Today

Short Story · 2019 Scholastic Writing Award · Gold Key

She walks alone in the white hallways of her own home, her eyes closed, her ears ringing. It is morning. The sun is beaming through the windows. It reflects off her face. The ringing in her ears is gone. She opens her eyes and stares outside at the bright summer’s day. The colors begin to come into focus. The grass is a vivid green and the sky is a bright blue. Cotton clouds hang delicately in the sky while birds fly past them. She takes the hot pot of coffee out of its holder and pours it into her yellow mug. Placing the pot back in with a click, she turns, smiling. 

A girl who looks exactly like her sits at the kitchen counter. They are twins. In ways they are the same, but in many ways are very different. The girl at the counter is reading a black and white newspaper, her face is blank and emotionless. The girl with the coffee, still smiling sighs. 

“Isn’t it a beautiful day out, Fiona?” 

Fiona looks up from her newspaper with no emotion, she stares into the girl’s eyes over her glasses for exactly three seconds, and then looks back at the newspaper. The girl turns, ignoring her sister’s glare and opens the cabinet. She takes out the sugar and pours it in her coffee until it contains about seven tablespoons worth of sugar. She places it back in the cabinet and sips her sweetened coffee. She sighs again letting out all the breath in her lungs this time. Her bunny slippers guide her across the kitchen floor. Fiona puts down her newspaper and places her glasses on top of it. The girl walks upstairs, and Fiona follows. They enter the girl’s room. The girl stands to the side of the door, letting Fiona in and closes it behind them. The girl opens the closet and looks through it. There are ten dresses, all the same, but each is a different color. She picks up the yellow dress. 

“Today is a beautiful day, Fiona.” 

Fiona, who is laying on the floor with her hands behind her head, looks at the dress in the girl’s hands. “Yellow.” She says blankly.

“Yes, because yellow is the brightest color and today is a bright day.” The girl explains.

“Is it?” Fiona says. Her voice has a sarcastic undertone that the girl does not detect. “You should wear the gray one. Today will be a gray day Olivia.”

“Today is a beautiful day.” Says Olivia, ignoring Fiona and taking the yellow dress that she’s been staring at off of its hanger. She undresses stripping to nothing. Her skin is silky smooth with a golden glow.

Fiona is sleeping on the floor. Olivia puts her dress on and a pair of yellow underwear. She puts her straight black hair in a ponytail, looks at herself in the mirror, sighs with content and opens the bedroom door. Fiona, who is still on the floor in her gray pajamas, hears the door open and stands, following Olivia out of the room. They go into the kitchen.

“Where are we going?” Fiona asks as Olivia puts on her shoes.

“To the park. Today is a great day.”

“Today is a gray day.” Fiona replies, grabbing a book from the bookshelf in the hallway and following Olivia out the door.

They walk side by side on the empty sidewalks.

“Will you hold my hand?” Olivia asks. Fiona looks at her for exactly three seconds, shoving her hands in her pajama pants pockets, and looks down at the sidewalk as they walk. 

When they get to the park, Olivia breaths in the fresh air. “It smells like freshly cut grass”

Fiona looks at her in disgust. “I know. I hate it.” They walk along the pathway and sit on a bench together. Fiona opens her book and reads it. 

“Whatcha readin’?” Olivia asks.

“A sad story.” Fiona says, not looking up from the pages.

“Why would you read a sad story when there are so many happy ones?” Olivia says, shocked.

“Because today is a gray day, Olivia.”

“Oh, but today is a beautiful day.”

“No it is not.” Fiona says bluntly.

“Why would you say that Fiona? Today is a beautiful day.” Olivia says with a hint of aggression.

“And how do you know?” Fiona asks, still reading the pages of her book.

“Well, because. The sky is blue. The grass is green. The birds are chirping. And I am wearing yellow, the brightest of the colors.”

“Today is not a good day, Olivia. Do not trust the sky. Do not let the green grass deceive you. Today is not a good day, Olivia.”

Olivia, who has been staring at Fiona, turns her head and looks forward. “Today is a beautiful day.” She is ignoring her sister’s remarks. After another seven minutes of sitting on the park bench, Olivia stands. She walks along the path. Fiona looks up from her book and follows. They walk home side by side without speaking until they get to the house. Fiona throws the book onto the kitchen counter.

“My hair is greasy. I’m going in the shower.” Fiona says.

“Oh, Fiona, your hair is beautiful, and so are you.” Olivia assures her as she puts the book on the shelf.

“Why do you read such sad books Fiona?” 

Fiona is at the first step of the staircase. She holds the railing with her left hand and looks at Olivia for three seconds and then walks up. Olivia follows. They go into the bathroom, Olivia closing the door behind them. Fiona turns on the water as it spits out of the shower head. She strips to nothing revealing her rough, dry skin. Her stomach has two scars that are healing, one fresher than the other. She steps into the shower. Olivia sits on the floor of the bathroom, her back leaning against the door. Her eyes are closed, and her face is wearing a smile. When she opens her eyes, the mirror is fogged up. She stands and draws flowers and hearts on the moist glass. The water turns off and Fiona steps out of the shower wrapped in a towel. 

As she dresses, Olivia asks, “Why do you read sad books when today is a beautiful day?”

“Because of you.” Says Fiona.

“Me?!” Olivia is shocked. “But I only want you to read happy things. I only want you to be happy.” Fiona is now dressed in a fresh pair of gray pajamas. She pushes past Olivia and exits the bathroom, going into her own bedroom. Her twin follows. 

“Fiona, why do you read sad books?”

Fiona is now angered. She turns, her face crunched. She pulls her sleeve down revealing fresh scars on her wrist. Olivia covers her mouth.

“Why? Why have you done this to yourself?” she asks.

“I have not done this to myself.”

“Who has done this to you?”

“You, Olivia.”

“Me?!” She is again shocked.

“You did this to me.” Fiona says angrily shoving her wrist closer to Olivia. Olivia looks away.

“I did not.” Olivia says firmly.

“Yes you did. This is your fault.”

“I didn’t do it.” She says even more firmly.

“You did this Olivia, this is all your fault.”

“I did not!” Olivia screams. “I did not! I did not!”

Fiona pulls her sleeve down covering her wrist and stares at Olivia for exactly three seconds. The room is dead silent. She slowly shakes her head. “Today is not a good day Olivia.” Fiona goes to the light switch. “It’s time to wake up.” She says. She flicks the light switch off and the room goes dark. 

Olivia begins to breath heavily. “I didn’t do it!” she yells. There is no answer. “Fiona?” She pauses. There is no answer. “Fiona!” She screams. There are footsteps in the distance. “Fiona!” she screams louder. The sound of the footsteps gets closer. “I can’t see, it's too dark where is the light Fiona. Help me!” She breathes heavily in the tense air. She crumbles to the floor screaming and hugs her knees. Her ears begin to ring, and she covers them, continuing to scream.

Her ears stop ringing, and everything goes quiet. She opens her eyes. She is sitting in a chair, hugging her knees. She breathes heavily. Her eyes are red, tears welling up. Footsteps are heard in the distance. The door opens as a man in a white coat enters with a clipboard and a chair.

“Hello Fiona.” He says to her.

“Hello.” She responds blankly. He sits in his chair.

“How are you doing today?” There is no response. “Did your sister visit today?” She nods. 

“Yes.” She says, a tear rolling down her cheek.

“And how was it?” He asks

She picks up her head and looks around the room. The walls are padded, and the entire room is white. It’s as blank as her mind is in this moment. “Today?” She sniffles and rubs her red nose, another tear rolling down her cheek.