Story Contest 2017 #1 - Outstanding Stories » Came With The Wind

“Came With The Wind” is one of the outstanding stories of the first biannual International Short Story Contest 2017 written by Sakina Moawia Taha Mohammed, UAE..

Came With The Wind

Walking by the beach, I can see the sun sinking into the horizon creating such mesmerising scenery. A bird is flying closer and closer, it’s a pigeon, a white pigeon! There is a letter tied to its leg. In the corner of my eye, I can see a girl with golden hair coming closer to me. I can see the sorrow in her beautiful purple eyes. When she raised her head towards me, there was a smile drawn on her face. The pigeon sat on my right shoulder suddenly. Why would the pigeon sit on my shoulder even if I am not its owner? I got puzzled. Slowly I realised that the pigeon is looking at her young owner.

The girl stopped walking and carried the pigeon from my shoulder; she thanked me and went away, soothing the pigeon. At that moment, I could not speak, my tongue was twisted, and words flew out of my mind.

Next day was a sunny day; the sun was bright enough to make me blind. As I walked down the street, I found the girl from yesterday pacing to and fro on the pavement clutching a paper and weeping bitterly. I realised that it was the paper which was tied to the pigeon's leg. I wanted to ask her about the reason that made her cry. Suddenly, a man who was wearing a formal suit rushed out of a coffee shop and grabbed her hand. She tried to rub her tears as fast as possible, and they both walked into a narrow alley. The incident occurred in less than a minute, I did not even recognise what happened exactly at that moment.

Winter arrived a month after, and it was the time of the year where all the families gather in Luxembourg public park. They share stories and have a fun time together. My family and I always gather around the Great Fountain (which is our usual place) to hold a contest and launch the small paper boats. This time, I found the beautiful girl, wearing neon, a bizarre dress and her hair tied into a bun. I noticed a weak grin on her face and tiptoed slowly towards her. I patted her shoulder and asked: "What's your name?”.

She answered with a wide smile: "My name is Madison".

I asked her about the incident in the alley last month and she responded to all my questions with no enthusiasm. I was astonished by all the things I heard and could not reply to her in a single word. Her governess, Sally who taught her everything from her early childhood is never coming again! I told her to give me a logic reason for this but she pursed her lips and her face darkened. I immediately understood that she wanted me to shut my mouth.

After the small paper boat contest, Madison told me that a new governess is going to arrive tomorrow. Her name is Marina and she is known for her harsh punishments, as many rumours said she locks the kids in their closets if they disobeyed her. Madison showed me the paper she was holding from the other day and it was a farewell message from her beloved governess.

Two moons after, I saw Madison in the Park completely in a different look and different mood; she was laughing happily and joking with her new governess. I was totally shocked to see that! How did she change that much during a short time?! Madison walked towards me and gave me a tight hug, my ribs nearly broke!

I told her: “I see that you are having a fun time with the new governess. I thought she will be abhorrent to you".

She replied: “She is the best governess and joker in the whole world! You can never imagine how kind she is! She was accused of disgracing her family name and locking children in their closets, people were spreading rumours about her but she could not do anything about it.”

And for the first time, the willow tree bloomed and Madison was staring at the tree quietly with her big dreamy eyes.