Thorns: A Blessing in Disguise

2021 5th & 6th Prose Winner

“Rose, I don’t understand how you stay so positive. We are in the middle of a pandemic
and you think it's a good opportunity?” Jay said, his blue eyes wide with surprise and a hint of
annoyance at my positive attitude.

“Why not? We can learn a lot, you know. Stop being so negative.” I retorted. My cousin
Jay was known for having a short temper, and a sharp tongue. But I knew he was being nice. I
wasn’t always positive. My sapphire eyes reflected on the screen of the computer, glinting with
anger at Jay for always being pessimistic. I was about to hit the end FaceTime button but I
stopped myself.

“How long are you going to be in North Carolina?” Jay was obviously changing the
subject. “It's August, and you’ve been there since May.” His dark, floppy hair fell into his face,
but he blew it away.

“Until school reopens,” I replied simply and tossed my raven colored hair.

“But what if it doesn't?”

I didn’t want to think about that. “We just need to-” my voice trailed off as I saw
something outside my window that disturbed me.

“Think on the bright side,” Jay finished for me, but he didn’t seem to believe it.

“Yeah,” I murmured distractedly. “I’ll call you back.” Before Jay had time to respond, I
hung up and slipped on my tie-dye mask even though I didn’t need it. I rushed into the front yard
to see my mom doing yardwork. This was unusual, as my family lives in a small apartment in
NYC, so we don’t do yardwork. I mean, we didn’t even have a yard.

“Just pulling weeds,” my mom called to me as I approached. My dad was next to her,
raising his bushy brown eyebrows.

“Fern, we all know that's not true.”

“Of course it is, now go fetch Hazel and Holly to come help me. You too, Rose.”
“But I promised I would call Jay back!” I complained. Anything was better than doing
yardwork, even arguing with Jay.

“Well then you shouldn’t have hung up. Come here.”

I made my way to the spot where the weeds were. As I bent down, I saw what my dad
meant by she wasn’t pulling weeds. She was pulling thorns and vines. Now I really wanted to
call Jay back. Has my mom gone insane?

“Mom, these aren’t weeds! They’re thorns!” Suddenly, my older sisters, Hazel and Holly
came out of the house.

“Oh, yardwork!” exclaimed Hazel.

“Oh, yardwork,” muttered Holly. “Well, if it’s necessary,” she shrugged.

“It’s not yardwork,” I muttered through clenched teeth. “It’s pulling thorns.”

Hazel took a step back, and Holly sighed. Their green eyes glanced at each other, and
their fair skin turned red with frustration. The twins weren’t easy to tell apart, and I doubt even
my mom could right now. I could tell what they were thinking. Mom is always doing crazy stuff
these days.

I tied my hair back with the raspberry colored ribbon I carry with me when I need to think,
and right now, I needed to think of an excuse to get out of this. I said, “It’s not that bad,” and
went to work. I knew that was a lie, because who likes pulling vines with thorns on them? I
wasn’t really paying attention, and almost immediately, I pricked my finger on a particularly
sharp thorn. I yelped in pain.

“Not that bad, huh?” laughed Holly.

Hazel was trying to stifle a laugh, but she looked like she might burst any minute now.
Even my mom was snickering.

“If that isn’t 2020, I don’t know what is.” I saw my dad’s lean figure standing in front of
me. Suddenly I began laughing.

“I told you it was- I told you-” I tried to take deep breaths but I was laughing too hard.

My mother starts laughing, then Hazel. My dad chuckles, while Holly rolls around on the
ground, giggling.

Soon we are all on the ground, poking ourselves on thorns, and getting dirt on our shirts.
My white shirt is now an unflattering brown, and my pink pants are ruined. My hair is sticking out
in all directions, and my face is covered with sticky mud. My mask has fallen off, and is
somewhere in the yard covered up in dirt. Even though my fingers are bleeding from the thorns,
my eyes are sparkling.

I call Jay back, because I know he doesn't like to be kept waiting. I bring my parents,
Hazel, and Holly, which should give Jay a good laugh, something he needs now more than ever.

Jay answered the call immediately. In a bitter tone, he asked, “Why didn’t you-” but he
pauses when he notices how we look. “What happened to you?” His eyes were brimming with
joy and his lips were tucked in. He made a few weird sounds before slapping his hand on his
thigh and burst out into laughter. That caused some attention. My Aunt Daisy and Uncle Rob
came over to Jay’s iPad, and peered at the screen only for a second before falling to the ground
and laughing. Jay was crying with joy. My family and I looked into the mirror that hung above the
couch, and realized how ridiculous we looked. We soon joined in on the laughter, all our worries
forgotten.

Holly came up to me and whispered in my ear. “Thank you for pricking yourself on a
thorn.” She stopped herself. “Sorry, that came out wrong,” she apologized.

“It’s fine,” I said with a grin. “I guess it does make for a good story.”

I hear Jay in the background, laughing harder than I’ve ever heard him laugh. “You guys
look ridiculous!” he panted.

“All thanks to thorns,” I said through my chortles.

People have viewed 2020 as a horrible, terrifying year. But it is also a great time to make
memories you wouldn’t otherwise. I reflected. Maybe we all just need to have more hope.