Chapter 1
Gabriele Koch stuck out her tongue, it was braving the frigid cold in an attempt to catch snowflakes. Flakes landed delicately upon the tip and she opened her eyes. She turned to her baby brother, Maxi, who was busy make snow angels in the thick mounds of snow.
“Do these look identical to you?” She asked without closing her mouth. Her older sister, Vanessa, had told her that if she ate two identical snowflakes it would grant her a wish.
Maxi climbed to his feet and waddled over to her. He pinched her tongue with a gloved hand and examined it. “I can’t tell.” He let go and Gabriele swallowed.
“I guess we’ll find out if my wish comes true.” She smiled.
A snowball whacked Gabriele in the back of the head and she turned to see Vanessa bouncing a snowball up and down in her hand. An evil smile formed on her face and she slung it at Gabriele.
She dropped to the snow and the snowball flew over her and laced their little brother in the forehead. The shock, more than anything, knocked him off balance and Maxi fell onto his butt.
Maxi looked at Vanessa, who just burst out laughing. He grabbed a clump of snow and smashed it between his hand in effort to make a snowball. He threw it at Vanessa but it didn’t go very far and she laughed even harder.
Gabriele collected a pile of snow, “This is how you make a snowball, Maxi.” Her little brother peered on in interest as she packed the snow into a ball. She displayed the finished product to him.
Maxi clapped.
“You wanna see a real
snowball?” Vanessa stomped through the high collection of snow and held out her hands to Maxi. The snowball was larger and rounder than Gabriele’s. “Which one do you think is better?”
Maxi hesitated for a moment. Gabriele gave him a warm smile, because as much as she hated to admit it, Vanessa’s snowball was better. Maxi’s finger hovered over Gabriele’s then it went to Vanessa’s.
He looked unsure and moved back to the center.
“Don’t worry Maxi.” Vanessa said, “You won’t hurt Gabriele’s feelings if you pick mine.”
“And you won’t hurt Vanessa’s
if you pick mine.” Gabriele gave her a sideways glance.
“Okay.” Maxi said and took Vanessa’s snowball. “I like this the bestest.”
“Good choice.” Vanessa beamed.
Gabriele looked at Maxi, “That was a good choice. Now we have two snowballs while the Snowball Queen has none.”
Vanessa’s face dropped before she was simultaneously pelted with two snowballs.
After shedding layers of wet clothes onto the entranceway floor, the Koch children made their way into the Kitchen and climbed into the stools around the kitchen islands. Their mother laid out piping hot cups of cocoa.
“Vanessa, I need you to watch Maxi and Gabriele while I go shopping for someone’s birthday present.” Mother said.
“Of course, Mother.” Vanessa said and took a sip of her cocoa.
“Watch me?” Gabriele said, “I’m only two years younger than her. Plus, I turn 11 in a week, so it’s practically only one.”
“When you get to be zero years younger than Vanessa I’ll let you watch Maxi. Now, what type of cake do you want for your birthday?”
Gabriele looked up at her mother and considered ignoring her out of spite. “Chocolate.”
Mother smiled, grabbed her keys off the table and exited the kitchen.
“After we’re done with our cocoa, you can clean the dishes, Gabriele.” Vanessa said.
“You don’t tell me what to do.” Gabriele downed the remainder of her coca and slapped it down on the counter. “I’m gonna play the piano.”
Gabriele marched out of the kitchen and Vanessa tailed her, “You can’t play it until you clean the dishes.”
Gabriele rolled her eyes. Vanessa was really full of herself. “You don’t have any real authority you know.” Gabriele lifted the fallboard of the grand piano and sat on the bench.
Vanessa slammed the fallboard. “Maybe I don’t. But mother does
, and unless you do the dishes right now, she’s going to hear about this.”
Gabriele sucked her teeth, “Fine.” She stomped into the kitchen. There were a lot more dishes than just the cocoa cups. She grumbled and turned on the warm water. Vanessa thought she was so special just because she was the oldest.
She got to do everything first. She just had to show her up every chance she got. Couldn’t she have just let her teach Maxi how to build a snowball? But when it came to responsibilities though, Gabriele and Vanessa were both given a fair share (except in the case of baby-sitting.)
After she finished washing and drying the dishes, she was finally able to play the piano. She decided to make a video like the one Five For Fight made for 100 years
. She would need an assortment of wigs and clothes to give off the impression that she was aging.
The only wigs she could find were black halloween wigs, which was a sharp contrast to her light brown hair. She could use scrunchies and stuff instead. She grabbed some of her mother’s makeup, she wouldn’t mind.
She got Maxi and a gave him a video camera. “Just point it at the grand piano and hold it still. We’re going to do this twice. Once for sound and once for the video.”
“Gotcha.” Maxi said.
