The Passed Note Issue 4 June 2017 | Page 27

Then, instantaneously, my body, parched and flush, lurched forward. My stomach did a flip and I felt my knees go weak. It took a few seconds before I got my bearings. I was standing on the patio of the home, my arm outstretched. I hadn’t even taken the sunglasses from my mom – we were just standing there, each of us holding onto a stem. My mom was smiling politely, with one hand raised like a salute to protect her eyes from the sun. I thanked her for the sunglasses and ran, stumbling, down the hall after my brothers. I thought I was going to be sick.