The Twilight Twenty-Five
thetwilight25 dot com

Prompt: #17
Pen Name: 2Shaes
Pairing/Character(s): Emily
Rating: K+
Word Count: 475

Photo prompts can be found here:
thetwilight25 dot com/round-eight/prompts

Lessons

"Mama, what are these?" My five year old asked as she walked toward me dragging something.

I took them before she tripped. "Where did you find these?"

"Daddy's gettin' stuff ready for the mirage sale," she answered, her tongue slipping through the space where her baby teeth had been.

"It's a garage sale." I wiped a bit of dirt from her cheek.

She examined them carefully. "They look like funny rolly blades."

"They're a much older version." I laughed. "They're called skates."

"Where did you get them?" she asked.

"Grandma bought a pair for me and cousin, Leah," I answered, smiling fondly. "We wore these everywhere. Leah taught me how to skate."

"Really?"

"Yep. She taught me how to do a lot of things. She was so graceful on skates and she never, ever fell." I smirked. "I fell all the time. But she never laughed at me. She used to say, 'Emily, you have to keep trying and you'll get it.' And I did eventually. She told me to never give up."

"She's a good friend, huh?"

"The best." I smiled sadly.

My daughter twisted her mouth, which meant there was a question she wanted to ask but didn't know how. I waited patiently until she was able to form her words. "Mama, how come we don't see her?"

"Who?"

"Leah. You always talk about her, but she never comes over to see you."

"Well, honey, she lives in Oregon with her husband. That's quite a distance to travel."

"You could talk on the computer phone like I do with Grandma sometimes."

"I suppose that's true." It had been years since I'd to talk to Leah. It wasn't for lack of trying, but it's hard to forgive someone for taking your dreams. Of course, she understood, but that didn't take her pain away. And it hurt me knowing that just being around me was hurting her. So I stopped trying. But there wasn't a day that I didn't think about her. Every amazing event that happened to me, she was the first person I thought about calling, but couldn't.

When Leah left she didn't look back. The few times she visited, she didn't go out of her way to speak with me, and I didn't force myself on her. I'd put her through enough.

"But you're best friends, right? I wouldn't even wanna think about being far away from Becky."

I sighed heavily. "Sometimes people grow apart. But she's still the bravest person I've ever known. Your Daddy and I owe her a lot."

My daughter looked down at the skates and began twisting the wheels. "Is it hard to skate?"

"It's a little scary at first, but after that, it's easy."

She looked at me thoughtfully. "Will you teach me how to skate, Mama?"

"Sure, honey." I leaned down and kissed her forehead.

A/N: I'd love to hear your thoughts! :)