“If She’s So Amazing, Why Don’t You Date Her?,” A Short Story

When she looks down at her hand, she sees the object carved.

When she looks at the object carved, she sees bloodshed that no one cared about.

And when she remembers the bloodshed, she hears the innards scream that no one heard.

The keychain on her key ring matched the other one she put the twin on.

She took the vase and the flowers, the identical keychain to hers, opened the back door, threw them, chunked them, as far as those “frail” and self-traumatized arms could.

As she looked at the broken glass spread over the concrete and watched her flowers bounce on the ground as the impact came upon them, the water spill and runneth over, her hair fell in her face and her breath was heavy.

She stepped backwards into the house, shut the door, locked the door, chained up the door, and walked back into the kitchen. She poured a glass and leaned against her counter. She took a gulp, sat the glass down as a tear rolled down her face and she slid down the cabinet onto the cold floor.

She had become the ice princess.

She had given herself the scars that she accused.

When she drives down the road at night, after work, her mundane world awaits her.

Her reason to be on earth, she claims, is because others need her.

Kelsey, always pulled in every direction, never for herself unless it’s any sort of attention, doesn’t love when the other snaps.

The definition of fearless means simply without fear.

Why was she fearful?

She drives to work, looks to the left, and remembers.

She remembers her.

And it hurts.

Regret circles the mind as the wheels turn.

The better times, she remembers. And they haunt.

Her eyes, she remembers. Her smile. How she was apart of her team. And then she just left.

She remembers the laugh, the two sets of flowers she received for work and for home. She remembers the effort set forth. And she remembers the no follow through.

She knows she has to forgive.

She remembers Jesus taking the wheel. Slosh, slosh, slosh, slosh, the four wheels drove into the snow.

Her highlighted hair framed her face. She sprayed the pink and black bottle, looked up at the house, got out of the car, walked up to the elevated steps, and met the love of her life.

“Kelsey?”, she said. And Kelsey hugged her.

They shared hot chocolate and secrets. They had a puzzle contest to see who finished first.

Kelsey kissed a girl and she liked it. This is when Kelsey knew how deeply she felt about Margie.

Rolling around, Kelsey felt a tear run down Margie’s face. Kelsey came up and said, “Marg- what’s wrong?” Margie said, “And I thought I loved her.”

Their best moments they had is when they thought in the present, but that is now thought in the past.

Margie’s red flowing hair was crisped by the snow-frosted wind. She exited her therapist’s office for the second time that week with her waterproof mascara and sat down at Marsala’s, a local coffee shop in that college town where she met her.

“Margie!” Kendra said. Margie smiled and said, “Thanks for meeting me for coffee, sit.”

As they sat down, Kendra said, “Margie, I’ve known you a long time-” Interrupting her, Margie said, “Yes, Ken. That is the point.” Kendra said, “Is this why you asked me to meet? To hear her side of the story?” Margie said, “More like why’d you introduce me to Kelsey in the first place.” Kendra said, “With her faults and flaws, she’s still the best anyone could’ve had. She would’ve taken care of you I thought.”

Margie smiled and said, “If she’s so amazing, then why don’t you date her, Kendra?” And there was that deer in headlights. A gazelle or a cheetah?

A