Gabriele cracked her knuckles and sat on the bench. She played an instrumental introduction of the first lyrics on the piano. “I’m fiftee-een for a moment. Caught in between ten and twenty and I’m just dreaming, counting the ways to where you are...”
The recording of the first part went surprisingly well. Gabriele was pretty sure if she hit all the notes right and she thought her voice sounded rather nice.
“Good job, Maxi.” Gabriele said and ruffled the dark hair of her brother’s head. “Now, we do the video portion.” Gabriele popped the lid of the piano open so it would look more like Five For Fighting’s.
She started the video in a brown hoodie, jeans and she put her hair in a ponytail. She put on a watch, lipsticks and sat down on the bench. “Okay, Maxi, you have to circle the piano.” After three tries and 10 minutes, they nailed the first part of the video.
“Now you can just hold the camera still this time.” Gabriele positioned Maxi. She let her hair down and changed into a green tee shirt for the second part of the video.
After they recorded the second part, Vanessa walked into the living room. “Alright, Maxi. Time to get ready for bed.”
“Come on Vanessa, I’m only at 22.” Gabriele said, “We have a lot more video to shoot.”
“It’s Maxi’s bedtime though.”
“I don’t wanna go to bed!” Maxi cried.
Vanessa took the video camera from him and handed it to Gabriele. “I can do the rest of the video with you.”
Gabriele didn’t know. She wasn't that mad at Vanessa, honestly. She was just trying to do her job. “I guess...”
Vanessa picked up Maxi, “I’ll be back after I put Maxi to sleep.” She carried her fussing little brother up the stairs.
That was one thing she was glad Vanessa had to do that she didn’t. She dug through the pile of clothes and found a brown jacket and scarf. She practiced walking in high heels until Vanessa returned.
“Remember to be quite.” Vanessa said.
“I know
.” Gabriele walked to the opposite end of the room.
“Ready? Action!”
Gabriele started walking towards the camera as best as she could. “I’m 33 for a moment, I’m still the man but you see I’m a they. Kid on the wa-ay, family on my mind...”
The video, or at least the filming portions, was finished before their mother came home.
“I’m sorry I took so long.” Mother said as Vanessa and Gabriele came to help put the groceries away. “There’s a lot of snow on the ground.”
“Can I use your computer to edit a video?” Gabriele asked.
Mother got a glimpse at the clock. 9:23. “Tomorrow. It’s almost your bedtime.
“I can edit it for your.” Vanessa said.
“I want to do it.” Gabriele said, “Besides, you can’t edit a video in 45 minutes.”
“I could get it started.”
“I said I wanted to do it.” Gabriele put the cake mix into the pantry. She then went upstairs.
“Thanks for watching the kids, Vanessa.” Mother said. “That was four hours, so I’ll give you 16 dollars.”
Gabriele opened her’s and Vanessa’s bedroom and flopped onto the bottom bunk. Gabriele hated being younger than Vanessa. She got to stay up later, she got the top bunk and she got paid to baby-sit. Gabriele never got paid to do anything. She wished she was older than Vanessa. She wrapped herself in her sheets and drifted off to sleep.
Chapter 2
Gabriele opened her bleary eyes. She sat up and smacked the metal beam of the top bunk. “Ow!” She yelled and grabbed her head. Gabriele had complained that the beds were too close together but her mother said she wouldn’t replace it until she and Vanessa got older.
“You okay?” Vanessa called from the top.
“Peachy.” Gabriele said. She pulled at the seat of her pants. Her underwear felt very tight. So did the rest of her clothes.
She grumbled and crawled to the edge of the bed. She a lot of her forearm was peeking out of her sleeves. Her clothes must’ve shrunk or something. She stepped into her slippers. A tight fit. She stood to her feet and heard Vanessa scream.
She looked up into her sister’s horrified face, “What’s the matter.”
Vanessa was breathing heavily. She frowned and squinted her eyes at Gabriele, “Gabriele? I-is that you?”
“Yeeees.” Gabriele said slowly, “Who did you think
I was?”
Vanessa climbed down from the top bunk and walked next to her. Gabriele was taller than Vanessa! Her heart started beating faster. What happened to her?
“Don’t panic. Everything’s going to be okay.” Vanessa said in a soothing voice. Gabriele couldn’t take this any longer.
“Vanessa.... what happened to me?”
“Well.... you’re a teenager.”
“Really?” Gabriele darted out of the room and into the bathroom. She got a look at herself in the mirror. She had cool sweeping bangs, a tall, womanly body. A smile crept onto her face, “It worked.”
“What worked?” Vanessa said from the doorway.
“The snowflakes.” Gabriele said, “Just like you said they would!” She picked up Vanessa and spun her around in a big hug. “You’re a great little sister.” She ruffled Vanessa’s brown hair and rushed back into their bedroom and ran behind her.
