The Sandbox CHAPTER 10

Swish. Forward and up. Backward and down. This is my favorite playground. This is my favorite swing. It still is. But its not my favorite part of the playground anymore. My favorite is the sandbox at the corner. But I haven’t stood there for some time now. I’m still so scared to go there.

The swing is not as fun anymore. It only does two things now. It only moves you forward. And then back down. I stand up from the swing and stare it down. Why have you changed?

But truth is, it hasn’t. It’s still the same swing. But now I realize what this swing represents. Loneliness. Even when you try to enjoy it, it brings you back to reality.

You dream, you excite, you push. Forward and up. But no matter what you do. It always brings you back. Backward and down. The sad part is, for a long time, I was comfortable playing on this swing.

I pause for a moment, contemplating on how sad my life was on that swing.

And then a thought hit me. And it got me smiling. The thought? It’s Alexi. It’s her. It’s because of her I left that swing. And she did it with no effort at all. I just had to look at her.

I walk along the playground as I continue thinking about Alexi. For everything her mother told me. For everything Alexi told her. It’s all the other way around.

Olivia told me that I showed happiness to Alexi. Forward and up. Backward and down. The truth is, It was Alexi who showed me happiness… the true meaning of it. And all I did was share it with her.

Happiness is not hard to find. All you have to do is look around. Happiness is everywhere.

Happiness is the sun as well as the rain. It’s in your mind as well as your heart. It’s every part of the playground. The slide, the swing, the merry-go-round, there’s even happiness at the corner of the… sandbox.

I stop walking to realize that I’m standing on that very corner of the sandbox. Just awhile ago I was afraid to go near here. But again, Alexi has brought me away from the swing ang back to here, the corner of the sandbox, where I found happiness.

I look to the sun as if to look at Alexi. I smile and tell her, “You’re the best! I wish I had known you longer. In that way, I would have more memories to remember you with. And more reasons to smile. I miss you, Alexi! And for those few moments with you, I thank you!”

I take a deep breath. My eye catches stare to the house across the park. I look to the very window wear I saw Alexi sitting with her green dress. I smile again. Another idea has popped into my mind.

In a split second I begin running out of the playground and across the park.

Ding Dong!

… No answer.

Ding Dong!

Still no answer.

I look around while waiting. There’s a nice porch with a wooden bench right by the door.

Sigh! I wait for a few more seconds, but still no answer. I begin to walk away when suddenly the door opens.

“Jacob! You caught me by surprise! Is everything ok?”

“Hello there, Mrs. Olivia! I hope I didn’t disturb you. But I was wondering. Can you tell me more stories about Alexi?”

Olvia smiled as she closed the door behind her. She sat me down beside her on the bench.

“Jacob, as often as you want, you can come here and I will be more than happy to share stories with you about Alexi,” she told me while comforting me with a hug around my shoulders.

And the whole afternoon she told me stories. Fun ones. They made me laugh. And I noticed that as she told me stories of Alexi, it helped ease the pain from her as well.

Soon enough, we were both smiling. Replacing the recent sad memory of her loss with the past memories of glee she had brought into our lives.

Every story I would hear would bring about a pleasing feeling all over. And with every story, my smile grows bigger. Exactly like the first time I saw the twinkle in Alexi’s eye, and then the next, and so on until the last. The last twinkle which was lost with the rain, but found again with her laugh.

You see, happiness doesn’t disappear with the loss of someone who brought it about. Happiness is everywhere. And mine is Alexi.

She’s my sun and my rain. She’s in my mind and in my heart. She’s my favorite swing on my favorite playground. She’s the sand that sparkles at the corner of the sandbox. And now, even when I close my eyes, everytime I close my eyes, the first thing that I see is Alexi smiling at me.


The End.

Volume I.