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Gina Regan
5 storytellers were given a daunting task—write a 250-word (or less) story explaining a random photograph. This is Photo Spark 1. This is story 3. This is Gina Regan with “Christmas Lights.”
It’s August, and we still have Christmas lights hanging above the garage. From Christmas. I don’t even like that trite icicle décor, but since that’s what he bought back in December, I figured, “Why not cover my beautiful brick home in gaudy plastic twinkle lights?”
The deal was simple. I put the lights up; he takes the lights down. Foolproof, right? But I was dealing with more than a fool …
So, here we sit in August; my beautiful brick garage still covered in droopy fake holiday cheer. I’m on the porch, admiring the aggressive rust stains accumulating on my baby blue Chevy; beyond due for an upgrade, but who has the money for new cars these days? Umm, apparently we do because Father Christmas himself suddenly rolls up with an aquatic monstrosity attached to the back of his (noticeably less rusted) Jeep Cherokee.
Something inside me cracks like an icicle too heavy for its perch. I am an icy dagger hurtling towards the cement, gaining momentum before I smash into a million spectacular shards; a kaleidoscope of frozen rage prostrate on the ground.
I wake up coated in a sticky red substance. Confused, I look around. A messy pile of paint cans and brushes triggers my memory. I turn around, and there it is: my magnum opus. It’s beautiful. Succinct, to the point, and large enough to see from the highway—the sign that says everything.
Actually, I think the sign would really pop if I line it with twinkle lights.
Photo (Flickr CC) by Brent Marshall
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Gina Regan
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