“Oh man this is so awe-some
!” Gabriele sang. She didn’t know why she ran back into her room. There weren’t any clothes in there, which she needed before her pajamas cut off her circulation.
Gabriele and Vanessa went across the hallway.
Gabriele opened the master bedroom and went into their mother’s drawer.
“What are you doing? Vanessa whispered.
“Getting clothes. Mine don’t fit and yours won’t cut it.” She held up a bra, “I need a real bra.” She smiled like that was the greatest thing since sliced bread.
“Mother wears that!”
Gabriele tossed it away. “Ew.” She waved her hand around before opening a lower drawer. “Mother will have to take me bra shopping later.”
“You’re just so proud of yourself aren’t you?”
“Uh-huh.” Gabriele started throwing various articles of clothing behind her. “Ugh. She’s going to have to take me clothes shopping as well.”
“Don’t be picky.” Vanessa said, “And besides, how do you even know what you did is permanent?”
Gabriele nodded, “True, true. But I do need clothes to wear today.”
“Look around you!” Vanessa gestured to the piles of clothing.
“Those are-”
The bed creaked and the girls turned to see their mother sitting up and yawning. “Good morning.” She rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. She noticed the piles of clothes on her floor and frowned. She turned at the girls and noticed her youngest daughter had undergone an improbable amount of development in one night.
“Gabriele?” Mother threw the covers off and rushed over to Gabriele. She put her hands on her shoulders, “Oh my god- is that really you?”
Gabriele beamed and she nodded, “Uh-huh.”
First thing after breakfast, mother took Gabriele shopping at the mall.
“We’re not buying you any new clothing. With any luck, this is just temporary.”
“It’s not temporary mother.” Gabriele said as she and mother unboarded the car. “I’m not going to turn back into a ten-year old.”
“Let’s not have this conversation now.” Mother said, “If anybody asks, you’re my niece and you’re staying for Gabriele’s birthday.”
“I think they should get used to the new me.”
“Gabriele...” Mother said sternly before opening the mall door. Gabriele sighed and rolled her eyes before walking inside.
“She’s doing a fine job being a teenager so far.” Mother muttered and followed Gabriele into the store.
The mall was holding sales for Christmas already. They couldn’t make it to Thanksgiving this year.
“The underwear is in the back.”
“Mother!” Gabriele said, then she lowered her voice, “There’s no need to broadcast what we’re doing.”
Mother sighed, “What was I thinking?”
As they trekked through the mall, Gabriele noticed shiny new toys that were upwards to 15% off. She had to resist the urge to call her mother’s attention to it. She was afterall a mature grown up now.
They passed the soft pretzel. The smell of fresh baked dough and salt beckoned to Gabriele and she just had to look inside. There was a young man, in his late teens or early twenties, behind the counter.
A new feeling welled up inside Gabriele’s stomach. “I’m going to get a pretzel.” She walked over to the counter. She had seen the pretzel boy many times before, but this was the first time she really noticed he had dirty blonde hair.
“What are you doing? You just had breakfast.” Mother said walking up besides her.
“I’m still hungry.”
“Hello ladies,” The pretzel boy’s voice was hypnotic, “What can I get you today?”
Gabriele stared into his emerald eyes, “Can we have soft pretzels?”
“Of course.” The pretzel boy turned around and walked to the oven. Gabriele observed his pretty backside as he fetched two soft pretzels. He sprinkled on salt and returned to the front. He laid them on napkins.
“Can I get you any mustard or cheese?”
“Um...” Gabriele looked towards the back of the stand then pointed to the cinnamon, “Can I get some of that?”
“Of course, and what about you ma’am?”
“This is fine.” Mother said.
The pretzel boy picked up Gabriele’s pretzel and took it to the back, to have cinnamon put on it. He had changed Gabriele’s opinion about backsides in a matter of seconds. He handed the completed pretzel to Gabriele. “Here you go ma’am. That will be $3.87.”
Mother gave him the aforementioned amount. “You have a good day.”
“You too.” The pretzel boy smiled brighter than the sun and Mother gave Gabriele a small tug, signalling her to follow.
“He’s too old for you.”
“Huh?” Gabriele said.
“He’s at least 15. He’s too old for you.”
“Mother, I do not like him.”
“That’s good.” Mother took a bite of her pretzel, “Because he’s too old for you.”
“If I did like him, which I don’t, we’re practically the same age.” Gabriele bit into her pretzel. Ruining her pretzel with cinnamon was definitely worth it.
“You are only 10.” Mother whispered.
“I’m... about 16. Hey, after we’re done shopping can I get a license?”
“No.”
