Springing Free

Getting out of bed wasn’t so hard this morning. Silvia slipped on her robe and bounded down the stairs.

“First, weigh yourself.” She had to be strict with herself, as it was easy to forget these days. She dreaded that scale. “Drat!” she exclaimed as she saw the figures. Those scales never did last a week after the warranty expired.

“Miau” her cat greeted her, racing to her food bowl. Silvia poured kibble in the bowl. It overflowed and she swept up the mess.

She wiped water from the counter where it sloshed as she made coffee.

The sun was just rising, she noted through the kitchen window. A couple of leaping rabbits caught her attention and were gone.

Coffee made, she over-filled a mug. Good thing a dishcloth was handy.

Silvia jerked the door open and stepped outside. At her first sip, coffee came too quickly, dribbling down her robe. She sighed and looked around.

Bradford Pear buds shot open, spilling white blossoms into the air. Tulips pushed free from the soil, rising and opening, bright red and yellow. Green leaves sprouted from trees. The yard seemed full of robins, plucking plump earthworms from the grass. She squeezed her eyes shut for a minute. Was it her eyes, or were things odd this morning?

Her eyes shot open as an awful crunch sounded from the street, then shouting! Her neighbors argued, while steam billowed high into the air from under a car hood. Badly dented, a bumper fell slowly to the pavement. How had they managed to get up such speed just leaving their driveways?

Leaving the angry chaos, Sylvia spun to go back indoors. The door flew open as she pulled, catching her foot. She hobbed in, hearing a snippet of news on TV.

“… first day of Spring. … gravity loosens…. Remember to take care as Earth adjusts…”

Oh, yes.

Rose Alice White

March 21, 2025