Monday, September 25, 2006

Instructions

The instructions said to simply add water. So she filled the small glass jar with water and waited. She checked on it every few hours the first two days, then as the days became weeks she checked every few days. As the weeks became months she checked every few weeks and as those months added up and became years she simply forgot about the small glass jar and went on with her life. She grew up and went to high school, then college. She got a job she liked but did not love. She meet a man she liked but did not love. She liked the life she had carved for herself but she did not love it. She never complained and was grateful for a good steady life. But she did dream of far flung adventures with dashing men and fabulous clothes and exotic places. She dreamed of becoming a spy and seeking out all the worlds secrets She dreamed of being a doctor who traverses the Rainforest looking for its secret cures. She dreamed of speaking every language known to man. She held her dreams close to her and told no one of her desires. Until that day when she was reminded of the instructions she had followed years ago, "Just add water." The police came to her door that day asking questions, then the FBI showed up asking questions, then the CIA and Scotland Yard showed up asking more questions. She did not have the answers to their questions. She was confused. They took her away and put her in a small room by herself. They came again and asked the questions again, but this time she knew the answers, she even could answer in several languages. She did not know how she could do this but she could and slowly as they kept asking questions and she kept answering, she began to not just like her life but love it. What transpired after all the questions is a mystery because she left through a side door and no one has seen her since. Her parents keep mementos of her around the house to remind them that she did exist. One of the mementos her mother cherishes is the small glass jar that had once been filled with water by a little girl formulating dreams of the future, on the instruction tag it said, fill with water and all your dreams will come true.

5 comments:

Laini Taylor said...

Wow, that's so fun & magical! I love it! I wish it were so simple, to just add water. Dang dreams can be SO hard to follow. I like the idea that she slipped out of her old life through a side door and into a new and unimaginable one. Yay!

Kim G. said...

I love the "X-files", "Alias" twist to this story. (Two of my all time favorite shows.) I love the idea of walking through the looking glass kinds of adventures but in reality, I often wonder if I'd be too scared to jump if given the chance.

Thanks for sharing this fun story!

Alex S said...

That was Fantastic you little bitty Heterbones!!!! I LOVED it! ! ! I wonder where she is now!! Write some more! That was absolutely dynamo!

Anonymous said...

This is intriguing. Love the suspense over the contents of the glass jar.

Jim Di Bartolo said...

Heather, that story was awesome! I love the screwiness of it all! I kept thinking that she was making Sea Monkeys and forgot about them and then many years later they were coming for her or something. But I liked your story just the same sans Sea Monkeys :)

I also left a reply in my recent post for you, but just in case you don't trek back over there to see what I wrote I've copied it and will paste it here:

Hi Heather! Thanks for the compliments! And I'm definitely aware of Threadless. They're pretty awesome! Have you checked out www.oddica.com or www.yabbos.com or www.gama-go.com or www.defunker.com ? All pretty awesome (and I have MANY others bookmarked as I'm a HUGE t-shirt junky!) Thanks for the link though! It's the thought that counts! :)