Chapter 3
“You’re not Gabriele.” Maxi said. He raised his hand a few inches above his head, “She’s only this tall.”
“If I’m not Gabriele, how do I know everyone’s name?” Gabriele said.
“Lucky guesses.” Maxi crossed his arms.
“How about this.” Gabriele walked into the living and Maxi cautiously followed, staying close to Vanessa and his mother.
Gabriele lifted the flap board of the piano and played the intro to 100 years
. “You know Maxi, now that I’m older we should reshoot the video.”
Maxi screwed up his face in thought. “I’m not sure, But Gabriele is the only person I know who can play 100 years
.” He ran over to Gabriele, “How’d you get older?”
“I made a wish on snowflakes.”
“Don’t wishes not come true when people learn them?”
“a) That’s only before and b) You’re thinking of candles.”
“Oh.” Maxi said.
“Now get the video camera. We’ve got a video to reshoot!”
Gabriele was sad to discover that her singing voice had been ruined by puberty. But at least she still had her younger voice on file. It would sound strange to hear a little girl’s voice coming from someone her age, whatever it was.
“What do you guys think?” Gabriele said turning to her younger siblings.
“Honestly?” Vanessa said, “I believe you should use your younger voice and older video. It won’t look as professional, but I think the sound is more important than the video.”
“I like the first video better.” Maxi said, “It looks funny.”
“We’re not using the first video.” Gabriele said.
“Then why’d you ask?” Maxi stamped his foot.
Gabriele chose to ignore him and went with Vanessa’s idea. She uploaded the finished product to YouTube. “We’ll get to see the video first.” Gabriele pushed the play button. It was almost, but not quite as good as the original. The camera angle was really low and the age progressions were a bit jerky, despite Gabriele’s best editing skills.
But all in all, Gabriele loved the video. She watched it several times. Maxi left after the first viewing. But Vanessa seemed increasingly bothered with each viewing.
“Is there something wrong with the video?” Gabriele asked after the fifth viewing.
“What exactly did you wish for?” Vanessa asked.
“Just to be older than you... why?”
“Nothing.”
Even though she was now the oldest, Gabriele still had to go to bed at 9:30. It wasn’t right. It wasn’t fair. So she crawled under the covers of the top bunk with a flashlight and a good book. She only managed to get past the first two chapters before the covers were thrown off.
“Gabriele?” Vanessa said, “What are doing in my bed?”
“It’s my bed now.” Gabriele said, “Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to do some more reading.” She pulled the covers back over her head.
Vanessa pulled them back off, “You were supposed to be sleeping a half-hour ago. Now get out of my bed.”
“I’m oldest. So the top bunk is mine and since I’m, I don’t know 3, 4 years older than you, I’m staying up till 11.”
Vanessa snatched Gabriele’s book and chucked it onto the floor. It landed with a soft thud and slid into the dresser.
Gabriele furrowed her eyes, “Go get it.”
“Make me.”
Gabriele grabbed onto Vanessa and wrestled her onto the bed with relative ease. Growing up, Vanessa always held a slight psychical advantage over her. It was such a sweet feeling to pin Vanessa down.
“Get off of me!” Vanessa pushed Gabriele to no avail.
Gabriele shifted her body so she was sitting on top of Vanessa’s stomach. “How the tables have turned, eh Vanessa?”
Vanessa huffed. “Fine you can have the stupid bed. Just get your fat butt off of me!”
Gabriele laughed and let Vanessa up, “Give me my book before you go to bed, little sis.”
Vanessa hopped onto the floor, “Don’t call me that.” She collected Gabriele’s book. “You may be older than me physically, but there’s so much more to being an older and mature person.” She flipped the book to Gabriele and crawled into the bottom bunk.
Chapter 4
The top bunk was so much more comfortable than the bottom. Gabriele felt so well rested having gone to bed at 11:00 rather than too early at 9:30. She was never tired at 9:30 and wound up staying up for hours. She looked at her hands to make sure her wish was still working. They actually seemed a little bigger
than yesterday.
She hopped over the cot rails and rushed into the bathroom and looked into the mirror. Her face wasn’t as round, her hair was slightly long but her bangs were shorter. She had gotten older. Sweet! She was now a young adult.
This wish keeps getting better and better! Now that she was an adult, she could do whatever she wanted. After she finished in the bathroom, she went into the kitchen where the rest of her family was eating oatmeal.
“Good morning sleepyhead.” Mother said.
“You look old
.” Maxi said.
“Thanks.” Gabriele smiled and went into the pantry. She always wanted doughnuts for breakfast! She grabbed a bag of chocolate doughnut holes and took the remaining seat around the table.
“How come she gets doughnuts for breakfast?” Maxi whined.
“She doesn’t.” Mother said and reached across the table, but Gabriele pulled the bag close to her chest.
