Crystal Cate

Flash Fiction: Lady with Glass Bones

Photo by Nora Hutton on Unsplash

Crystal Kate

(Lady with Glass Bones)

It seemed like eternity that Kate laid on the bone density machine with her hips turned inward. Feeling like her bones were cracking underneath the stress, she wanted to scream, but refrained. Only forty-five, Kate had fracture three bones in the previous twelve months. And now, the doctor arranged to have her bones scanned.

First, Kate fell on the porch and broke her left wrist. As soon as her wrist healed, she slipped on ice getting into her car. And then she cracked a rib. Her doctor warned her that her bones had become weak. She would need to re-haul her entire life, starting with her diet to getting her butt off the couch.

But since her dog, Max died, the grief she experienced overwhelmed her. She no longer rode her bike, hiked, or went anywhere near a beach. All these outings reminded her of Max. And the border collie was everything to her. A day didn't pass when she didn't remember the day, the dog was struck by a hit and run driver. He too suffered broken bones, including a broken neck.

*

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The pavement felt overheated underneath her running sneakers as Kate ran around the final bend of a ten-mile run. Her hard work with weight training and running extra miles had paid off. She had moved up to the number one runner on the high school cross country team. Her fitness meant she could take on the world--youth, vitality, and strength were what she counted on.

Not only that, her team had made it to the championship which was only a week away. They were going to take state that year, she knew it in her bones. And so did the other runners. She thought of Cassandra who was runner number two on the team--the thin powerhouse and Naomi, the super runner, third in line. They formed an unbeatable wall which is what got them that far.

*

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Back her apartment, Kate pushed a walker out of her way. Her home was in disarray because she had been too depressed to clean it and overly exhausted. Just lifting her arm to push the vacuum cleaner too the bit of strength she had remaining. She gazed at the crutches gathering dust in the corner and the empty bottles of anti-inflammatory herbs that cluttered the table.

All she wanted to do was to climb into a tub filled with hot saltwater but she was afraid to step over the side. She was afraid of slipping and breaking a hip. The doctors had joked that she needed a new name, "Crystal Kate" but that was because she collected fragile gemstones, and not because her bones seemingly made from glass. Still, the name had stuck with her and she thought of emblazing the name on a T-shirt.

*

On the day of the state championship, Cassandra, Naomi, and Kate gathered underneath the bleachers to prepare for the five-mile course. It had rained all night and into the morning so the course had turned into thick mud, which wasn't their greatest asset. However, the team from a rural town just south of the course, practiced in cow pastures. And this team was currently considered in second place. But Kate's team was expected to win the title.

The runners stretched and warmed up their hands which had grown cold from the dampness. They watched the other runners line up at the start of the race. They would stand out in their orange and white uniforms. And they glanced at their parents and friends sitting in the bleachers anticipating the race.

Moments later, the runners slogged through thick mud, trying not to slip and fall onto their sides. Two of the runners in green and blue uniforms tripped on branches. One twisted her foot and was taken out of the race, while the other one hobbled forward. Then Kate felt an elbow jabbing her side. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a big boned runner wearing a grey and blue uniform, one of the mud runners.

Kate managed to slide past her but she felt her ribs beginning to form bruises. The mud was relentless and Kate's legs turned to rubber and her body drained of vitality. For the first time, she felt pain traveling through her body and it was only the three mile mark.

But then the Sun peeked out from a bank of clouds and lit the way forward. Kate gained momentum as she stared at Naomi's back and she wondered where Cassandra had ended up. Was she still in the race? Kate pushed her body forward, lifting her knees higher and not allowing her feet to sink so deeply into the mud.

Eventually, she saw the finish line and she plowed ahead. As the mud began to disappear and she saw pavement, Kate gave heroic effort and sprinted the last two-hundred yards. However, a woman in a gray and blue uniform crossed the finish line leaving Kate in Second Place.

**

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Kate pushed her walker out of the way and she pulled out a yoga mat. She pulled out the resistant bands and began her daily physical therapy. Even though she struggled and felt old and fragile, she knew in the past how to be strong. She knew how to push through and make it to the finish line.