FAT Fortitude Diaries: Kaleidoscope Dreams

Along with my personal reflections I love to share my short stories and poems on my blog. This is my latest short story in the making, "Kaleidoscope Dreams." Let me know what you think.

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Morning.

8:30 AM she awakes naturally.

No alarm. 

She stares at the ceiling for awhile wondering if her dream angel is still lurking around?

She had fallen asleep in a weird position last night feeling a slight sharp pain in her neck. She stretches her body long and wide while yawning the stench sighs of her reality. 

The sound of her neighbor mowing the lawn actually soothes her. She has a thing for the smell of freshly cut grass in the morning. Indoors it was quiet, just the way she likes it so she can hear her thoughts. She interlocks her pedicured toes under her down feather comforter. She left the air on overnight and its a bit chilly just the way she likes it. Better cold than hot she thought.

She rolls over on her side to find her phone which had fallen on the floor. She scrolls through spam emails and the randomness of the inter webs. Nothing of importance. No missed calls. No good morning texts. She always wondered why she put so much faith in her cellphone which consistently disappointed her? 

She pops up, runs to the bathroom and steps on the scale hoping that something had changed from when she last weighed herself before she went to bed. It hadn't. She stepped off and then right back on. "Sometimes this thing doesn't work right" she whispered. This time the .8 following the digital confession of her weight had decreased to .4. She felt a subtle sense of relief. 

In the shower she always prayed. For her family. For her dreams. She even prayed for the ones she disliked or hurt her. She wanted to prove to GOD, and herself, that her heart was pure. And it was. 

Getting dressed was always a struggle. She tried her best to camouflage the fattest areas of her body. Hoping that people would see the young woman she was aiming to be not her weight. As usual she chose something black to wear. She had convinced herself that black was her favorite color. And though that was a possibility her dreams were however, in color. Bright and vibrant colored mosaics that made her smile. Why wouldn't she like any of the colors she dreamed?

She gathered her belongings and headed for the door. Her neighbor, Mr. Jimmy, had just finished mowing his long. When he saw her he put on his glasses to get a better look, flashed his dentures, and licked his lips as if he was about to eat a fresh piece of fried catfish hot out the grease. She always tried to keep conversations short with Mr. Jimmy because his frisky antics made her nervous.

"Morning Mr. Jimmy!" she said politely.

Mr. Jimmy didn't answer right away he was too busy gawking at her body.

"Ahhhh looking good there girl! You need your grass cut baby?" he said in a smooth and creepy way.

"No sir. Thank you though."

She got in her car and closed the door.

The way he said "You need your grass cut baby," while licking his lips and looking her up and down left her questioning which "grass" he meant? 

She pulled off with Mr. Jimmy watching her drive away.

She had nowhere really to go but wasn't interested in spending the day in the house. She didn't bother reaching out to her friends to see what they were up to. She was the only single one in her group of friends, so she knew everyone was busy doing whatever couples do on Saturdays. She was alone with her thoughts which sometimes went into over drive. Today she promised herself not to think so much and just be.

She ended up driving to the park. She loved the sound children playing in the park. Careless and free. She walked passed a group of guys playing basketball. One of the guys yelled, "Dayum look at her she big as shit!" She felt a thump in her chest. The other guys laughed in hysteria mumbling some other fat girl obscenities. She held her breath, turned around looking over her shoulder and gave them a look of disdaining death. The laughter quickly ceased. She walked to a bench and sat down letting out all the air she had held in. Panting and breathing heavily as tears rolled down her cheeks. 

She cried when she was angry. She was thankful that the anger always released as tears and she didn't become physical. She had come a long way. 

She sat on the bench in the park for hours. Occasionally looking at her phone to see if anyone had called or text "let's do lunch" or "want to go out for drinks?" They hadn't. 

The day had transitioned to evening. She drove home, plopped down on the couch, stared at the ceiling waiting for the dream angel to come. Hoping that one day her reality would be more fulfilling than her dreams.