“I’m 20-something years old mother. I make my own decisions.” Gabriele popped a doughnut into her mouth.
“Oh do you?” Mother said, “Do you make your own money? Do you own this house? So long as you live under my
roof, you live by my
rules.”
What was the point of being an adult if she had to listen to her mother? What was it most adults did in this situation? They moved out. “Fine.” Gabriele flung the doughnuts onto the table, “I’ll get a job and I’ll get my own place.”
“No.” Mother said, “You can’t get a job. Now make yourself a bowl of oatmeal.”
“You can’t tell me no. I’m a grown woman!”
“You are not a grown woman. You are a ten-year old girl who is inexplicably aging... every... day.”
Silence fell over the room. Nobody moved anything but their eyes. Gabriele and mother looked at each other. Maxi and Vanessa looked back and forth at the two.
Gabriele’s thoughts seemed louder than ever. She was ten two nights ago, a teenager yesterday and now she was twenty. A curious amount of aging, but this is what Gabriele had wished for, to be older than Vanessa, for all they knew, she had just finished aging.
“How old, are you exactly?” Mother asked.
“I don’t. Somewhere in my twenties I believe. But you shouldn’t worry, I don’t think I’m gonna get older.”
“I think she’s 22.” Vanessa whispered.
“Did you say something?” Mother asked.
“I think she’s 22 and I think she was 15 yesterday. L-Like the song 100 years
. I-I think she’s going to turn 33 tomorrow. Then 45, then 67... then 99.”
Gabriele scrunched up her face, “That’s not what I wished for though. I only wished to be older than Vanessa.”
“All those ages are older than me.” Vanessa snapped.
“Oh.” Gabriele put her hand on chin. Was she really going to keep aging every day? That meant... her heart froze. That meant she was going to die. This couldn’t be happening to her. It just couldn’t. It wasn’t going to happen.
She got a bowl from the cabinet and made herself a bowl of oatmeal.
“Is Gabriele going to die?” Maxi asked.
“Well... We all do eventually.” Vanessa said.
“But I know that’s not what you meant,” Gabriele cut in, “Don’t worry. I’m not dying anytime soon.” She scooped a spoonful of oatmeal into her mouth, “We should play in the snow today, it’s getting pretty high.”
They played in the snow, had a snowball fight. Maxi caught snowflakes on his tongue, but Gabriele decided she was too old, much to Vanessa’s annoyance. Even more to Vanessa’s annoyance, Maxi and Gabriele recorded 100 years
once more.
This time, Mother didn’t send Gabriele to bed at 9:30. In fact, she didn’t send any of them to bed until 11:00 following a family movie and family game day.
Vanessa and Gabriele walked into their bedroom and climbed into bed.
“Why weren’t you catching snowflakes?” Vanessa said.
“Because I’m too old. That’s kid stuff.”
“But you need to reverse your aging. You’re growing too fast.”
“I’m not doing any growing until my birthday.” Gabriele fluffed up her pillow and buried her head into it.
“You’ll be dead as soon as your birthday comes.”
Gabriele laughed, “You are such a worrywart.”
“You aren’t worried enough! This wish you made is like a terminal illness and you have only five days to live.”
“Like you said, we all die eventually. So what does it really matter if I die on my birthday or not? Hmm.”
“That’s- that’s.”
“A very realistic and mature worldview?” Gabriele said.
“Stupid! Just plain stupid!” Vanessa rolled over in her bed. “I’m going to bed. I hope you come to your sense tomorrow.”
“Goodnight.” Gabriele closed her eyes. Such a worrywart. We all die eventually, so... it doesn’t really
matter when we die. Gabriele’s eyes popped back open as the words she just said sunk in. She just called life meaningless.
Chapter 5
Gabriele felt nauseous. She sat up in bed, it was a dark shade of blue and she could still hear Maxi snoring. She gagged. She climbed down the ladder and rushed over to the trashcan to vomit. Her shirt felt tighter than when she went to sleep.
A sign that she had gotten older. She was shaking from fear. Was she really going to die when her birthday came? According to Vanessa, she was 33 now. She rose to her feet. Her back was somewhat arched. Perhaps because she got heavier overnight.
She sloshed her way into the bathroom and looked at herself in the mirror. There was a fire missing from her eyes and her hair was shorter. Her breasts were a little larger than before and her belly was protruding. Her eyes got wide. She was pregnant!
How did that happen? She placed her head on the sink. This wasn’t fair! This wasn’t what she wished for. She pounded the sink. Why did these sorts of things only happen to her? And why did she want tacos? More importantly, why didn’t they have any?
She glanced out the window, it was still snowing and it looked pretty high. She wasn’t going to be getting tacos anytime soon.
