Goodbye, Caspian (Excerpt)
A Children's Storybook
By James Pao
Stella barricaded the bedroom door
pushing everything she could find to block it
Her tiny body shoving against the furniture
her small knuckles white from the pressure
and her cheeks wet from the tears
Behind the barrier were the yelling and the screams
sometimes the harshest words cut too deep
In the darkness of the room, she covered her ears
her teardrops pooled on her lap
as she crouched on her knees
Stella looked around the room
at all the shadowy outlines
until her gaze fell upon her teddy bear
Thoughts swirled inside her mind
and memories welled and lined
the edges of her eyes
Outside, the wind pounded against the window
It howled and groaned as if to cry
the heavy rain splashing
against the little house
as though the world knew what she felt inside
Just then came a gust of wind so strong
it forced the windows to swing wide open
And in the window stood a peculiar young boy
with silky golden hair and a flowing white coat
Without an introduction, the little boy said,
“Happy birthday, my little lady”