Don’t Be Sad, Don’t Be Blue- Friday Flash

DON’T BE SAD, DON’T BE BLUE

By Melissa L. Webb

Gritting her teeth, Nora frowned as the stress rolled through her. How much could one person take? With her husband losing his job, the bills looming on the horizon, and her son’s constant trouble at school, a broken dishwasher was just the last straw.

She stepped out of the kitchen, taking a deep breath as she went. There wasn’t anything she could do about it right now. She couldn’t fix it herself and she didn’t have the money to call a repairman. She’d have to ask Roger to look at it when he came home from his daily job search. Another burden to add to his shoulders. Boy, was he going to explode.

Hurrying into the living room, she stood there, fighting the tears that threatened her eyes. Her whole life was a constant worry lately. It was becoming harder by the minute to stay positive. She needed a break.

She glanced over at the glass case housing all her knick-knacks. A smile came to her lips as she took in a small blue figurine. She walked towards it, her heart feeling lighter as she did.

Popping open the glass door, she patted the funny looking creature on the head. She knew it was silly, that the cheap novelty item really couldn’t do anything for her, but she felt better every time she touched the Worry Doll.

Her mother had sworn by them when Nora was younger. She had all kinds of rules for them, like talking to them as if they were people, and taking them outside to air out once every couple of weeks. From the way she treated them, you would have thought they were one of her children.

Nora laughed, thinking how her mother would react if she knew how she treated this little guy like the porcelain knick-knack it was.

But she had to admit it did make her feel better every time. It must have something to do with thoughts of her mother. Whistling merrily, she closed the glass door, heading happily into the back of the house. She had laundry to get done.

When she was out of the room, a shimmering started in the glass cabinet. It was faint at first, but soon it intensified, spreading out into the living room. A blue creature took shape, growling as it looked around. The Worry Doll sniffed the air, the negativity it had adsorbed showing plainly on its face.

It chuckled with evil mischief as it started forward. She should have listened to her mother. There was a reason you aired all the negativity out of a Worry Doll. Nora thought she had stress before. She was about to learn the true meaning of the word.