“Vanessa.” Gabriele shook her sister gently, “Vanessa.”
Vanessa cracked a sleepy eyelid. She shot up like she was on a spring, “Holy crap! You’re pregnant.”
“Thank you captain obvious. Help me.”
“How in the world did you manage to get pregnant?” Vanessa threw off the covers and stepped into her slippers.
“It’s a line in 100 years. ‘I’m 33 for a moment, I’m still the man but you see I’m a they. Kid on the way, a family on my mind.’”
Vanessa let out a sigh. “Come on, let’s go tell mother.”
“I was afraid you’d say that.” Gabriele said and followed Vanessa up the hallway
“Now you’re pregnant?” Mother cried.
Gabriele didn’t like that her family’s first reaction was stating the obvious.
“How?”
“It has to do with my wish. It’s a line in the song.”
Mother grabbed her head. Then she looked seriously at Gabriele, “Do you know how far along you are?”
“No!” Gabriele cried, “But it doesn’t matter, cause I’ll be dead before I give birth.” She buried her head in Vanessa’s shoulder. Tears flowed freely and she shook uncontrollably. She should’ve known better than to make a wish. Wishes always turned out horribly.
Vanessa pulled her into a hug. Then she gently pushed her back so she was gripping her shoulders and looking her in the eyes. “You’re not going to die.”
Gabriele sniffed and wiped her eyes, “Yes I am, we all are.” The unsettling thought of being motionless, thoughtless and non-existent for all of eternity crept into Gabriele’s mind. It happened to everyone some sooner than others.
“You mustn’t think like that.” Vanessa said.
“You started it.”
“Well I’m finishing it. Let’s go get some breakfast.”
Mother had a guilty look about her as she poured pancake batter into a pan. She tossed some strips of bacon into another pan and took a seat around the table.
“Is something eating at you mother?” Vanessa asked.
“No.” Mother said and took a sip of her coffee. She looked down at it.
“Something’s clearly bothering you.” Gabriele said, “You can tell us.”
“You’re such sweet girls.” She said, “But I really am fine.”
Maxi walked into the kitchen. He rubbed sleep out of his eyes and still donned his red pajamas. “Do I smell pancakes?”
“Yup.” Vanessa said.
Maxi smiled then he saw Gabriele and his eyes popped. He walked over to her, climbed onto her lap and wrapped his arms tightly around her neck. He started sobbing directly into her ear.
Gabriele squeezed one of her eyes shut, but didn’t push Maxi away. Now, on top of everything, she had to be strong for Maxi.
“It’s going to work out. Don’t worry.” Gabriele said and managed to sound like she meant it.
“But you’re going to die. I don’t want you to die.” Maxi started crying into Gabriele’s chest.
“Shh.” Gabriele said and patted Maxi on the back. Then she wiped the tears off his face and placed him on the ground. “Let’s go outside and catch snowflakes, we’ll catch an identical pair and everything will be back to normal.”
Maxi lit up. “why didn’t we think of that earlier!” He grabbed Gabriele’s hand and rushed with her towards the door.
After getting dressed and explaining once again why she was pregnant. Gabriele, Maxi and Vanessa were all outside in the snow trying to catch snowflakes on their tongue. Vanessa made her way over to Gabriele she made sure was out of earshot of Maxi.
“You know lightning doesn’t strike twice.” Vanessa said.
“And no two snowflakes are the same.” Gabriele raised her eyebrows, “Besides, that’s a myth you know.”
“I knew that.” Vanessa said unconvincingly, “Why did you tell Maxi we would catch identical snowflakes?”
“To give him hope that I would live. Something a good big sister should do. Instead of being pessimistic and unhelpful.”
“You don’t think I’m helpful?” Vanessa said, her voice shrinking somewhat,
“Not really. You just tell me not to worry about things but you don’t give a reason.”
Vanessa looked at the ground, “I was just trying to be realistic.”
Gabriele put a hand on Vanessa’s shoulder “I know I don’t always act like it, especially recently, but I do need my big sister.”
“And I need my little sister.” Vanessa gave Gabriele a big hug. She was still being unhelpful but she probably didn’t even notice. Well, Gabriele, this is what you wanted, to be older than Vanessa. Are you happy?
Chapter 6
The days were going by quickly. They were spending a lot of time together and doing a lot of the things Gabriele wanted to do but they seemed to be lacking.
It was 11:30 when Mother decided to send them to bed. The days seemed to be getting shorter and shorter and the snow was getting higher and higher, soon they wouldn’t be able to go outside and play in it, their favorite wintertime activity.
Vanessa and Gabriele switched bunks again, since Gabriele couldn’t make it up the ladder (at least, she didn’t attempt to).
