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Drabble Corner

Michelle Swisz

Here's April's Drabble, written on the theme of Distraction.

The Wish
by Betty Wilkie

Bucky and I explore the deserted beach on my first night back home.

"Mamma, look up at Heaven!"

Light years away a billion sparkles beckon. My burdens rocket to stellar junctions far away. Only a feathery contrail remains: The vestige of my recent challenges.

An eerie wind batters me, folds me onto my knees and I must clasp his tiny hand for balance.

"Which one's ours tonight, Bucky?"

"That biggest one, see, Mamma." He points skyward. "Wanna wish together?"

"Positively!" I fidget with my newly acquired wig, still making peace with it, tilt my face toward the Cosmos, and wish!

This month I've got illusions on my mind. My life seems to be full of them—everything will be better when (or is that a delusion?), my finances are none of my business, I don't really need a new refrigerator. It wasn't the duct tape that made me change my mind on that last one, it was the leaking onto my new hardwood floor. The new fridge is being delivered tomorrow.

What are illusions good for? They lead us merrily in some direction we think we want to go, then they pop like a bubble, leaving us destitute and forlorn, until they're replaced by another, prettier one . . . I can afford the new fridge, that wasn't the beginning of a big earthquake just now, it's possible to be independent of illusion.

Whether we could take the truth or not, I think it's true that as a friend has recently said, it's too hard to see. So, maybe, I'm thinking, illusions help us to get to the truest thing that we can see specifically by their very habit of bursting, leaving us to look to something that works better for us. Duct tape is good for a lot of things, but even it can't hide the truth forever.

Our theme for May's Drabble will be Illusions. Questions, comments, and submissions should be sent to drabble@wvu.org. Here are the Guidelines to read before writing a Drabble. In summary, a Drabble is 100 words exactly, excluding title, and due the 10th day of the month before the column is published (so May Drabble submissions are due by April 10th.)

See you next month!