Josephine Clyde
May 24, 2020 6:38 AM
Seagulls are my spirit animal by Josephine Clyde
MARS, the Magical Arts and Sports Room, was a part of the school Josie hadn’t had the chance to get around to last year. During the first few days of Sonora she had wanted to start a baking club or something similar, but it had been too long since she’d baked. Probably not since her mother died. Minnie certainly knew better than to even approach the topic of baking and she wasn’t much for sweets, according to her. The only thing close to baked goods in their house was what Daniel bought from grocery shopping. He always seemed to have events at his high school and he always brought the too-soft store-bought cookies. They must have been popular since he would take at least four boxes to school when he left in the mornings. She wondered if it was different now that he was a senior in high school, but she doubted it. If he hadn’t been such a cold jerk she would have offered to bake some real cookies for him, but that was his loss. Besides, that would mean that she’d need to actually bake something and who knew how that would go over with her father?Depressed. To be super sad about something in your life. That was the definition she’d seen on the internet and it was fitting. For her at least. Her father seemed to bounce back so quickly that it made the love she’d seen between her parents that much shallower. The rooftop talks were gone, forbidden really, and Josie’d been too depressed to bake anything. But now almost two years had gone by and she felt the baking itch in her fingers act up again. She wanted to bake again, feed the people around her with sugary goodness, but what would her father think? Would he let her? Lately any thought about her father made her lightheaded and dizzy and her head just split open like it had been hit with a hammer. She needed to stay busy. If she kept both her mind and her body busy then there wouldn’t be time for headaches.
The MARS rooms were meant to be for exercise, so they must have a pool somewhere. Josie’s mom had taken her to swimming lessons for years and they had even talked about going to the beach for summer vacation before the accident happened. They would have driven all the way to some place called Santa Monica and spent a few days there. It probably would have been nice, but that was something that would never happen for her family again. She just needed to move forward.
The MARS lobby area was super welcoming. She might even consider bringing all of her books here and just spending the day reading. A particularly snuggly looking couch was calling her name, but today was supposed to be about exercise. With a silent promise to that snuggly chair Josie looked at the five doors and hoped for the best by opening the one closest to her. Water! Yes! She hurried into the room and gaped once her eyes adjusted. The room was huge! It looked like a real beach, the waves crashed on the sand, the sun was shining and she thought she heard the cries of a stray seagull somewhere. She might never have that summer beach experience with her family, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t make her own memories at the beach.
Josie looked around. It didn’t seem like there was anyone else around, but she wanted to be sure she was alone before throwing off her robes. Satisfied that the room, or the beach, was empty she took out her towel and dumped her bag on top of it after she spread it on the sand. With one last glance around Josie dumped her robes on the towel and faced the water. Her slippers were next and now she was just left in her swimsuit. She had bought it with her mother before their trip, but this was her first time wearing it. The shiny blue fabric had appealed to her back then, but now she just saw it as a tool to help her swim in that magic ocean water. It sparkled and as she stretched one arm over her head she heard the seagull again. It sounded like it had brought friends and she would definitely need to ask Professor Grayson if there were actual animals, but probably not.
She walked to the edge of the water and watched as the waves swept up the slope, near her feet, but not quite touching her yet. Her hair already felt heavy with water even if she was still as dry as a bone. Well, no point in drawing it out! Josie waded into the water before reaching a depth she was comfortable with. Her legs kicked off the sandy floor and she let her body find it way to the top of the water. She floated on her back; arms stretch out to the side, while looking up at the magic sky. It was peaceful, what else could she ask for? Seagull cries and calls swept over her as she let her body float in a fake ocean and, for the first time, she was able to think about something her family should have done together and not feel sad about it.
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Josephine Clyde
Seagulls are my spirit animal
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