The Sunrise

"The sky is so blue," he turns to his mother, who is misty-eyed staring at the clouds above her, "Mommy," he tugs on her long black skirt.  She pats him on the head, "it is very blue, bluer than the lake we go to in July."  She smiles at him, grabs his hand and starts to pull him towards the car.  He is resistant, staring up at the blue sky above him and entranced by its hue.  "Sweetie we have to go," she yanks on his arm with a little more force, nothing painful but just enough to get him to move, but he stands firm as a rock anchored to the ground.  "Mommy, why does the sky change colors when it goes dark?"  She looked at her son, five years old and curious about everything, and smiles at him.  "Well, that's because when the sun goes to sleep, he takes all the colors with him one by one."  He looks up at her and crinkles his nose, "Mommy that's not true!"   Letting out a sigh with a laugh, she admits she was making it up.  "To be honest, I'm not really sure why the sky changes colors."  She tugs on his arm again to get him to budge towards the car, and this time he weakens his stance and moves just a little.  "But mommy, the sky is now pink!"  She looked up to a pink lining painted on the horizon, and smiled at her son, "Yes, it is very pink, but we have to go home and get to sleep."  "But mommy, why do we have to sleep?"  Smiling at her son once more, she responds, "because we all need to rest, or else we will have no energy for tomorrow!"  She feigns excitement to try to trick her own son into becoming enthralled at the prospect of sleeping, but her son is still staring at the sky.  The two stand there looking up at the sky becoming darker and darker and darker.  Finally she tries her luck once more and grabs her son's arm, who acquiesces to the pull.  The hop into the car and drive back home.  

The night continues slowly, as she continually tosses and turns throughout the night.  She awakens herself, looks at her son in the other room, and walks outside to sit on the porch.  Staring up at the sky she begins to tear up once more.  The sunrise hits her eyes with streaks of pinks and oranges like they were painted by an artist's brush.  She slouches back into her chair, and looks into the sky.  Grabbing a piece of paper and pen, she scribbles;

Today my son asked me why the sky changes color

And I could not give him an answer

Because I asked that question to my husband,

Who now has passed away,

And he said it was because mother nature was jealous 

of how beautiful I was that every night 

it tries to create something more beautiful than I am.

And I know it was corny, but every time I looked at the sunset

I always smiled.

She looked up at the sky once more, and began to cry.  With tears dripping down her cheek she finishes her writing,

And he told me that every sunrise

The colors would mesh into one

That he called Annabelle, 

Because it looks just like the color 

of my eyes.

Her son tugs on her arm, "Mommy, why are you crying?"  She stares at her son's eyes, and whispers, "Because I've never seen the sunrise."