Gabriele felt low down. She had gotten used to sleeping on the top bunk. She wasn’t going to be able get to sleep and so she lay on her back staring at the underside of the top bunk. Time dragged by slowly which, despite being boring, provided some solace to Gabriele.
After what felt like 2 hours, but in reality was closer to 30 minutes, Gabriele’s stomach started swelling like a balloon. “Wha-”
She felt rapid kicks inside her stomach. A continuous barrage that was too much for Gabriele to bear and she let out a loud succession of screams. Tears erupted down her cheeks as the little feet kicked her insides raw.
She heard somebody screaming her name. She could see a watery image of someone besides her. The kicking ceased and Gabriele was able to catch her breath and wipe the tears from her eyes.
“Oh god, you’re about to go into labor aren’t you?” Vanessa said. Then she turned towards the door, “Mother!”
Gabriele grabbed Vanessa’s hand, “Do something!” A liquid splashed inside of Gabriele's pants and ran down her leg. It was wet and sticky and made her want to squirm, “Eww!”
“Did your water just break?” Vanessa started breathing rapidly, “Mother should be here soon.”
“I don’t have that long.” Gabriele moaned.
Vanessa took a deep breath. Then she took off Gabriele’s pants and tossed them away she ripped the comforter off of her own bed and positioned herself between Gabriele’s legs.
Gabriele felt immense pressure on her uterus. It turned to burning and she felt herself being stretched.
“You have to start pushing at some point.” Vanessa said.
“When?”
“Erm...How about now?”
Gabriele pushed with all her strength. She felt the baby exit her body and she flopped backward onto her pillow, panting.
Maxi and her mother came in as Vanessa begun cleaning the baby.
“Are you okay, Gabriele?” Mother said, “We heard you screaming.”
“She just gave birth.” Vanessa said and she then handed the newborn to Gabriele.
Gabriele’s stomach started shrinking, and the infant in her hands rapidly grew. She yelped as the infant, became a toddler, than a child and finally a preadolescent girl. A girl who looked exactly like she did before she made the wish, except she was little older.
Vanessa went into her drawer and fetched some clothes for Gabriele and her newborn daughter. “What are you going to name her?”
“I don’t know.” Gabriele said gently stroking the hair of her daughter. This poor child, just born and already she was 12. Was she doomed to age alongside her mother? What would become of her after Gabriele died? Her family would know the answer really soon. Too soon...
Gabriele carried her daughter downstairs for breakfast. She placed her in a chair and propped her up. Her daughter stared blankly into the distance as Gabriele prepared breakfast for her. A banana and microwave waffles.
She sat down next to her daughter. It was somewhat unsettling that her daughter was a mirror image of her. Especially since she appeared to be brain dead. She prodded her in the mouth with a banana, “Come on little Gabriele, open up.”
She didn’t know why she called her that../ well actually she did. She wasn’t sure she wanted this, well, she didn’t want to call her daughter an abomination. Whatever she was, Gabriele didn’t want to give her her name. Come on, she told herself, treat her humanely.
“Okay, you can have my name.” Gabriele said, “Gabi Jr.” She smiled and Gabi Jr.’s mouth opened slightly
Gabriele pulled off a chunk of the banana and put it in Gabi Jr’s mouth. She chewed it slowly and swallowed. Then her mouth opened slightly again.
It was simultaneously the sweetest and saddest thing Gabriele had ever seen. It brought a tear to her eye. They both had incredibly short life spans. Gabi Jr. barely did any living and her life was almost over. Even though she hadn’t known her until yesterday she loved her.
“Mommy loves you, Gabi Jr.” Gabriele said and she picked her up and cradled her in her arms. She rocked her gently and sung softly to her. She didn’t know if her daughter could hear her, she didn’t know if she was even aware that she was alive. But Gabriele did it anyway.
“You’re up early.” Mother said, taking the seat adjacent to them.
“I have a surprising amount of energy for someone who just got her first gray hair.” Gabriele felt odd sitting next to her mother at this moment. As much as she had been aging, she was always younger than Mother. Now she could easily pass as her mother’s big sister.
“What do you want to do today?” Mother asked.
Gabriele didn’t know. They were snowed in, so they’d have to do something inside. Anything really, it didn’t matter. She shrugged her shoulders and then just looked back down at Gabi Jr., who had fallen asleep. It was heart-wrenching that her daughter was soon going to die, she’d wouldn’t have to see it... but her mother would.
Gabriele looked across the table. The greatest fear of every parent was being realized by her mother. “I’m sorry.”
“Hmm?” Mother said.
“I was being selfish. I just wanted to be older than Vanessa and now you all have to watch me die.”
Mother started weeping openingly, something Gabriele only seen her do when father passed. Gabriele comforted her as best as she could, but it was of little use. So Gabriele just waited besides her until she finished crying.
