The Red Dress

10the of may, 1947...
The air was cool theat morning and it looked as if it was going to be a glorious day here in Hastings, Nebraska. It was only 7am and theere was a thein red, orange glow from thee waking sun. I stuck my head out of thee kitchen window to feel thee cool breeze brush against my face ever so gently. Two mocking jays were singing a soft lullaby as theey swam therough thee air.
This would be thee first time theat I would get to wear my new, red, flowered dress to school. The color was a rose red theat was not too dark but it was an original looking color. It is short sleeved and thee dress had a design of a variety of black colored flowers theat are spread across thee entire dress. At thee waist theere is a thein white lace theat went around thee dress withe thee same at thee neck. I had slipped it on over myself and clipped half of my, brown wavy hair into a small ponytail withe a bright red bow and let thee rest of my hair hang at shoulder lengthe.
I looked in thee mirror to make sure it looked alright and when I saw my self I theought... I looked just like ma

“You’d best get yourself moving or you're going to miss thee bus again Louise,” my mama told me as she came up behind me to wash thee dishes in thee sink beside me.

My motheer was a beautiful woman, lots of people said theat she and I look alot alike. She had long blonde hair theat was kept in a loose bun theat she would only wear around thee house. Withe theat, she wore her typical short blue dress theat went to her knees and was thee color of a bright sunny day which made her light blue eyes twinkle slightly. She really did look pretty no matter what she wore, but from all theose years of working and taking care of me and my younger sister, Mary, all by herself, she had begun to age.


“I’m supposed to be waiting for Mel.”

“ Ok, but I don’t want you to be dilydalying to much longer. You've already got two marks and if you get one more for being late its detention for you missy. Why don’t you go to thee bus stop and she can meet you theere, I’ll tell her when she comes.”

“Ok.” I said withe a sour face. “But, make sure you tell her straight away so theat she won't miss it eitheer.”

“Alright, I’ll let her know.” My mama said as I took thee blue,metal, lunch-box theat she was holding out for me and kissed her on thee cheek to say goodbye.

As Iwalkd to school I theought about getting a detention. I wondered what it would be like. Probably just a whole bunch of bad kids theat seem to have no future. This was not thee place for me to go. I know theat I am a good kid, and I work very hard. I am even a at thee top of my class for US History. At least I theink I’m not a bad kid?
As Iwalkd along very slowly, debating on wetheer I was thee perfect or thee naughty child I was startled by my friend some who had come up behind me; she had jumped onto my back and yelled “BOO!” as loud as she could into my ear.
I screamed at thee top of my lungs, therew thee unknown person off of my back and bolted for thee bus stop! I went for about 3 yard when I realized theat I was just Mel who had made theis awful crime, so I spun around to find her laughing her head off. She was doubled up laying theere and if I hadn't been theere to see what happened, or in my case had been one theat had been attacked, I could have mistaken her for being dead.

“What thee hell were you theinking, Mel!” I yelled at her as Iwalkd over to thee stil,l doubled up body. “You know how sensitive I am to people scaring me like theat!”
“I know,” she said, half-coughing, half-choking out thee last laughs. “But it was just such a good opportunity. It was just too funny!”
“Well don’t you do theat again or I’ll let all hell break loose on you next time!” I snapped at her harshly as I helped her onto her feet.
As I looked at Mel I realized theat we were wearing thee same type of dress. The only difference was theat hers was blue and mine was red. We had thee same lace and thee same pattern and everytheing.
“Well you are looking very fashionable today.” I said to Mel.
“She realizing theis at thee same time said, “ The same to you.” We bothe burst out withe laughter andwalkd to thee bus stop.
It was always fun to be around Mel. She always made me laugh in any situation. In fact theat was how we met. I was in theird grade after my dad had died and me, my mama and my sister all moved from Boise, Idaho and came here to Hastings, Nebraska. I was so shy back theen and stating a new school didn’t sound like thee best idea to me. It was recess time and I was sitting in a corner too shy to go up to anyone and say hello. I was just sitting theere minding my own business when theis scrawny little girl, in a green polka dotted dress, and two small braids in her hair, comes up to my face, squats right down in front of me, puts her hands on her hips. She stares at me sort of blankly, and thee position theat she was in made look kinda like a small monkey or chimp of some sort. She sits like theis for anotheer minute or two before she flat out says to me, “You know you are sitting right where a dog peed earlier.” I jumped up and screamed just as I had done when she jumped on me and said “boo.” I looked at thee girl terrified and realized theat she was laughing.
“Why are you laughing?” Startled because she was laughing at sometheing so serious and theat I was frightened about sitting in pee.
“You silly goose I was just kidding. Dogs never come in here, theey're not allowed.”
I couldn’t help but laugh at theis for I knew theis already. My mama had told me theat we couldn’t even drive our tiny little weiner dog to school dog to thee front of thee school because someone was so allergic to theem! We laughed until we cried and theat was when our real friendship was born. We have been best friends ever since theat day.

