Through the Eyes of a Child
Summary: A very short story based on the Laundromat scene in "Fatal
Edition".
Disclaimer: Early Edition characters belong to their creators. No
copyright infringement intended. No profit is being made.
Author's Notes: What can I say? It's "Fatal Edition".I have tons of
unwritten stories prowling around my brain based on my favorite Early
Edition episode g.
Author: Tracy Diane Miller
E-mail address: tdmiller82@hotmail.com
Through the Eyes of a Child
November 3, 1999: It was cold. It's supposed to be cold in
November. And Chicago had longed been dubbed the Windy City. Not
really sure who initially coined that phrase, but it's true.
Especially today.
Sometimes you have to wonder whether kids actually feel the cold.
Very concerned and meticulous parents carefully bundle up their
little ones in winter finery; almost like mummies are they completely
wrapped up as they leave their homes for school, children in a
rainbow of different color hats, coats, and gloves peeking out from
the windows of school buses throughout the city. However, once the
call to recess is sounded, energetic children shed the oppressive
layers of clothes like warriors discarding unnecessary armor.
These "shields of winter protection" blanket the school yard even
though Nature has her own way of providing for the Earth's comfort in
frigid temperatures.
If the parents only knew.
The little boy and his little sister were happy that they didn't have
school today. Their teachers were scheduled for an "in service"
day. Teachers used that occasion to catch up on some of the more
mundane tasks of educational preparation (i.e. grading papers,
reviewing and completing progress reports, and planning curriculum)
without the demands of classroom instruction. It's quiet time of
sorts for teachers. Some relish the prospect. But for kids, it's a
day off from school without being sick!
And as luck would have it, Mom also had a day off from work. Okay,
so it wasn't luck, really; she had planned the time off to coincide
with the children's schedules. Mom had promised to take them out for
ice cream, but only if they behaved themselves while she took them on
some of her chores. First on the agenda was grocery shopping. That
wasn't so bad. Mom was quick and the stores weren't very crowded.
But then, Mom said that she had to go to the Laundromat. Doing
laundry was bad. Long and boring.
The little boy and his sister tried to think of a way to entertain
themselves while Mom worked on the laundry. A game of tag offered
the easiest solution.
A man was talking on the pay phone. He had his back towards the
children. Tag is always more fun when you have more people playing
the game. Besides, the little boy was getting tired of being "it"
(who would have thought that his little sister would be so good with
this game?)
The man felt a jab and instinctively jumped from the unexpected
touch. He turned around to confront the source.
"Got ya. You're it". The little boy said triumphantly.
The man seemed confused. Maybe he didn't know how to play this game
after all.
Mom was angry. She yelled at the little boy and his sister, telling
them to sit down and be quiet or they wouldn't get any ice cream.
Defeated, the children walked towards the chairs and sat down.
The man started to slowly walk towards them. Just then, there was a
special report on the television. The man stopped to look at the
screen. While the other patrons seemed oblivious to the news and
were focused on their laundry, the man and the little boy's eyes were
glued to the television. A newscaster spoke of an escaped killer who
had jumped out of a courthouse window before his arraignment. The
news report revealed that the escaped killer's name was Gary Hobson.
His mug shot was flashed across the screen.
Gary's eyes locked with the eyes of the child. The little boy tried
to warn his mother, but she scolded him further and threatened him
that he wouldn't get his ice cream.
The little boy tried desperately to convince his mother to listen to
him. But the man quickly grabbed a jacket and hat and disappeared
from view.
Funny thing is, through the eyes of a child, this child, the man
before him was a killer. But sadly, what the child didn't know was
that he had just gazed into the eyes of a gentle soul.
A hero.
The End.
Summary: A very short story based on the Laundromat scene in "Fatal
Edition".
Disclaimer: Early Edition characters belong to their creators. No
copyright infringement intended. No profit is being made.
Author's Notes: What can I say? It's "Fatal Edition".I have tons of
unwritten stories prowling around my brain based on my favorite Early
Edition episode g.
Author: Tracy Diane Miller
E-mail address: tdmiller82@hotmail.com
Through the Eyes of a Child
November 3, 1999: It was cold. It's supposed to be cold in
November. And Chicago had longed been dubbed the Windy City. Not
really sure who initially coined that phrase, but it's true.
Especially today.
Sometimes you have to wonder whether kids actually feel the cold.
Very concerned and meticulous parents carefully bundle up their
little ones in winter finery; almost like mummies are they completely
wrapped up as they leave their homes for school, children in a
rainbow of different color hats, coats, and gloves peeking out from
the windows of school buses throughout the city. However, once the
call to recess is sounded, energetic children shed the oppressive
layers of clothes like warriors discarding unnecessary armor.
These "shields of winter protection" blanket the school yard even
though Nature has her own way of providing for the Earth's comfort in
frigid temperatures.
If the parents only knew.
The little boy and his little sister were happy that they didn't have
school today. Their teachers were scheduled for an "in service"
day. Teachers used that occasion to catch up on some of the more
mundane tasks of educational preparation (i.e. grading papers,
reviewing and completing progress reports, and planning curriculum)
without the demands of classroom instruction. It's quiet time of
sorts for teachers. Some relish the prospect. But for kids, it's a
day off from school without being sick!
And as luck would have it, Mom also had a day off from work. Okay,
so it wasn't luck, really; she had planned the time off to coincide
with the children's schedules. Mom had promised to take them out for
ice cream, but only if they behaved themselves while she took them on
some of her chores. First on the agenda was grocery shopping. That
wasn't so bad. Mom was quick and the stores weren't very crowded.
But then, Mom said that she had to go to the Laundromat. Doing
laundry was bad. Long and boring.
The little boy and his sister tried to think of a way to entertain
themselves while Mom worked on the laundry. A game of tag offered
the easiest solution.
A man was talking on the pay phone. He had his back towards the
children. Tag is always more fun when you have more people playing
the game. Besides, the little boy was getting tired of being "it"
(who would have thought that his little sister would be so good with
this game?)
The man felt a jab and instinctively jumped from the unexpected
touch. He turned around to confront the source.
"Got ya. You're it". The little boy said triumphantly.
The man seemed confused. Maybe he didn't know how to play this game
after all.
Mom was angry. She yelled at the little boy and his sister, telling
them to sit down and be quiet or they wouldn't get any ice cream.
Defeated, the children walked towards the chairs and sat down.
The man started to slowly walk towards them. Just then, there was a
special report on the television. The man stopped to look at the
screen. While the other patrons seemed oblivious to the news and
were focused on their laundry, the man and the little boy's eyes were
glued to the television. A newscaster spoke of an escaped killer who
had jumped out of a courthouse window before his arraignment. The
news report revealed that the escaped killer's name was Gary Hobson.
His mug shot was flashed across the screen.
Gary's eyes locked with the eyes of the child. The little boy tried
to warn his mother, but she scolded him further and threatened him
that he wouldn't get his ice cream.
The little boy tried desperately to convince his mother to listen to
him. But the man quickly grabbed a jacket and hat and disappeared
from view.
Funny thing is, through the eyes of a child, this child, the man
before him was a killer. But sadly, what the child didn't know was
that he had just gazed into the eyes of a gentle soul.
A hero.
The End.