Soon after she finished, Maxi and Vanessa came into the kitchen for breakfast.
Gabriele woke up. She was lying in her bed and a young woman was curled out with her. She looked very familiar but she couldn’t place her face. Gabriele slowly sat up and then climbed out of bed and walked slowly to the bathroom.
In the mirror she saw that she had short graying hair and her face reminded her of a raisin. It was a bit hard to see and it felt as though someone turned down the volume of the world. She squinted at the mirror, but that didn’t help at all.
In the moment that she blinked, her face changed. Her hair was white and thinning, her face looked in urgent need of ironing and she was in twice as much pain as a second ago. She almost screamed. What had just happened?
Wasn’t she 67 a second ago? Was she 99 now? But she wasn’t supposed to turn 99 until tomorrow, she was supposed to have one last birthday.
Half time goes by, suddenly your wise, another blink of the eye, 67 is gone...
She picked up her toothbrush, but felt like she couldn’t get a good grip on it. It was a literal pain to unscrew the toothpaste and squeeze the contents onto her brush. That was the easy part, it just got harder from there and the whole trip was time consuming.
When she had finally finished, she headed into the hallway, where a little boy and preadolescent girl were waiting.
The boy's eyes got wide.
“How old are you?” The girl asked.
The voice.... so familiar. It reminded her of her older sister, but seeing as she was young enough to be her great-granddaughter...
“I’m sorry, do I know you?” Gabriele asked.
“We’re Vanessa and Maxi.” The girl said then she looked at the boy, who looked back at her.
Vanessa and Maxi... Vanessa and Maxi... those were names of her siblings and yes... they were her siblings.
“Vanessa... Maxi.” Gabriele said, “I turned 99 today.”
“What?” Vanessa said, “What about 67?”
“I was 67 for a moment. Then I blinked and I was 99.”
Maxi hugged Gabriele’s leg, “Don’t worry Gabriele, I’m gonna catch two snowflakes and you’re gonna be a kid again and you’re gonna live for a long, long time.”
Gabriele picked up Maxi, “You know what I just realized? Five For Fighting never says ‘I’m 100 for a moment.’ I’m going to live another year.”
“But I want you to live forever.” Maxi leaned his head against Gabriele’s shoulder.
“No one can live forever.” Vanessa lifted Maxi off of Gabriele, “But one year is much better than one day right?”
Maxi sniffed, “I guess so.”
Vanessa spun him around, “It is so. Plus, it’s a lot more time to find snowflakes.”
“Yeah!” Maxi said.
Vanessa placed him on the ground and he rushed into the bathroom.
“I feel like I was given a new lease on life.” Gabriele said, “I was so sure I was about to die.” Then she made her way back to her bedroom to get Gabi Jr. But when she got inside she wasn’t sure why she came in in the first place.
Her stomach growled and she headed downstairs for breakfast.
It was just an ordinary day now and for the first time in a long time, Gabriele wasn’t nervous about the impending end of her life. She found herself in the living room and she sat down on by the piano.
She hadn’t played it in a few days because it made her think of death. But it was off her mind now that she had a year to live. It was such a short time, but really, what amount of time isn’t short? A second is but a moment in a lifetime. A lifetime is but a moment in an eternity.
Mother went to work for the first time in a while and everything was pretty much back to normal. Except for the fact that Gabriele was 99 and had a 66-year old brain dead baby. Everything was not normal and wouldn’t be again.
Gabriele didn’t remember much of her birthday party she slept through most of it and didn’t care too much for the gifts she had recieved. They were after all, intended for an 11-year old girl. When the cake came around Gabriele realized something awful... she was turning 100.
The chorus of happy birthday was the song of Gabriele’s death, not the celebratory tune it was intended to be.
“Make a wish.” Maxi said when the song concluded, a big hopeful smile on his face.
It was so painfully simple. She had been trying to catch snowflakes on her tongue, despite it’s futility. When all she needed to do was make a wish on a candle... but she’d have to wish for something her family wasn’t expecting or it wouldn’t work...
She blew with all her might.
Epilogue
Vanessa opened her eyes, sat up and yawned. It was the day after Gabriele’s ‘11th’ birthday or was it her 100th? Vanessa’s eyes got wide. She didn’t know how she had missed that until this moment!
She leapt over the cot rail. “Gabriele!” She knelt by the bottom bunk. Gabriele was lying on her back and she looked to be somewhere in her mid-thirties. She was breathing and very much alive.
Next to her, sleeping soundly and looking more like an imitation of life more than anything, was an infant Gabi Jr.
Imprint
Text: Me
Images: Public domain
Publication Date: 12-25-2012
All Rights Reserved
Dedication:
For M. Jade Glock (arcane.weilder)