Story One-Shots (Ongoing)

Penny Arrowmann Chronicles (Part 1)(Unedited)

UNFORGETTABLE MEMORIES

I remembered the day my parents went away very distinctly.

I was in fifth grade and had just turned ten. I was considered young to be in fifth grade, but I was ahead of my class.

It was a Monday afternoon and I had just gotten back from school. I had a horrible day, so I ran into my room and slammed the door as soon as I got back to our little house.

Jumping on my bed, I started to cry silently. My mother came into the room several minutes later, the tears never stopped, and she immediately crossed the room to me.

As soon as she sat beside me on the small bed, she grabbed me and pulled me into a big hug. "What is it, Penny?" she said in her sweet, calming voice. I always wondered how I got my red-blonde hair and blue eyes when Mother had light brown hair and green eyes. And Father looked a lot like Mother, but with darker hair.

"Nothing, Mother." I slowly pulled away from her, sniffed and wiped some tears off my face.

She looked into my eyes. Mother could always tell when something was wrong or if I was lying. "Penny," she said, wiping my tears away as some still dripped from my eyes. "You can't hide anything from me. Tell me what is really wrong. Are the other kids at school bothering you again? Is that what's wrong?"

I sniffed again. "Yes." And I grabbed Mother for another long hug as I started crying again.

She rubbed my head as she talked. "What are they saying to make you upset, honey?"

"They call me a freak because I'm a lot smarter than them and they won't admit it to themselves."

Mother hugged me tight, then grabbed my hand, pulling me towards the door. As we climbed down the stairs, I could hear Father playing his guitar. When we got down, I steered Mother towards the sound. As we got to the room, Father stopped mid-song as soon as he saw us.

After Mother explained the situation, Father put down his guitar and sat down beside me and started to tell me the story of the ugly duckling. "Have you ever heard this story before, Penny?" Father asked.

I shook my head no.

"This is the story of a swan born into a family of ducks," Father began. He stared out the window into the lake beyond as he always does when he tells stories. "The swan is cast out of the pond because the other animals believe such an "ugly duckling" doesn't belong with them. The ugly duckling encounters animals that shun him for the same reason wherever he goes. When he comes upon a group of elegant white birds, the ugly duckling wants to be as beautiful as them. After a dreadfully cold and lonely winter, the ugly duckling sees his reflection in the water and realizes that he wasn't a duck after all but a swan―and he grew to be the most beautiful swan in the pond." He tore his eyes away from the window and looked at me when he finished telling the whole story.

"All those people in your class know that you are smarter than them, so they bully you. Truth be told, they are just jealous of you," he told me. "But deep down, you just want to fit in and make friends, and you will. You just have to be yourself and you will grow to be one the smartest people I know."

Deep down, I knew he was right; I just didn't see it happening at the time.

Three days later, my parents called for my baby-sitter, Camilla, to watch me while they took a trip to Colorado to visit some old friends from college. They were to be gone for about a week and a half. But during the short flight there, disaster struck. A large thunderstorm came out of nowhere and a lightning bolt hit the wing of the plane. They crashed. Father was one of the only people to survive, but he hurt himself very badly. Mother, however, did not survive.

After I heard Camilla gasp while watching the news, I went to see what she was watching and that was when we found out that the plane had crashed near Des Moines, Iowa. I ran to my room and cried for days until we were able to see Father in the hospital. Camilla went with me to watch over me, but as soon as I overheard Camilla talking to a nurse about where they took him, I took off running in the hospital and soon lost Camilla. I could faintly hear her calling my name, but I didn't care. I had to find my father.

I passed by room after room but never found him. I was about to give up and wait for Camilla when I heard a faint voice coming from the next room over. I cracked the door open and peered in. I could see a doctor holding a clipboard talking to someone lying on a bed, but I couldn't see that man's face.

First, I heard the doctor's voice addressing the patient, his voice very calm. "We are doing everything we can, but I'm afraid your condition is getting worse instead of better." The other man didn't speak for a few moments, probably taking in this bit of information.

I pushed open the door a bit more to see who was lying on the bed and saw my father. He looked over as soon as he saw my face, and he smiled sadly and waved me over. I quickly entered the room and ran into his arms, feeling tears running down my cheeks. "I missed you so much, Daddy."

He nuzzled his face into my hair and whispered, "I missed you, too. And I know your mother does as well." He pulled away, his face full of tears. "You know that, right?"

I nodded and was suddenly aware of casts all over his body. "Are you in any pain?"

"Not much, Penny," he said, but his face told a different story.

"Penny?" Camilla said, appearing in the doorway behind me. "Let's go get a snack while your father talks to the doctor, ok?"

I turned back to Father and he nodded encouragingly at me. "I love you, Penny." He leaned forward, grabbed my head into his hands, and looked deep into my eyes, capturing my attention. "Always remember that all right? Your mother and I will always love you."

I nodded with tears dripping from my eyes. "I love you too, Daddy." I left the room with Camilla, but I glanced back at Father before I closed the door. He was watching me very intently, but I reluctantly closed the door. While walking down the hallway towards the sitting area, I suddenly had the worst feeling that I ever had in my entire life.

But, what I didn't realize when I left that hospital room, was that that was the last time I saw my father alive.

Author's Note:

I remember the first time I had created this story. It had been part of my dream and when I woke up, I would try to recreate it and finish the story. Unfortunately, I haven't completed it so now I am placing it here for a while. Who knows the next time I will finish it but hopefully I can commit myself to doing just that soon enough. 

Blessings!