Candle Gloves
A girl rested her head on the kitchen counter. The lights in the apartment were off, so it was hard for her to see the time. White gloves, with holes for her fingers, stretched from her hands to her elbows. The clock across the room was blurry, as was everything else for her. Her glasses rested on the counter next to her. She refused to wear them.
A boy came over to the lonely girl. He leaned on the kitchen counter next to her. He stared at the glasses as she stared at her gloves,
“I have always wondered, but never got the answer, why do you wear those gloves?”
The boy asked.
The girl closed her eyes, thinking to herself. She saw black, as everyone else would. She didn’t like the darkness,
“I don’t know anymore,”
She spoke,
“I guess... I thought of them as candles, keeping the darkness away. But now... they are just a reminder of what I’m hiding from.”
The room was silent for a minute. The boy gently grabbed her hands, moving her body towards him, “Why don’t you blow out the candles?” he asked.
“I’m not sure if I should. Won’t the monsters get me?”
“If you don’t, then you won’t be able to see what’s above the darkness and monsters.”
“What is above them?”
“Take then off, then you’ll see.” the boy tilted his head with a smile. The girl was uneasy, but she was curious. She wanted to see above the darkness and monsters. The girl looked at her gloves. They seemed to glow, but not as much as before, she thought. She looked up at the boy and nodded.
He grabbed the ends of the gloves with his fingers. She felt the light fading away at they moved farther and farther away from her elbows. Before she knew it, everything was black. She couldn’t see, she couldn’t feel. She felt weird and scared. The darkness she had ignored for so long was creeping up on her.
She started to scream, she felt overwhelmed. She then felt hands on her wrists. She started to squirm, fearing if she had done the right thing. Was it the right choice to ask for help? I only see more reminders!
“Look up.” Said a familiar voice. It sounded as though they were in front of her. She couldn’t see, but she looked up, hoping to see light. She felt her wrists starting to shake and tremble. Mist like grey bursted from her arms, flying into the non existing sky.
She kept her up. She kept looking at the mist spreading all around the darkness. She could hear the monsters hiding in the mist, mimicking her memories. As if they were there. Screams and crying were flooding the air. She covered her ears, keeping her head down. She didn’t like everything that was being released. It was scary.
The screams and cries seemed to last forever. She then heard the sound fade away. She looked up, wondering if she could see past the darkness and monsters. To see what she came for.
Her eyes widened. Stars seemed to have filled the sky. Little sparkles of light, chased away the monsters, and blocked the darkness. Her tears fell to her feet as she watched them twinkle.
“Did you know they came from the mist?”
The familiar voice spoke. She looked next to her, she could see the boy from the kitchen, still smiling a ghostly smile at her. She felt her surroundings change. Before she knew it, she was back in the kitchen. As if she never left. She was alone. The boy was gone. The girl looked at the white gloves, all folded on the counter next to her glasses.
The girl walked over and gripped her glasses before putting them on. She didn’t feel ugly wearing them anymore. She felt like herself. She could see the time now. A tearful smile rose onto her face.
The girl left the kitchen to her bedroom. She stared at a picture of a boy. It sat there at her window, soaking in the midnight stares and dust. She blew off the dust.
She saw her reflection in the picture, twinkling stars above her head.
