Gabby had ignored the annoying Landon until he stole her pink, plastic ring. . . again. She screamed, jumped off the swing, and chased Landon around the school playground. The teachers ignored Gabby’s yells and screams for help; this had already happened before. Landon loved teasing Gabby, especially since she was so easy to make angry. Landon climbed on top of the monkey bars, Gabby struggling to follow.
“Give it back, jerk!” Gabby cried as he laughed with delight at the fact that she could not reach him.
“Never,” he called back in a singsong way as he jumped off the monkey bars and ran around the playground again, Gabby following in hot pursuit. While weaving among the many slides and ladders, Landon slipped the ring into his back pocket without Gabby realizing. With a burst of energy, Landon sprinted across the playground in hope to reach the teachers before Gabby reached him.
Landon had forgotten about the root that stuck out from the Monster Tree, until it was too late. He tripped and fell in the dirt. Gabby had jumped over the root but had forgotten about Landon; she tripped on him and landed, sprawled along the ground. Quite a few kids laughed at them, but Gabby didn’t care. All she wanted was her ring.
“Give my ring back,” she demanded.
“I don’t have it,” Landon lied. Gabby didn’t believe him.
The teachers called the children in from recess and continued to ignore Gabby’s pleas for help. Landon, overhearing Gabby complain to her teacher at the car pick-up line, came up behind her and whispered, “You won’t get that ring back until I die.”
Gabby turned around, arm raised to hit Landon, but he was already climbing into his car, smirking.
Ten years later, Gabby stood on her wedding day facing Landon. Their relationship had been a rollercoaster the past ten years, but in the end, true love had won. She loved Landon and always would, no matter what their past said about their relationship.
Gabby had almost forgotten about the ring incident, but Landon thought about it daily. Occasionally the memory would appear in their conversations, and they would laugh as they realized how silly they used to be.
Their life together brought joy in the shape of four beautiful daughters, a wonderful farm in the mountains, and lots of farm animals to snuggle and play with. Gabby and Landon lived happy lives as parents and eventually grandparents.
Many years later, Landon lay on his hospital bed, dying. He knew his time was almost up. Gabby sat in a chair beside him, listening to his gentle breathing and the steady beep, beep, beep of the heart monitor, thankful for each and every one.
He grunted to get her attention. When she looked at him he held a small, plastic ring with a pink jewel in the middle. Gabby gasped and took the ring, slipping it on as far as it would go onto her little finger
“I told you I’d give it back when I died,” he wheezed. Gabby’s eyes welled with tears.
She stared at the ring, speechless. As she found the words she wanted to say, all that could be heard was the slow, steady, never-ending beep of the heart monitor.
Landon was already gone.
***
Recently I’ve been busy, so sorry for the long silence on the website. I had a prompt for a short story, and so I decided (why not?) to share it with you. I now realize it was kind of sad; sorry about that. I’ve decided to post a short story (of my own composition) on my website once a week, hopefully. Comment below on how you liked the story and any prompts you want me to write about.
Love from the Library,
Aria
Ari D. 