A Fist Full of Glitter

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQ0zhsvhynw

A Fist Full of Glitter

Aching depression was all he’d known for three years. There was no reason why, he’d just woken up one morning with that feeling and it never left. He’d tried to get help, but his parents didn’t care. They were too concerned with real problems to worry about his lack of them.

            So he suffered alone, hidden in the back corner of the classroom where no one could see him. Back where no one would try to talk to him. No one, until the day she arrived. She was the new girl and she came in like a breath of fresh air. She was a ray of sunshine in the bleak class, with blue eyes that reminded him of the one time he’d gotten to stand in the sea. Her hair was a dark shade of blonde, like a field of wheat.

            And instead of walking past him to sit with the people that would actually talk to her, she settled next to him. There was a smile on her face, but she didn’t try to make conversation. Just allowed him to sit in her presence. He kept looking up, glancing at her and wondering why she’d picked that seat. When the bell went off he waited for her to leave before he wandered toward the cafeteria.

            He found his usual seat outside, a table no one else ever sat at. It was chilly out, but he didn’t mind, the cold was the type of pain that stopped the emotional pain, at least for a little while. He picked at the packed lunch his mother made him, always the same bland sandwich and crushed chips. His eyes stayed locked on the food as he prodded it without eating. Out of the corner of his eye he saw her in the doorway, looking around for somewhere to sit. He silently prayed that she would take the other empty table on the other side of the patio space.

            His hopes were dashed when she settled in across from him. “I’m Lillah.” Her voice was like honey, sweet and smooth. It rang like a bird’s and echoed in his head. She laid down her tray and smiled at him in that same sweet way she had in class. It was the kind of smile that said she didn’t expect anything from him. And he let it touch his heart.

            “Solin.” He supplied, keeping his glace downcast. He pushed his food away, leaving it out on the table. His gaze traveled to the fresh snow that had fallen the night before.

            “Can I show you something Solin?” She chimed at him, making him turn back to her.

            “Why are you even here?” he snapped, harsher then he’d meant to be. But it didn’t deter her.

            “I just want to show you one thing okay? And then I’ll go sit somewhere else.” She opened up her bag and dug around, pulling out a bottle of silver and red glitter. “Open your hand.” He didn’t know why, but he did as she asked, laying his hand on the table. She poured the glitter into his palm and then into her own. “On the count of three, throw it up.” She started counting and he stared at the way her lips curled around each word.

            When the three sounded off he threw up his fist, releasing the tiny particles. Her arm went up with his and two fistfuls of glitter shot up, then slowly they began to fall back down. “Look up at them Solin, have you ever seen anything so beautiful?” She stared up, watching as the shining mix drifted around them. “Each little piece has its own shine, just as amazing and bright on its own as it was in the group. It doesn’t matter what light you see it in, it will always sparkle.”

            He stared at the glitter, then looked over at her. The silver and red was dotting her skin and then he realized it must be doing the same to his. Her words mulled over in his mind before they finally held meaning. She was telling him that he glittered, even when the world around him was dark. He looked back up to the sky and smiled, reaching his hand over to her. “Do you have any more?”

            She giggled, the sound ringing through the afternoon sky. She filled his fist with more glitter and he tossed it without the countdown, watching every single speck fall around them. “I knew you’d like it, it always helped me.” He looked back at her as the last specks began to settle, really looking her over. Glitter coated her face and arms, coming down into a mass concentration in her palm. And staring into the glitter made his eyes drift to the scars across her arms.

            “Thank you.” He whispered, smiling for the first time in months.

            She got up slowly. “So I guess I’ll leave you alone now.” She turned toward the school and he got up, grabbing her arm.

            “Please stay.” He pulled her back to her seat before settling into his own. “I..I mean, you don’t have to go.”

            They sat together until the end of lunch. And again every day after, starting each meal with a fist full of glitter raining down upon them.

Reviews

[Marie]

This is rather nice.

[Krisen Lison]

Thank you :)