She Wished For an Open Door
by Salena Casha
They were supposed to play Mario Kart, but Sophie had locked her dumb door to her dumb room and was playing her dumb music loud enough to vibrate the handle. Matilda hung off of it until her fingers tingled.
Recently, Sophie had been persistent about being left alone. It sucked being a sister to someone like that. So, Matilda wandered downstairs. Sophie’s backpack sat by the kitchen table and Matilda unzipped it by its keychain. Dumped its contents onto the tile.
Maths practice sheets, random doodles. Matilda went to grab a magenta scrunchy when she saw the notebook: “Top Secret.” No lock. Maybe it held the password to Sophie’s door.
It fell open in her hands.
Kissy kissy things about Mark. Something about Cassie stealing a pen. Nasty things about Matilda. The more she read, the more her vision wobbled. Don’t be a crybaby, she told herself. Sophie was just mean. She felt the paper tear before she heard it. Picked an eyelash of white off her shorts, closed her eyes, and made a wish.
Salena Casha's work has appeared in over 100 publications in the last decade. Her most recent work can be found on HAD, Wrong Turn Lit and The Colored Lens. She survives New England winters on good beer and black coffee. Subscribe to her substack at salenacasha.substack.com
This story was shortlisted in the July 24 Monthly Micro Competition.