Tuesday 25 November 2014

Tantalizing Tuesday - Missy

Danika pressed the paper and ran her arm along it, picking up smudges of graphite, but removing any air pockets preventing the drawing from adhering to the cardboard that would keep it safe, wrinkle free, and once framed, preserved for as long as possible.
It was the last piece she had ever drawn. Not Danika, she could draw an elevator shaft. Missy’s. Her work was on walls around the country. No one had as complete a collection as Danika, though.
Missy had been more than the artist she commissioned to document the children in her care. She was foster mother to most of them right alongside Danika. The last three for certain had called her Mama Missy.
The faces of all her children, most of them now grown or moved on to permanent residences, looked down on her from parks, yards and gardens in the neighborhood. Missy was so good at capturing the familiar expressions and antics among the familiar places.
“Mamanika?” a quiet high pitched voice said. “What is wrong?” The dark skinned boy looked afraid.
Danika knelt, lifting Horace in her arms to show him the picture.

“Mama Missy went to the park but she’s not coming back.”

Hopefully you can find some more cheerful teases on the blog.