“Mom, I’m going out,” Sara yelled from her room. “Is there anything you need?”
Her mom replied, “You should have told me. I just came home. I would have got your stuff. What is it that you are going out for?”
“Never mind.”
“Don’t forget to wear your mask.”
Sara grabbed her mask and her bicycle (Tangy) with her rose (Rose) in the pannier and off she went to buy a gift for Kai.
“Have you decided on something?” Rose inquired.
“Yes, I will get him chocolates,” answered Sara. “He loves chocolates more than anything and I am sure he will like my gift and then we can be friends again.”
Rose was delighted to hear that, “I am sure of that too. It sounds wonderful.”
“What do you think, Tangy?” Sara asked as they were slowly riding towards the store.
“Well I think you’ve gotten fat,” quipped Tangy. “You have been sitting at home and laying on bed all day. You have been munching because of your anxieties and you hardly get any exercise done. I can feel the extra weight of yours and I don’t like it.”
“I was talking about the gift idea, Tangy,” Sara retorted. “Anyway, I am happy with what we are about to do and nothing can spoil it.”
When they reached the store Sara parked Tangy along a row of other bicycles and said, “Tangy, you stay here. I’m taking Rose with me inside. We’ll be back soon.”
“No,” stomped Tangy. “I wanna go inside. I don’t want to stay here. Why does that stupid flower get to go inside?”
“Bicycles are not allowed inside the store,” Sara answered. “It’ll be just a couple of minutes. We’ll be back in no time.”
“She’s right, Tangy,” Rose added. “Rules are rules and I am not stupid. Nice flowers are not stupid.”
Tangy spoke in a tearful tone, “I never get to have fun. I get tied up like a monkey in a circus while Rose gets to fly around. This is so unfair.”
“Alright, I’ll untie you,” Sara took pity on him. “But you have to promise to stay here and be a good boy. You cannot come inside and we will be back quickly. Understand?”
“Poor Sara,” Tangy whispered to himself. “She doesn’t know what is going to happen to her.”
And Tangy gave an evil laugh. Sara was too happy to notice it but Rose did. Sara’s heart was going thump thump thump.
Frank Solanki 