Madness and Women
Stories
Poetry
solar celebration
he was thirteen and his parents took him on vacation.
they watched a solar eclipse on their first day.
the moon blocked out the sun for a few moments and the world was thrown into darkness.
he felt happy when the sun returned.
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his father arranged for them to stay in the same room.
he turned out the light and thought about his son.
he and his wife watched their child slip in and out of his darkness.
he’d sit in his bedroom and stare into space for days at a time.
his mind disappeared and suddenly it would return.
without warning it faded away again and hid in the shadows.
he didn’t see how his child would ever enjoy his life.
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it was a few minutes before midnight and his parents were asleep.
there was a knock on the door.
a limousine was flying him up to the sun to attend an eclipse party.
it started at midnight and he was invited.
the sun’s surface will have cooled down since sunset.
it was a perfect setting for “a solar celebration under the stars.”
that’s what was written on his invitation.
the event honored the “sun’s triumphant return from the eclipse.”
he didn’t leave a note for his parents or wake them up.
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when he arrived he noticed her right away.
a beautiful girl his age and he pictured himself as romeo and she was his juliet.
he told himself now or never and walked up to her.
he recited romeo’s famous lines comparing juliet to the beauty and mystique of the sun.
they had the best night of their lives and agreed to meet again on the next eclipse.
the limousine returned him to the hotel.
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his parents didn’t notice he was gone.
he went out to the balcony and watched the sunrise.
his father stood behind him and rested his hand on his shoulder.
he knew his son would get by in life somehow.