“Harlie, why are you here?”

~ Just Rewind ~

A Work in Progress

Don't you wish you could just rewind time

and go back to when things were simple,

people were unchanged,

and we still believed in fairytales?

“She fell off the swing from way up high. I saw it all. She landed on her face and says her arms hurt. She needs a doctor.” With a flurry of movement, several more adults surrounded. But my eyes kept going back to the boy’s. They were my safe place.
“What’s your name?” I asked, my breath coming out in gasps while the pain throbbed in my arms and chest.
“Francisco Javier. Yours?”
“Harlie,” I said. His hand smoothed my hair back and told me I’d be all right.
“Listen, here comes the ambulance. See, you’ll be just fine. They’ll take you to the hospital and get you fixed up.” And I replayed his words over and over as they hauled me off to the emergency room and put a cast on both of my arms.

Her blonde hair hung in two braids out of her straw hat. She wore a black T-shirt and a pair of painted on jeans with a pair of very worn, light brown cowboy boots. She looked beautiful and more mature. The lines on her face were more defined and less baby-like.
“My job.” She flicked her blue eyes up and I saw the moisture in them.
“Well, your job is done. Go home, there’s no need for you to come back either. I’m home now.” So much anger was built up inside me, and I just so happened to throw it at this poor innocent girl that did not deserve it at all. However, I couldn’t find it in me to stop.
“Hey, she’s more than welcome here. You can’t just come home after four years and boss us around.” Came the voice of my sister, Lupita, from behind me. She was the same age as Harlie, a year younger than me. They were thick as thieves since they started Kindergarten together.
“Fine.” I moved toward Whiskey, grabbed the curry brushes from Harlie’s hands, and stepped between her and my gelding. “There’s no need for her to be touching my horse.”
“You know, you’re an ungrateful jerk! She’s been here almost everyday since you’ve been gone taking care–”
“Lupita, come on, let’s go.” Harlie didn’t let her finish speaking and grabbed her by the arm leading her toward the main house.

Jennifer Garcia’s (aka Forbes Arnone) home until she was sixteen was a small coastal town near Boston. She currently resides in Los Angeles with her husband, two sons, and two dogs. Her lifelong love for reading and writing was put aside for many years while she made her way in the world and nurtured her young family. Even though she is older, and life never seems to settle, she’s finding her way while attending college full-time in pursuit of a B.A. in English Literature. She also runs a business, and is still caring for her family. Believing she can do it all, with the help of her family, she worked on her first novel during the late hours of the night while balancing the rest of her life during the day. Her hard work paid off, as her first novel, My Mr. Manny, was published in August 2013 and her first novella, In My Mother's Footsteps, was published July 2013.