I wrote this short-short story for a writing contest. The rules were to keep the story under 700 words and to write about an expensive found object that the finder had no intention of returning. My friend sent the contest link to me, but the contest was already over. He said, \u201cWrite it anyway.\u201d So I did.<\/p>\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s mine,\u201d Maya said running to her room. A mix of anger, excitement and pride stirred around inside me. In the hallway, leaning against the wall facing Maya\u2019s door, the Tucson heat seemed to seep into my back. Sliding down, my knees buckled then my buttocks hit the floor.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s mine,\u201d I repeated, hoping Maya would open her door, peek out and say more. Those sweet words would do. She could talk.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Fearing I\u2019d cause an explosive episode, I spent fifteen minutes trying to coax Maya out of her room. When my pleading didn\u2019t work, I called Daniel. I sure hated bothering him at work, but I had no choice. As soon as he answered, I said, \u201cCome home now.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIs everything alright?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMaya just spoke her first words.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel\u2019s voice softened as he asked, \u201cWhat did she say?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe said, it\u2019s mine.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cReally, ok, what\u2019s going on?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPlease, come home, then I\u2019ll explain everything.\u201d<\/p>\n
I ran to meet Daniel at the garage door. \u201cPromise you\u2019ll let me decide what to do.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow can I promise. What\u2019s going on?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo Daniel, you need to promise before I tell you.\u201d<\/p>\n
His questioning eyes focused on me, seeming to see my upset for the first time. \u201cOkay. Okay. You have it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cLook.\u201d I pointed to the headline on the first page of that day\u2019s newspaper. It said, \u201cAncient Figurine Stolen From The Tucson Art Museum\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou had me rush home for this?\u201d Daniel nudged me into the house.<\/p>\n
I followed him into the kitchen. \u201cI think Maya has it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat do you mean, Maya has it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cJust that. Remember the toy she found in the parking lot on Tuesday?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat beat up piece of wood?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes, look at the picture.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou sure?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot exactly, that\u2019s why I asked you to come home.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIf it is, we\u2019re giving it back,\u201d he said breaking his promise sooner than I expected.<\/p>\n
Things were never as simple as Daniel saw them. Maybe in a few months after Maya tired of it, we could turn it in. Maybe mail it to the museum. At least that was my plan. As we argued about what to do, Maya came into the kitchen.<\/p>\n
\u201cDaniel, please drop it for now.\u201d<\/p>\n
His hands were shaking. I put my hands over his. His strong hands engulfed mine. \u201cBaby, we have to give it back.\u201d<\/p>\n
I nodded.<\/p>\n
Looking at Maya, Daniel smiled. \u201cShe can talk?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes, it\u2019s wonderful.\u201d Maya sat in her chair. I separated my hands from Daniel\u2019s. \u201cAlright Maya, let\u2019s get lunch.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Daniel went over to her. \u201cLet Daddy see your toy.\u201d<\/p>\n
Maya shook her head. She looked past him and then started rocking. He didn\u2019t dare touch her. I was glad he had at least kept that in mind. Maya ate lunch, right there at the table, holding the figurine in her hand. Daniel stood behind her, alternating between looking at the picture in the newspaper and doing his best to examine the figurine without touching it or Maya.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s definitely it,\u201d he finally said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI knew it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re giving it back. Today.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou promised.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat was before you told me she was a thief.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot fair. She\u2019s a six-year-old child and she found it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo what, doesn\u2019t mean she can\u2019t be a thief.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cReally, Daniel. Stop calling her that.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOkay. Maybe you\u2019re right, but you and I would be thieves.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think so\u2026 besides, we can\u2019t take it from her?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAll I\u2019m saying is\u2026 we\u2019re turning it in. Period.\u201d<\/p>\n
Maya flapped her hands as she counted. Our spat was putting her off schedule. \u201cLet\u2019s deal with this later. Okay?\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel sat in the chair next to Maya. She counted with her hands in the air. When she reached 231, Daniel snatched the figurine. Maya screamed, banged her head against the chair and her arms were moving above her head.<\/p>\n
\u201cEnough Maya,\u201d Daniel said.<\/p>\n
Maya stopped flinging her head against the chair. \u201cIt\u2019s mine.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Feeling stunned, we just looked at her and Daniel had tears in his eyes.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes, Maya. It\u2019s yours,\u201d Daniel said putting the figurine in her hand.<\/p> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
I don\u2019t think of this as a complete story. The rules also said the story had to have a beginning, middle and end. It was a difficult task. To me, it\u2019s just a scene, something you might find as a part of a larger story. I\u2019m sure there are writers who can and succeed at doing a better job of writing short-short stories.<\/p> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\t <\/div>\n\t \t<\/div>\n\t\t <\/div>\n\t \n\t<\/div>\n\t\n\t<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A Short-Short Story: Maya Found Her Voice. A story of less than 700 words. Written for a contest that I never entered.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":991,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17,23,24],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-978","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-growing-up-girl","category-short-stories","category-on-people","has-post-title","has-post-date","has-post-category","has-post-tag","has-post-comment","has-post-author",""],"builder_content":"
