Francis

Every night at midnight, the purple clouds came out to dance with the blushing sky.

Francis loved to see them, dancing and making funny smiles. She sat on her chair at the window every night, waiting for them. In her hands was a brand-new camera. She took a lot of photos every night, but only one would make it into her collection. The other ones she stored in a one TB USB stick. Her collection was quite big for a 12-year-old girl and very professional. Most girls her age were collecting boyfriends, but she sat quietly every night in her chair, waiting for the perfect cloud.

Her life was difficult, unusual, and sometimes boring. Most of the time she felt trapped in a timeframe where she knew she never would be able to escape anymore.

The first two to four months after the accident she wanted to die as her mom had done, but she wasn't even able to do that properly. She couldn't move her legs and sitting in that stupid wheelchair was more than she could handle. Before the accident, she liked to run around the garden, ride her bike, do figure skating, and swim in their pool. Now she was stuck in this chair and the sun did the rest. For whatever reason, she was now also allergic to sunshine. The only time where she could 'enjoy' the outside was at night. Her dad was running with her from one doctor to the other specialist to find out why she wasn't able to walk anymore and why she was now allergic to the sunshine or to say it more precisely: to the daylight. No doctor could find a medical explanation for her well-being. None of them.

She remembered the day when her mom gave her the book 'Heidi" by Johanna Spyri. The swiss author. Mom loved that book and one reason for that was, she was from Switzerland as well. At first, she didn't want to read that book but her mother insisted. She has seen the movie, so she wasn't really happy to read the book now. But it turned out, the spirit of this book was very personal to her. She could see herself as 'Heidi' running around in the swiss-alps and helping her best friend to get back on her feet.

Now, after the terrible car accident, everything has changed. She was no longer 'Heidi', she was 'Clara', the girl in the wheelchair. At first, she was shocked that she felt like that girl 'Clara' and she threw the book into the garbage can in her room. But after a few days of staring at that garbage can she took the book back to the shelf, back to her bed, and started to read it again. She kind of felt as if she was one of the characters in that book. Sometimes she thought she can walk again because the doctors has been talking to her dad a lot and ensured him, that it was a psychological problem and not a physical one. It was all in her head, that was what they were saying. Maybe she was crazy? Who knew, but she was ready for her new life in her wheelchair.

She loved to watch the clouds, especially the pinkish ones at night. So when she asked her dad for a good camera, he got her one right away. He was happy when she was happy and twice a week they both went together for a ride in his car at night. They called it sightseeing of the newcomers.

Newcomers because they moved into this neighborhood five months ago and there was so much to see. Due to Francis's problem with the sun, they started doing night trips which turned out to be fun. So she didn't feel like she was missing anything in her 'new life'.

Francis looked again out of her window which was surrounded by beautiful curtains. Her dad had made this window special for her. He adjusted the height and made it even wider for her. So she could rest her arms on the window sills and her camera has enough space as well. Today was a very special night for her. She would be able to see the first total lunar eclipse in her life. The southern limb of the Moon will pass through the center of the Earth's shadow. It surpassed the previous eclipse as the longest total lunar eclipse visible from nearly all of North America. Francis has read every article in every magazine and newspaper, in every book she could get to know what would happen and how it would look like. Her camera was ready, her hot chocolate was standing on a small side table and a freshly made sandwich with chocolate cookies on a plate was also ready for her.

She sat there in her small wheelchair, watching and observing every move of every cloud. She didn't want to miss a single second of this event.

"Hey Francis, can you hear me?". Someone was calling her but she didn't see anyone. "Hey Frances, can you hear me?". Now that voice was even louder than before. "Francis! I can see you!".

Francis took a deeper look out of the window, but she couldn't see anyone.

"Francis, it's me, your neighbor Jane!".

Oh my god, not that boyish girl that always went for a fight, played rough soccer with the boys, and got a punch in her face last week. Ended up with a nicely marked eye.

"Francis, it's me, Jane, hello?"

Francis backed up from the window. She never liked that 'girl'. She was acting more like a boy, than a girl. She never wore a dress, and her hair was short and always a mess. The same could be said for her clothing. Holes in her pants, and dirty socks, her shirt was always messy as well and her fingernails looked just horrible. Not that was so bad at all, but Francis never saw her washing her hands when they were dirty. Whatever she did, it was the same as the boys. So, that was the reason why Francis didn't want to talk to her.

"Go away, I don't want to talk to you and I don't want to see you. Leave me alone".

"Why? I am your neighbor and we are the same age and we are both girls."

"Yes, we are both girls, but you are more like a boy. Look how you are getting dressed and how you look all the time. And just by the way, I don't want to have friends at all."

"Oh, is it because you are sitting in a wheelchair and can't go out during the day?".

"This is not your business! Leave me alone!! Now!". Francis was now close to shouting at her. Thank god, she thought I am on the second floor so she can't see me.

At exactly that moment fingers touched her window sills, a leg swung onto it and here she was. Jane! Dressed as a boy, a little bit sweaty from the climbing, smiling all over her face (probably because she was proud of herself that she made it), her eyes are wide open and her hair looked like an old brush.

Francis was so shocked to see her appearing so suddenly that she nearly fell backwards with her wheelchair. She tried to grab the windowsill for help, but instead, she grabbed her hand. And Jane kept her in her wheelchair. Her hands were strong and so soft. Even softer than her own hands.

"What the hell you are doing up here? You shouldn't be here at all!".

