Crystallized Minds For Harlyn Starr

Who Wants To Ruin A Surprise

A pile of disintegrated paper lies at my feet as I carefully withdraw what looks to be the final riddle. Well, no one actually says that it's the last one, but I can tell - instead of being plain and white, this one is written in flowery purple ink on sparkly silver stationery. " 'A man was wrongly convicted of murder and sentenced to death. He was to be tied to a post, with 24 armed soldiers around. The chief felt a small amount of pity, so he said that the man could choose the position of the soldiers. However, the every soldier had to be facing the man, and they had to be within 12 feet of him. The man knew that the soldiers had bad aim, so he made his decision. The next morning, the chief checked on the man and was surprised to find him alive. How did the man do it? All of the soldiers had fully loaded guns.' " I read, chewing my lip.
The air seems to hang still as I think. I've yet to experience what happens if I fail to answer the riddle correctly, so I'm not that eager to just guess. I close my eyes to think, and immediately find myself in a flowery meadow. When I open my eyes, I realize that I am, in actuality, standing in the center of a flowery meadow. I don't feel like questioning the machine's choice, so I go with it.
The daisies blow lazily in the light breeze, and the emerald grass sways too. The clouds drift across the cerulean sky, looking like cotton pillows. It occurs to me that I neglected to take my ADHD medication this morning, and am getting distracted. But my eyes scan the meadow, distracted, and I succumb to my attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.
My eyes come to rest on a daisy. So simple, like a mouse. I think again of how much simpler my life would be if I were a mouse. A grin tugs at the corners of my mouth, and I allow myself to smile. The daisy seems to smile with me, its pearly petals waving to me and its golden center beaming. It reminds me of the riddle - the man is the yellow center of the daisy, and the soldiers are the petals. Too bad the soldiers couldn't stand around the man, I think. They'd obviously shoot him.
But something tugs at the back of my mind. I reach back, dig around my brain for it, and come back with one fact in my head: the man knew that the soldiers had very bad aim. So, if the man knew that, then the soldiers wouldn't have hit him! But wouldn't they have at least tried? There is the small possibility of the soldiers shooting him.
Suddenly, a moment of clearness explodes in my mind. Of course! I think. The soldiers wouldn't shoot at all for fear of missing - and hitting a fellow soldier! "The soldiers stood around the man!" I shout, hoping profusely that the machine can hear me. But the only thing that greets my eager voice is a rustling in the bushes. I yell the answer again, this time a little louder. But still nothing happens. I squeeze my eyes shut in despair. Then I remember something - I came to this meadow when I closed my eyes, so...
Sure enough, when I open them, I'm standing in my house - the bathroom, to be exact. I feel the cream colored walls, the turquoise towels, the tiled floor, the porcelain sink, the shiny chrome faucet. Even the toilet seems like a ceramic throne, but I refrain from hugging it.
Footsteps in the hallway cause me to jump. I turn around, expecting a monster - but I remember that the only person home with me right now is Mom. Her face is smiling with relief when she opens the door. "I couldn't find you anywhere, sweetie," she says, hugging me. I try to read her mind, to see what she was really doing. But nothing happens. I try again, to no avail.
"Anyway, sweetie, the reason why I was looking for you is it's your bedtime." she tells me. I nod, picking ip my toothbrush and rinsing it. But then she says something else: "You better get some rest for your birthday tomorrow! You'll love your presents!"
I remember now: my birthday is tomorrow. Smiling, I hug her. When I pull away, I notice that I left spots of toothpaste on her sweater. When I point it out, she laughs and tells me to get going. So I do - and realize that I don't even want to read minds anymore. After all, who wants to ruin a surprise?