Shock Therapy

Original writing: May 2022

"JO-SEEEEPHH!!!"

Maya angrily whipped around to see her little brother and his friend round the side of the house and into the backyard, giggling and screaming in fear. She stomped after them, determined to give them the roughest noogie they've felt in their short, pathetic lives.

As Maya sped toward the backyard - thoughts of noogies, tickling, and arm twisting filled every inch of her mind. She smiled a mean smile. Joseph wasn't going to get away this time! The corner of the house was barely a few steps ahead.

She barely turned the corner that she saw a big red blob coming straight for her face. There was no time to react. Panicked, Maya dug in her heels and started raising her arms - but it was too late. The water balloon struck her forehead and exploded - washing her entire face in freezing cold water.

The shock of the cold water tore her sadistic thoughts to shreds - she gasped for air as she felt the cold water spreading on her scalp and dripping into her shirt. She blinked aggressively, trying to get the water out of her eyes to see.

As the shock slowly subsided, a blurry picture slowly took shape: Her little brother Joseph was staring at her - his eyes looked like they wanted pop out of his head. He stood there with an open mouth, his friend crouching behind him barely two steps further back.

No one moved.

Maya felt her chest rise and fall shakily, felt her heart beating in her chest. She felt the warm summer breeze blowing through her hair, noticed the smell of hot-dogs wafting over from her neighbor's barbeque.

Joseph looked like he was frozen in time: his body was in the end-of-throw position - as if he thought Maya wouldn't see him if he stayed still enough. His little chest moved as well as he took short and shallow breaths.

Still unmoving, Maya felt a warmth rise from within her - a warmth that opposed the cold of the water and somehow won. It spread up from her abdomen to her chest, and then to her face as she started to smile. The smiled erupted into laughter as Joseph and his friend scrambled away, screaming and giggling.

Still laughing, Maya watched them run as she wiped her face with her shirt. She bent over, picked up the water balloon scraps on the ground and started walking towards the house.

The breeze blew all around her, causing a pleasant tingle on Maya's skin. Smiling, her walk slowly turned into a skip.