Thank you to Kaitlyn Sanchez and Lydia Lukidis for organizing this contest, and a special thanks to agent and guest judge Ameerah!
Fall- Credit: Vino Li / Unsplash
THE SOUL OF THE SKY
(200 words)
Mom, Grammy, and I picnic under the moon. It’s our autumn ritual.
“How does it glow like that?” I ask, squinting at the craters. “I heard it’s a ball of cheese.”
“Oh, Inez,” Mom says. “The light from the sun bounces off of it.”
But that doesn’t sound right.
Grammy sips her hot cocoa. “I like to think it’s the bright soul of the sky.”
That sounds more like it.
Grammy snuggles me close. “Imagine being on the moon. Weightless in the soul of the sky. Looking back at our little blue planet. Imagine all the people looking back at you.”
The three of us clink our mugs together.
“Cheers to looking up,” Grammy says.
But that was many moons ago.
Now, Mom straightens my little sister’s hat. “I wish you could have met Grammy,” Mom says. “She always loved these picnics.”
My sister squints at the craters. “Why does it glow?”
I button her coat. “I like to think it’s the bright soul of the sky.”
“Me too,” Mom says.
I imagine Grammy there, weightless. Looking back at our little blue planet.
Looking back at us.
The three of us clink our mugs together. “Cheers to always looking up.”