\u201cIt\u2019s mine,\u201d Maya said running to her room. A mix of anger, excitement and pride stirred around inside me. In the hallway, leaning against the wall facing Maya\u2019s door, the Tucson heat seemed to seep into my back. Sliding down, my knees buckled then my buttocks hit the floor.<\/p>
\u201cIt\u2019s mine,\u201d I repeated, hoping Maya would open her door, peek out and say more. Those sweet words would do. She could talk.\u00a0<\/p>
Fearing I\u2019d cause an explosive episode, I spent fifteen minutes trying to coax Maya out of her room. When my pleading didn\u2019t work, I called Daniel. I sure hated bothering him at work, but I had no choice. As soon as he answered, I said, \u201cCome home now.\u201d<\/p>
\u201cIs everything alright?\u201d<\/p>
\u201cMaya just spoke her first words.\u201d<\/p>
Daniel\u2019s voice softened as he asked, \u201cWhat did she say?\u201d<\/p>
\u201cShe said, it\u2019s mine.\u201d<\/p>
\u201cReally, ok, what\u2019s going on?\u201d<\/p>
\u201cPlease, come home, then I\u2019ll explain everything.\u201d<\/p>
I ran to meet Daniel at the garage door. \u201cPromise you\u2019ll let me decide what to do.<\/p>
\u201cHow can I promise. What\u2019s going on?\u201d<\/p>
\u201cNo Daniel, you need to promise before I tell you.\u201d<\/p>
His questioning eyes focused on me, seeming to see my upset for the first time. \u201cOkay. Okay. You have it,\u201d he said.<\/p>
\u201cLook.\u201d I pointed to the headline on the first page of that day\u2019s newspaper. It said, \u201cAncient Figurine Stolen From The Tucson Art Museum\u201d.<\/p>
\u201cYou had me rush home for this?\u201d Daniel nudged me into the house.<\/p>
I followed him into the kitchen. \u201cI think Maya has it.\u201d<\/p>
\u201cWhat do you mean, Maya has it?\u201d<\/p>
\u201cJust that. Remember the toy she found in the parking lot on Tuesday?\u201d<\/p>
\u201cThat beat up piece of wood?\u201d<\/p>
\u201cYes, look at the picture.\u201d<\/p>
\u201cYou sure?\u201d<\/p>
\u201cNot exactly, that\u2019s why I asked you to come home.\u201d<\/p>
\u201cIf it is, we\u2019re giving it back,\u201d he said breaking his promise sooner than I expected.<\/p>
Things were never as simple as Daniel saw them. Maybe in a few months after Maya tired of it, we could turn it in. Maybe mail it to the museum. At least that was my plan. As we argued about what to do, Maya came into the kitchen.<\/p>
\u201cDaniel, please drop it for now.\u201d<\/p>
His hands were shaking. I put my hands over his. His strong hands engulfed mine. \u201cBaby, we have to give it back.\u201d<\/p>
I nodded.<\/p>
Looking at Maya, Daniel smiled. \u201cShe can talk?\u201d<\/p>
\u201cYes, it\u2019s wonderful.\u201d Maya sat in her chair. I separated my hands from Daniel\u2019s. \u201cAlright Maya, let\u2019s get lunch.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>
Daniel went over to her. \u201cLet Daddy see your toy.\u201d<\/p>
Maya shook her head. She looked past him and then started rocking. He didn\u2019t dare touch her. I was glad he had at least kept that in mind. Maya ate lunch, right there at the table, holding the figurine in her hand. Daniel stood behind her, alternating between looking at the picture in the newspaper and doing his best to examine the figurine without touching it or Maya.<\/p>
\u201cThat\u2019s definitely it,\u201d he finally said.<\/p>
\u201cI knew it.\u201d<\/p>
\u201cWe\u2019re giving it back. Today.\u201d<\/p>
\u201cYou promised.\u201d<\/p>
\u201cThat was before you told me she was a thief.\u201d<\/p>
\u201cNot fair. She\u2019s a six-year-old child and she found it.\u201d<\/p>
\u201cSo what, doesn\u2019t mean she can\u2019t be a thief.\u201d<\/p>
\u201cReally, Daniel. Stop calling her that.\u201d<\/p>
\u201cOkay. Maybe you\u2019re right, but you and I would be thieves.\u201d<\/p>
\u201cI don\u2019t think so\u2026 besides, we can\u2019t take it from her?\u201d<\/p>
\u201cAll I\u2019m saying is\u2026 we\u2019re turning it in. Period.\u201d<\/p>
Maya flapped her hands as she counted. Our spat was putting her off schedule. \u201cLet\u2019s deal with this later. Okay?\u201d<\/p>
Daniel sat in the chair next to Maya. She counted with her hands in the air. When she reached 231, Daniel snatched the figurine. Maya screamed, banged her head against the chair and her arms were moving above her head.<\/p>
\u201cEnough Maya,\u201d Daniel said.<\/p>
Maya stopped flinging her head against the chair. \u201cIt\u2019s mine.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>
Feeling stunned, we just looked at her and Daniel had tears in his eyes.<\/p>
\u201cYes, Maya. It\u2019s yours,\u201d Daniel said putting the figurine in her hand.<\/p>\n
I don\u2019t think of this as a complete story. The rules also said the story had to have a beginning, middle and end. It was a difficult task. To me, it\u2019s just a scene, something you might find as a part of a larger story. I\u2019m sure there are writers who can and succeed at doing a better job of writing short-short stories.<\/p>","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mhmundy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/978"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mhmundy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mhmundy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mhmundy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mhmundy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=978"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/mhmundy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/978\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1188,"href":"https:\/\/mhmundy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/978\/revisions\/1188"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mhmundy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/991"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mhmundy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=978"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mhmundy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=978"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mhmundy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=978"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}