Wonders Beyond the Willow [On Hold For God Knows How Long]

Isabelle

"Izzyyyyyyyyyy!"

"WHAT!" I yelled irritably back.

"Play with meeeee!" My little sister Kendra whined outside my door.

"Go play with Billy!" I yelled, looking up from my book.

"Billy will spoil his diaper though, and it'll stink," She went on, the whiny little kid tone still evident.

I groaned loudly and slid off my bed. I walked over to the door and opened it. Lo and behold, my little sister Kendra was standing right at my door. She was wearing a frilly purple tutu, with a bow in her hair, and a hand at her side holding a plastic fairy's wand that has a little star at the top.

"Please play with me!" She begged again.

"Kendra, I'm trying to read."

"But I don't have anyone to play with,"

"Go play on the phone you just got," I said, trying to force a smile.

"Isabelle! Play with your sister!" Mom yelled from downstairs.

Kendra smirked at me, knowing she had won. She brandished her wand and skipped happily to her room. I followed after her, silently hating my mother. This little girl had some sass for a 7 year old.

Just as I sat down on the toy littered floor, a loud ringtone emanated from my room. I was saved.

I launched off the floor and sprinted to my room. I fumbled with my phone and picked up. Sammy was calling.

"Hey!" I greeted happily.

"Hi Isabelle," Sammy said. He sounded distressed.

This wasn't uncommon. Ever since his mother got diagnosed with cancer, he was always anxious and jumpy. It only got worse when he was told that she was going to die.

"How was your day?" I asked, even though I knew my efforts to get him to talk positively were pointless.

"Terrible."

I told myself it wasn't that bad. It couldn't have happened.

"What's wrong?" I asked nervously.

I was wrong.

"My mother... she... she..." And he hung up.

I stared at my smartphone. I looked at his profile picture of him smiling in front of the skating rink we went to a couple years ago. He looked soaked. It rained and the power went out that day. We were all giggly when we came out though.

When I say we, I mean Sammy, James and I. We were best friends since the first grade. We were always happy, no matter what we were going through.

My mom was single that year, with me and Kendra to look after. Sammy was two years into his father's abuse. And James. He tried his best to cheer us both up. Frankly, he had his life going for him pretty well. But despite that, he was always there.

But that happiness is gone now. James and I try everything we can. But the old Sammy never came back.

I shut off my phone and set it on my nightstand. I didn't even know what to feel.

Little feet pitter-pattered across the floor to my room.

"Izzy?" Kendra asked curiously behind me.

"Go help Mom with dinner."

"But," She protested.

I turned my head around and gave her a dirty look. Her eyes widened and she ran off to help.

I turned back around to face my bed. I really didn't think Sammy was going to feel okay enough to call James. I would have to do that later.

"Isabelle! Food's ready!" My mom yelled from downstairs.

I raced down the steps and sat down at the table. As Mom served food, I broke the news.

"Mom,"

"What is it?"

"Sammy's mother died."

My mother looked at me with a face of shock, the meatloaf that was previously being cut for Kendra forgotten.

"That's terrible! Poor Samuel is going to be stuck with that toxic jerk at home,"

I didn't say anything after that. There really wasn't anything to say.

***

Later that night I called James.

"Hello?" James answered.

"Hey, it's Izzy,"

"Oh hey! What's up today?"

"James. I need you to be serious," I told him.

"Uh oh. What did you do this time?" His joking manner still present.

"James!" I scolded him. "Can't you grow up! Sammy's mom just died." I said, the shock from before tickling my neck.

The other side went silent.

"James?"

"She did?"

"Yes James. And now Sammy's going to be‐"

The dull hum on the other line told me I had been hung up on.

"Seriously James? Did you really have to do that?"