Tom sees the world differently. He looks up into the night and sees the moon as a hole letting light through from a brighter space. When he told his sister this, she laughed and said he was crazy. The moon was a ball, men had walked on it. He smiled and said the stars were the brighter space shining through pin pricks in night's curtain. His mother was gone longer than he could remember. His father said she was in heaven. He told his father he saw his mother in the light, that she had poked the holes and came through the stars. His father smiled and said, “Maybe so, Tom. That's a nice thought.” Tom sees the world differently. When he walks his dog, Flick, the cracks in the sidewalk are places where the earth can breathe, where grass and wildflowers pop through to wave hello. He looks across the sea of dandelions growing on his neighbor's lawn. His sister says the neighbor should do something about those weeds before the whole block is covered. Tom sees a million good wishes waiting to come true, and for once, hopes his sister is right about them spreading everywhere. Tom sees the world differently and wishes more people did too.
~Elise Skidmore ©2021
