Strong Foundations by Brendan Thomas
Beth had missed her daily run from Brooklyn Heights to the waterfront this past summer. The chemo infusion center with a view of the Hudson was no substitute for warm breezes brushing her bare arms and legs. Luckily, mid-September was sunny enough to wear shorts and sleeveless t’s. She double-knotted her Nikes and sped along on legs that finally felt powerful again after her grueling ordeal. At her favorite spot, she leaned against the railing and whooped. I am cancer-free. I will never again take my life for granted.
The sun rose like a fireball into the brilliant blue sky. She stretched her arms upwards and let the rays melt into her collarbones. She was powerful Alectrona, Goddess of the Sun. She stroked the scars across her breast bone, feeling their rough edges. “You are strong,” she chanted her healing mantra out loud.
A ferry chugged towards Lady Liberty. Shimmering light bounced off its wake. Beth imagined her great grandfather’s look of awe when he sailed through her protective shadow towards Ellis Island.
The Twin Towers were the sentinels of this indomitable city. She was proud of her father who had mixed the concrete for their foundations. He dug magnificent holes and piled tons of concrete so his friends could raise their steel to the heavens.
From her new office window on the 92nd floor, she would surely be able to see her brownstone, three miles away as the crow flies in Cobble Hill.
Her father had cheered when she told him she got her dream job at Marsh McClelland. “I will sit in the sky knowing that your strong hands are holding me safe, Dad.”
She looked at the time and dashed for home. She would get to work early on her first day.
Brendan originally from Dublin lives with his wife and dog just north of San Francisco. He spent his career in Finance in Silicon Valley but is now happily retired learning to write and play golf. He is working on a collection of 300 Historical Flash stories of 300 words, and separately a World War 2 novel in Flash and promises to finish both this year.
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