Love Story

Landslide

Kate was sitting on the floor in her room, immersed in a comic book story she was drawing about a green friendly alien that came to visit planet earth to make friends. She was nine years old, a happy, creative kid enjoying her childhood. Her mom came in, sat down next to her on the floor, and watched her for a while.

"I have to tell you something," her mom said. "It's a secret."

Kate stopped what she was doing. She loved her mom, her big blue eyes, full of life. A secret! What could it be?

"You're a little too young for it now," her mom said, "but I'll tell you soon, ok?" She sat there for a little while longer, watching Kate, then left the room. 

Over the next weeks and months, Kate kept wondering when her mother would finally tell her the secret, and she spent much of her time imagining what it might be. Sometimes she asked, but always received the same response from her mom, a forlorn look, and a shake of her head. Not yet. 

Kate was hoping it'd be a puppy, something she had been wishing for christmas in her letter to Santa for many years. Or maybe it would be another trip to the country side where they could run in the fields and even touch sheep and horses. This had been one of the best times of her life, and she'd always wished they could go back there. In the city, everything was confined and her mother didn't want her to play outside in the alley behind their house. Her mother knew how much she loved being outside and so Kate wished her parents were planning to surprise them. Maybe, if they were really lucky, they would even move somewhere like that. Kate kept imagining the possibilities at night before she fell asleep and it was the first thing on her mind when she woke up. 

But a year went by, and her mother never mentioned it again. And then another year went by, and Kate started to think that her parents had changed their mind. There was no secret to share, they weren't going anywhere. Or maybe her mother had forgotten. She shouldn't promise something she couldn't keep. 

But she didn't forget. It just wasn't anything Kate had ever been able to imagine. But shortly after her eleventh birthday, she was about to find out.