By Chloe Lee

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Shutting her eyes firmly until compression so all she could see were glittering stars, Hope’s imagination stretched into answering her yearning for a companionship to fulfill her dreaded playtime. Just like that, Faith was born.

As they escalated towards the sky, not even gravity could pull them down or stop them. Or so they thought.

November 1, 2013  

After hours of playtime, Hope found herself bored over her tea set. She watched the clock hand move at an angle second by second; her eyes parched like she had been watching paint dry for the past hour.  

Hope had just learned her imagination could only go so far. Sitting inert, Mrs. Bear was suddenly not talking anymore. What used to be platters full of strawberry shortcake was now a vacant spread of tableware – spotless of any crumbs. Hope was heartbroken over Mrs. Bear’s ignorance and the bare scenery, but she decided to look past her disappointment and play to her strengths.  

Shutting her eyes firmly until all she could see were glittering stars, her imagination stretched to answer her yearning plea for companionship to fulfill her dreaded playtime.  

Just like that, Faith was born.  

August 19th, 2014   

Hope discovered a lot about Faith over the past nine months.  

First, she didn’t like ice cream.  

Oddly enough, even on a scorching summer day, Faith would always leave out her scoop of strawberry ice cream until it evaporated away. Hope didn’t understand how a person could pass on such a delectable treat, but she didn’t think much of it, assuming Faith just wasn’t hungry.  

Second, she didn’t have a home.  

Now this Hope didn’t mind because it meant infinite sleepovers with Faith. At three in the morning Hope would laugh hysterically at one of Faith’s numerous jokes so hard that tears would form from the corners of her eyelids. Almost every night, Mom and Dad woke up concerned to find Hope all by herself in a slightly wet bed. After several doctor visits and no diagnoses considered, they gave up.  

Third, she could make the dullest moment into an adventure.  

It was quite an impressive skill to have. In seconds, dinner at Uncle Brad’s turned into an extensive treasure hunt searching for the scarf he stole from Mom as a kid. In the middle of the dinner, Faith whispered in Hope’s ear, begging her to excuse herself from the awkward dinner conversation so they could go search. 

As Faith and Hope rummaged through Uncle Brad’s top-secret attic, they defied all the laws of gravity: leaping, jumping, and sprinting from Uncle Brad’s malicious cat who was eyeing their theft.  

“Come on, Hope!!!! Get the scarf so we can go!!!,” Faith yelled, anxiously browsing the room.  

All that came out were muffled words from Hope stuck underneath the never-ending piles of clothes.  

“I don’t know what it looks like!!”   

Faith declared with no hesitation, “Purple with orange stripes on the top.”  

Hope wasn’t sure how Faith knew that, but she didn’t question it. It was a given; Faith just knew everything. Suddenly, the scarf appeared right at the grasp of Hope’s hands.  

But their mission wasn’t done. The malicious cat was stomping closer. They interlaced their fingers and levitated above the heap of Uncle Brad’s wardrobe like there was no tomorrow. Using all their remaining energy, they propelled themselves out the door and immediately locked out the cat. 

On the way home, Hope could still feel her heart beating faster than the wind, but this wouldn’t be the last time.  

Math worksheets became rounds of tic tac toe, grocery trips became a circus juggling apples, waiting alone in the pediatrician room became a spontaneous concert with stethoscopes. 

Fourth, she was the best recess buddy anyone could ask for.  

It came down to this.  

Faith never questioned it.  

She never laughed at Hope like the other girls did.  

She just knew and understood.   

October 31, 2016  

They were two peas in a pod. Literally.  

For Halloween, Hope was insistent on a joint costume as a surprise for Faith’s birthday. Mom and Dad were confused but after some deep insistence, they played along with the whole, “but I need it for Faith!!!!” whining. Just like every other case, they assumed she was talking about something from church and laughed it off.  

January 4th, 2017   

Hope and Faith had been playing on the swings during recess. Like doves, they flew above all that lied beneath them, their whole worlds blurred into euphoria. The creases of their mouths formed into smiles and their quiet chatter turned into bursts of laughter. As they escalated towards the sky, not even gravity could pull them down or stop them. Or so they thought.  

Soon they weren’t alone. Spoiled Sydney approached Hope and asked, “What are you smiling at, loser?”  

Taken aback since this was the first time Spoiled Sydney talked to her, Hope stumbled over her words.  

“O-h. Um. I-I-don’t know. There wa-wa-was just some-e-ething there.”   

“Silly goose! Come play with us over on the slide.”   

Hesitant, Hope looked back at Faith, her eyes mixed with reluctance and uncertainty. Faith silently nodded at her and ushered her to go; she knew this day would come. She knew she was ready.  

Just like that, Hope joined the group of girls. Faith was alone, but present without an ounce of disappointment. She was content and full of hope. 

Fate had done its job once again.  

Process

This was a piece where I experimented with writing a flash fiction story. Knowing it was confined to brevity, I specifically thought about the best progression that would be able to develop a plot and story the best. At the same time, I wanted to just write my heart out, so with both methods in mind I was able to time-block the different scenes and develop a meaningful story. I definitely learned a lot about storytelling and the process of flash fiction.