"Well, I wanted to say hello to you my friend. Actually, my invisible friend". Jane looked at her with laughing green eyes. Eyes like a lazy but very strong cat. Her reddish hair looked like a brush. A total mess as usual but the way she looked at Francis changed everything. Her look was full of kindness, not of compassion. She jumped down from the window sill took a chair and sat right next to Francis.

"So, what are you up to, tonight?", she asked in a low voice. "I know, you are looking at the stars every night and I also know you are taking pictures of the stars and the clouds? Correct?".

Francis stared at her as if she were talking to a ghost. "Um, yes, um, I am watching the stars but mostly the clouds. I like the color of the clouds. Um, when the colors are changing from white to grey or black or pink".

"Ah, that makes sense to me too. I like to watch the stars through my telescope. I don't have a camera like you".

"You do have a telescope? That is wonderful. Do you know all the stars by name?".

Jane laughed. "No, not all of them, but a lot. My mom is an astrophysicist and she is teaching me all that stuff about the universe. It is very difficult to understand for me, but I like the stories she is telling me to make it easier for me to understand".

"And what is your dad doing?".

Jane went quiet for a moment. Then she turned to Francis, tears in her eyes. "He passed away last year. Cancer. He was a soccer player. That's why I am playing soccer too. I want him to be proud of me".

"Oh, I am so sorry. I shouldn't ask you about your family at all."

"No, no. We need to talk about such things, don't we? Soon we will be grown-ups and we need to know how to deal with a loss. What do you think?"

"I guess you are right", Francis said, "my mom passed away in a car crash. I was in the back seat. Unharmed. But since then I am no longer able to walk or go outside during the day. My dad tries to make my life as easy as possible, but I think I am more of a burden to him".

"Don't say that again, honey!" Her dad was standing at the door and looking at both girls. "I love you and it doesn't matter how you look or do. You are my baby. Always. But don't you want to introduce me to your friend here? I haven't heard the doorbell at all."

Jane got red all over her face and looked away. Francis started to giggle and turned to her father. "I hope you don't mind my words. I love you too. My friend here is using the window to visit me."

The face her dad showed was too much for both girls, they started to laugh so loud, that you could hear them outside on the streets.

"This is a joke, no? You climbed up all the way here? Your mother will go crazy when she hears this".

"She probably will," a voice said from behind her dad.

"Mom, are you ok?". Jane looked a little bit confused. "What are you doing here?"

"Well, I was invited by this nice gentleman for a glass of wine and a small dinner, when we heard noises up here. Unusual noises to be precise."

"You guys know each other?" Francis looked from her dad to Jane's mom.

"Yes, we do. I am her boss," her dad said with a twinkle in his eyes.

"And it is a pleasure to have her also as my neighbor, so we can discuss problems during a glass of wine".

"Ah, discussing problems during a glass of wine, how convenient", Jane said.

"So what are we looking at tonight?" Jane's mom was asking.

" Well, tonight we are looking at my first total lunar eclipse. I want to make as many pictures as possible. Oh my god. What time is it?"

"10.45 pm, why".

"Jane, the total eclipse is starting in the next 5 minutes. Where is my camera? Ah, here. I need to be ready".

Francis sat straight up in her wheelchair, Jane stood up, and behind her, was her mom and Francis's dad. The color of the night changed so suddenly that no one could say what happened, the earth was moving so fast between the sun and the moon and the satellite disappeared in the shadow of the earth in an instant even her dad had never seen it so fast. The clouds were shining in all types of colors like a rainbow. It was so beautiful that no one looked at Francis first. They only heard her camera clicking. Francis was so excited that she couldn't stop laughing for joy. Jane, her mom, and Francis's dad stared at her in disbelief. Francis was standing at the window and making pictures. She was not sitting, no she was standing all by herself.

"Francis"' Jane was shouting at her, "you are standing!!!".

Francis turned around and looked at them and then she looked down at her feet. Yes, she was standing all by herself right next to her wheelchair. Camera in her hands.

She was so shocked, that she tried to get the handle from her wheelchair for support. But Jane was way faster. She pushed it away.

"No, you can do it. You can walk. Maybe not so far right now because your muscles need exercise but you can do it, now."

Jane looked into her eyes. Francis could feel that she meant what she was saying and she wanted to walk again. For the first time since the accident, she wanted to walk. She made one step and another, slowly towards her dad. It worked. She walked again. She was full of sweat but she made it to her dad who was standing only two meters away. Two meters was not much for all of them, but it meant a new life for Francis.

Her dad was crying when she reached him. It was such a long time since he has seeing her walking and now, in the middle of the night, she started to walk again. It was like a miracle for all of them.

"Now we need to figure out, why you have also problems being outside during the day", Jane said.

"One thing at a time", Francis whispered. "I can not believe that I can feel my legs again. It hurts, but it feels right."

"That's enough surprises for one night, or I am wrong?". Her dad looked around and Jane's mom agreed. "Let's go to bed and see how it goes tomorrow".

"Ok. Have a good night. See you tomorrow Francis", Jane said. She looked tired too.

Minutes later she was alone with her dad again. He wanted to push her wheelchair to her bed, but she stopped him.

"No, I want to try again, the walking I mean".

"Ok. No problem".

He took her hand and Francis closed her eyes. She was no longer so sure that she could walk, but she got up from her wheelchair and she walked all by herself to her bed. Now she knew for sure that when she will be up tomorrow morning, she will be able to walk again. Maybe she can play soccer soon as well. Maybe.