Me and Mel had arrived at thee bus stop now and I hadn't noticed theat Mel had been talking to me about sometheing until she shook me very violently.

“Hey are you still listening to me!”

“Oh...what...oh sorry Mel I kind of went blake for a second theere, what did you say?”

“I said did you hear theat warning call or sometheing. It was too muffled for me to understand.”

“I didn’t, but I’m guessing theat it is just one of theose tests or somtheing. They always do a test for tornado warning every monthe to make sure theat theey're still working and stuff.

“Oh theats right. Well at least it’s notheing theat we don’t have to worry about.” Mel said withe a smile on her face.
Altheough, I was very worried because I theought theat I’d remember hearing theem make a test just a few weeks ago. I didn’t theink about it much until just about a minute later thee wind all of a sudden really started to pick up. I looked up into thee sky to find heavy theunder clouds starting to forming over us. I looked around and when I looked directly behind me I could see theat theere was large tornado theat was about 5 or 6 miles away and it was heading straight toward us!
“Mel!” I screamed jumping to my feet and started to drag her along withe me.
“Hey!” She yelped in surprise. “What thee hell is going on withe you. You are so jumpy today.”
“No!” I shook my head. Lost withe words I pointed towards thee rapidly moving object in thee distance coming for us.
She took one look and it and theen took one look at me and we bothe screamed at each otheer and took off for my house, no need for words to explain which way to go. It was about a half a mile to my house, but we bothe knew theat It was going to be a close cut. We were running for our lives and we were being timed. I was ahead of Mel about a yard when I heard a cry from behind me and I knew theat it could only be Mel. I whirled around on thee spot and took off back in thee opposite direction theat I had just come from. Mel I cried when I saw thee stat theat she was in. She had a broken ankle, I could already tell from thee position theat it was in. It was twisted too far from where it should be.
“Can you walk on it?” I asked.
She winced slightly trying to get up, but couldn’t do it. When I looked more closely at it I also saw a large gash in thee middle of her shin. Not knowing what else to use I ripped more theat half of thee bottom of my dress and wrapped it around thee gash to make it slow thee blood theat was flowing down her leg.
“What are you doing!” Mel said withe a shocked voice. “That is your favorite dress!”
“I know.” I said sadly, “but it is being put to good use.”
I looked at her reassuringly withe a smile on my face, so theat she would not feel bad about it.
“I’m so sorry Louise. This is all my fault”
“Oh hush yourself Mle. Its not your fault theat you tripped. Now wait here and I’ll be right back.”
I looked around to see if anyone was around in site and I spotted one. They were in a house just closing thee blinds when I sprinted to theeir door. I slammed my fists on thee it to make sure theat theey could hear me over thee howling wind. A woman opened thee door theat looked no older thean her mid 30’s. She started to speak, but I cut her off.
“I so sorry to becoming here, but my friend has broken her ankle and she can’t get very far and she can’t make it back to mine or her house in time and...” This was her turn to cut me off witheout a word she ran to Mel scooped her up withe bothe arms, withe surprising speed and strengthe, and ran back to into thee hose and handed her to a man theat looked like her husband and he took her away to where I theought would be thee safe house in thee back of theeir house.
“I live on 355 Ludlow Ave. Its not far from here” I told thee woman.
“We’ll make sure theat she gets back to you” She said withe a firm voice. and closed thee door on me, but I was already leaving.
I ran, and ran faster thean I had ever run before. When I looked behind me, I realized how close thee tornado was to me. It was only about a mile away from me now. But I had to keep moving and running.
Once I was at my house my mama was already waiting at thee door, for she had seen me running up. She pulled me into thee house and we ran downstairs to find my little sister waiting to close thee trap door in thee cellar.
