Snippet #1051669

Her hat flew away but she did not go back for it. It was all right she had thousands of hats...well they numbered on the dozens. She heard her little brother screaming . Soon he ran past her and hugged her mother.
"Mom, dad says he is going to feed us eel tonight!" He was short and chubby with overgrown shaggy hair falling all over his eyes.
"Sit here Jo and rest a bit. I'll bring you some lemonade..."
"Mama I am fine..I'll just go to my roo-"
Her mother turned to her "I said sit here and take a rest"
Jo sat reluctantly and began to browse trough her shells. Her mother came back with a tall glass of lemonade and sat with her.
"Jo..I..."
Jo turned to her mother with a little smile "no Mom...there is not much to say...Let it be...Let me be...I just want to dream this summer"
And her mother burst into tears and hid her head between her hands, slouching until her forehead hit the table and her hair covered her like a veil.
Jo sat rigidly in her seat until she moved quickly and hugged her. "It will be all right. I promise "

She went to her room afterward and recorded everything in her journal,from the meeting with the boy to the smallest seashell she had found. She slept then for she felt very weak and woke up around three in the morning. Her window faced the beach and the moon was high. She opened the window and the cool air came in. It smelled like salt .
In her pink pajamas she rested her head against the cool glass and wept for the first time since she had arrived to the beach house.
They all thought she wanted to die...
In truth she wanted to live for the very first time. She wanted to have her own hair and have her own life and have her very first kiss.
She closed the window and slept again.

She did not go to the beach the next day and instead her whole family went to the town to buy groceries. The small store was open and there was a girl by the cash register who was putting mascara on.
"Mom! customers!" she shouted and from the back a plump woman came out. "Oh goodness Edna, you don't need to scream"
The girl rolled her eyes and continued to put on make up.
They bought the groceries and then talked with the woman.
Josephine sat outside on a bench writing down on her journal the little things she liked.

But she came the next day with her pink pail and another of her hats. She wore leggings and a pale yellow dress. Her hair was loose and with a stick she wrote.
"I am here" And then spent the next hour outlining it with shells.
Once it was done she followed the strip down to where she had gone before.
The little shack was still there. She stopped and called out "Mr. Hobo!"
But then realized she was being silly and moved on. There was no way a hobo was going to come out...or was going to be very nice to her.