The mystery of soft sunsets
never ceased to amaze Tricia, a six year old whose world of delight
continually expanded its horizons.
“Tricia,
are you in bed yet?” her mother called from the kitchen, where she was baking
chocolate chip cookies. “I will be there to tuck you in shortly.”
Tricia was almost oblivious to her mother’s words. Transfixed by the soft sunset with
its full array of pastel colors, she saw one end of a rainbow that enhanced it
further. Enthralled by the gentle rays of the soft sunset, she was almost
completely oblivious to her mother’s words.
“If I
could only climb the rainbow, I could see even further,” Tricia thought to
herself, wistfully. “I wonder what I would be able to see from there.”
Almost
hypnotized by the soft sunset and call of the rainbow, she opened her bedroom
window and climbed out the window onto the warm, shingled rooftop. She huddled beside a tall chimney to enjoy the setting sun.
“A
sunset never lasts long enough,” Tricia said to herself, as the last vestiges
of the fading sun settled in the distant horizon. The cool air gradually drew her back into reality. Tricia
climbed back through her window, closed it tightly. She could hear her mother’s footsteps coming up the stairs
and quickly jumped into bed, pulling up the covers.
“I brought you some milk and chocolate cookies,” her mother said fondly. “You
are such a good child and I love you so much.”
“There
was a rainbow in the sunset tonight,” Tricia told her mother, excitedly.
“You
probably dreamed that, Tricia,” replied her mother, who was often concerned
about the stories that her daughter related about sunsets. “You have to live in
the real world.”
“But
it was real, Mommy,” insisted Tricia, as she snuggled deep under the covers. “I
will draw a picture of it for you tomorrow.”
Her
mother kissed her on the forehead.
“With
no husband and six mouths to feed, I have no time for sunsets and rainbows,”
she thought to herself, as she headed back downstairs to do the laundry.
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