SIDEWALK CHALK

A magical sidewalk artist...

Sandra and Sammy loved watching Mr. Hazelnut draw on the sidewalk. He could draw a tree, put a nest in it, and eggs in the nest. You could almost see them hatching out. He drew a river and a man holding a fishing pole. The man pulled out a big fish. Then Mr. Hazelnut said. “I’ll let him get away.” And the fish jumped off the hook.

 

     One day he drew a picture of the twins, each holding the hand of a tiny girl. “Who’s that?” Sandra asked.

 

     “Your little sister.”

 

     Sammy shook his head. “We don’t have a little sister.”

 

     “You will,” Mr. Hazelnut promised.

 

     There was news when the twins got home. “You’re going to have a baby sister in April,” Mother told them

 

     “We know,” Sammy said.

 

     Sandra frowned. “We guessed.”

 

     “Okay,” Sammy said. “We guessed.”

 

     They started thinking of names. Ruth? Belinda? Cora? Tonya? Finally they decided on Melissa--Lissa for short.

 

     When Lissa came to them in April, Sammy and Sandra thought she was the sweetest, cutest baby ever born. They played with her all the time, and she learned to smile at them. They held her hands and taught her to walk.

 

     Then  Lissa caught a  cold. She was a strong, healthy baby, and she should have gotten over it right away"but she didn’t. Mother took her to Dr. Bentley. “She has pneumonia,” he said, and put her in the hospital right away.

 

     He was hopeful at first, but Lissa got worse and worse. Finally Mother said to the twins “I’m afraid we’re going to lose your baby sister.”

 

     Sammy said “No!”, and Sandra said “No!” They knew where to go and who to see.

 

     Mr. Hazelnut was drawing a horse running through a meadow. Its mane tossed in the breeze. The twins could the clop of hooves and a faint whinny. “Mr. Hazelnut, our little sister is dying,” Sandra gasped.

 

     ”Oh dear!”

 

     “You can fix her,” Sandra said. “You can make her better.”

 

      “Draw her well,” Sammy pleaded. Mr. Hazelnut thought for a moment. Then he carefully chose his chalks: pink for Lissa’s cheeks,  gold for her hair, sky for her eyes. A picture formed on the sidewalk. Soon a happy, laughing baby was reaching out to them. Sandra reached back.   “Come on,” her brother urged. “We’ve got to tell Mother.”

 

     They burst in the front door, saying together “Lissa is going to be all right!”

 

     Mother sighed. “I wish that could be true…” Then the phone rang, and she went to answer it. The twins looked at each other hopefully. When Mother came back she looked hopeful too.  “Dr. Bentley says Lissa is getting better. How"did you know?”

 

     “We--” “We--”And the twins stopped

 

 

 

     “It doesn’t matter. We’re bringing your baby sister home next week.”

 

     And they did. She was pinker and more golden haired and more blue eyed than ever. “She looks just like a picture,” Mother said.

 

     Sandra and Sammy smiled and didn’t say a word.

 

   

Reviews

[Stan Lee]

What a lovely story Marie. Thanks for writing something so light and cheerful :)

[Workvio]

A delightfully entertaining and hope filled little story ... I truly enjoyed this tale ...

[Marie]

I'm glad you enjoyed it.

[Workvio]

I truly find that it would be most impossible to not enjoy your heart penned to page, whether story, or poem ... Have a good weekend, Marie ... Until we pit to debate our beliefs once again, my dear lady friend, have a very good Shabbat Shalom ...

[Marie]

And also with you...

[Great Aunt Astri]

I agree with JA Marques. I would love to read more stories with the character Mr Hazelnut. You get such wonderful ideas, where do they come from? Loved the story.

[Marie]

Thanks. I wrote this for a prompt, which was "Sidewalk Chalk." I wrote another at the same time, about a little boy with sidewalk chalk; I may post it later.

[Samuel Dickens]

This is a very good story, Marie. The miracle of Mr. Hazelnut's magic is guaranteed to please the young and young at heart. Very well done. I believe you have a missing word here "The twins could the clop of hooves ..."

[Marie]

Oh mercy, you're right. I never noticed it, and I proofread it so carefully...

[Vernika]

You made my day! :) Such a wonderful write up! This is the instant feel-good story. Restores faith in magic! :)

[Marie]

Thanks. I'm happy that you found it magical, for that is what I intended it to be.

[Gaston Villanueva]

This story can put anyone in a good mood
I liked the concept and it had a great tone!

[Marie]

Thank y ou. I'm glad it put you in a good mood.

[Woody]

"she looks just like a picture" I like that. a sweet tale with a happy ending. this could belong in a children's book. a story of love and hope and a bit of magic. the right ingredients for a good fantasy.
your stories are entertaining and meaningful, Marie. love this one.

[Marie]

Thanks. this one was published in "Guardian Angel Kids."

[J.A. Marquez]

What a touching story! Mr. Hazelnut is an intriguing character. If you are willing to detail the story more, I would love to read a brief history on Mr. Hazelnut. I almost feel that he deserves his own story. The tale of the children and their sister is endearing and well constructed, but I find myself wanting the story to center around the man with the chalk. A series of short stories would be an interesting concept. He is like a super hero, saving people with the power in his fingertips. Also, I am reminded of the old series Chalk Zone, which I watched as a kid. That has nothing to do with the story, it just came to mind.

[Marie]

Thanks. I was writing this story for a specific magazine, and it had to be no longe than 700 words. Otherwise I would have given it more detail.