hollow in her ears. "Have faith, Flower. Everything happens for a reason, the way God intended it to be. There's a lesson in this for you, somewhere. You just have to figure out what it is and make the best of it, yeah?" He bumped his shoulder against hers, causing her to smile. "And you always have a place in my trailer. You know that."

"Thanks," Flower said, but she knew she never would. If it were up to him, he'd share all his meals. She wouldn't have it. Uncle Charlie had a big heart, but barely enough money to keep himself going.