Glass Lighter (970 words)

She walked down Thomas Street, right down the middle because no one ever drove in town, there was no reason to. She had her platform sneakers on and made sure each step was heard. Her big, dark brown eyes stared forward, focused. She had five dollars in one hand and her glass lighter in the other. She walked this path every morning, always determined, always had five dollars in one hand and her lighter in the other. The people in her town never knew where she was going. They would just wave and stare as she stomped, of course they were curious about her whereabouts but they let the determined young girl pass. It was nearly 30 degrees on a Sunday morning, so today the café was closed because the owners were all at church, so she stopped by the nearest local market to get generic coffee grinds and sugar. She waited at the register while a man limped towards her. His eyes looked worn and his hands were trembling but his smile was very pleasant. He rang up the total to $4.46 and she reached over the tall counter to give him the five dollars she had in her hand. The man tipped his hat down and smiled as she grabbed the paper bag and walked out. She continued down Thomas Street until there were no longer buildings on the sides and there were rows and rows of trees, she continued down Thomas Street until there were no longer rows and rows of trees and there were open fields filled with golden sunflowers that were much taller than she was. After about an hour and a half of walking she made it to a fairly large victorian style house. The lawn had been freshly mowed, the hedges trimmed in a rectangle shape, and the house was a bright white. She walked down the cracked sidewalk up to the red wine colored front door. The front door was already partially open because a visitor was expected at this time in the morning. She stepped through the door, hung her coat, and put her platforms on the mat. The house was full of beautiful artwork and sculptures, english ivy and peace lilies everywhere, and delicate high end furniture, but the house just felt so empty to her. She went into the kitchen to put the water on the stove. She poured herself a glass of orange juice and sat on the counter until the kettle started screaming, so she then finished making the cup of coffee. She grabbed the warm red mug and her glass of orange juice and headed down the long dark hallway to the end to where a large mahogany door was cracked. She knocked four times and walked in. In the room was a man lying on a california king size bed, rolled on his side while listening to piano recordings on a cassette player. She walked over to the side he was facing and she tapped on his shoulder so he knew to sit up, once he did she handed him the coffee and made sure it was in his grip. She went and sat in the rocking chair across the room and watched as he sipped the coffee. He looked a lot like the man at the local market; time worn, he looked weak but he had a friendly smile that appeared after each sip he took. He finished the cup of coffee and set it on the glass table next to his bed. They both sat in silence, she continued to stare. After a while she started looking around the room and turned around to look at the pictures above her head. The top picture was of three men in standing in front of a nice restaurant all smiling. The one in the middle was her father, and when this picture was taken her father had his sight. The next one was of her mother, her hair wild and curly, smiling bigger than anybody else could, her eyes bright and full of life. This picture was taken when her mother was still alive. And the final photo was of her, her father and her mother all together for the last time before her mother passed. All she had left was her father, sitting in front of her on his california king size bed, blind. He patted the other side of the bed motioning for her to come sit. She shut the curtains that were beside her and she went to sit. She reached in her pocket and took out the glass lighter and lit it in front of his face. He sat for a moment, took a big breath and smiled. Years ago it was just her, her mother, and her father and they lived in this house like any other family would. They were happy. One night, two years ago they were headed back from town in their cadillac, top down, blasting music and loving life. They were about 80 feet away from the front of their house and they saw lights coming right at them. They were hit head on by a intoxicated driver. Her mother was killed instantly and her father had many injuries including losing his sight and some minor brain injuries. She lost her mother that night and even though her father is still living, she lost him that night as well. He hasn't spoken, or moved, or really done anything since the accident. Because of the loss of his wife he has no will to live, he refused to take care of his daughter. She currently lives with her grandmother in town but she comes up to visit her father every single day. And every day she brings coffee up to his room and her glass lighter.