Sandy Rises: A micro-story to honor my quadriplegic cousin

Sandy Rises

 Sandy drifted from the bed into my arms.

 “I can walk by myself.”

I’d dreamt of this moment since I was ten—my quadriplegic cousin, who’d babysat me before her accident—ambulatory again.  The day we visited; she was dangling upside down from a hospital bed. I’d surreptitiously pinched her arm…testing.

Sandy took steps like a stilt-walker. I hovered, ready to catch her, certain she would fall. She took my hand, “Let’s dance.”

We sang and waltzed to Sinatra.

I glanced in the mirror. My lined eyes framed by thin, gray hair. Sandy’s face smooth, her hair raven.

My micro fiction entry earned finalist in Globe Soup's contest. A 100-word story with a beginning, middle and end? Good luck with that.