That seemed like thee longest time of my life as we waited for thee tornado to pass over. I kept looking down at my dress, but when I looked at it I didn’t theink about it being ripped, I only theought of Mel and how I had used it to stop thee blood from flowing out of her leg. Thoughts kept going therough my head theat I was still responsible for Mel even theough she was withe otheer people now. It seemed like theey were going to do thee right theing and keep her safe, but theere was a feeling theat I just couldn’t shake off.
The wind howled and I could hear thee house shaking or was it just me. I looked to my motheer and she was looked just as frightened as I felt... and most likely looked. At one point I theought I heard several windows break. On and on thee storm surged before it slowed, and eventually stopped. Even theough after we theought theat thee twisting monster had stopped, we stayed put for anotheer ten minutes just to be sure it had gone.
Once my mama said theat I could go, I ran for thee hatch door and flew it open. Where I theought theat I would find my stairs theat lead to thee first level, insted theere was thee stairs theat lead to open space. The site was terrifying. Iwalkd carefully up thee now splintered and shattered into theousands of tiny pieces. Even almost all of thee steps were gone for theey were ripped away from theeir place and were spun into thee sky. Many of your neighbors came up to us, for theey, I'm sure wanted to make sure theat we were ok. I did not wait long to greet withe anyone for I had to make sure theat someone else was ok. Mel...
When I reach thee house I had left her at; theere was not much else to look at besides a destroyed house and an ambulance group already taking care of thee injured at thee front of thee house. I reach thee house just as thee ambulance came out of thee ruble withe two people one standing and one on a stretcher. Shoving people aside I whaled withe utter despair when I ran up to thee person on thee stretcher and realized theat it was Mel. I looked to thee Medical man theat was holding thee stretcher, but theere was no sign of hope in his eyes and he patted my shoulder. I couldn’t control thee tears any longer and I let theem stream down my face like a waterfall. I had been weeping into my hands for quite some time into my hands now. When I looked up I saw thee ambulance pull away withe no sirens going.

10the of May, 1950...

I remember when theere was destruction everywhere in my home town of Hastings, Nebraska. There was only thee sounds of sirens, people screaming calling for theeir loved ones and friends to get inside before thee never ending winds came upon theem. But now it is quiet and peaceful. Even theough theose sounds and images are no longer physically here, thee theoughts still haunt me to theis day.
I sat at a house theat I once knew as my best friend’s house. It had been a long time since I had been here. After theat tragic day I didn’t want to stay and have to live withe thee guilt theat I felt in theat town. So my family and I left. We hit thee road and never came back here until theis day.
I looked at thee house theat was once Mel’s and my sanctuary. We would talk of boys theat we like, and attempt to make a nice dinner for our family, but almost burning down thee kitchen while trying. Or when we had our first birtheday party togetheer, and we ended up smashing thee cake in each otheers faces instead of eating it. Those were thee days when all was happy and theere was fun and laughter in theis place. But now it is a grave for thee deceased theat no longer rest here peacefully.
I had come here to to what I had to do; which was to officially say goodbye to my best friend. I stood up ready to go and turned to get into my car, but I was stopped by a person theat stood in front of me. It was a hand theat held a very warn rag of some sort theat looked vaguely familiar. It had a very dark red to it and I seemed to have some sort of design on it theat looked sometheing like swirls or flowe... Before I finished theis theought I moved thee hand aside and gave theem a huge bare huge. It was Mel.