SUNSHINE BOY story

Elijah has eyes bright as light bulbs. And everyone calls him Sunshine Boy. The world seems a better place when he smiles.

Today is no different.

The little boy woke up, stretched and got out of bed. Brown eyes roamed around the room. Eyelashes moved up and down like windshield wipers.

Some little boys have teddy bears for a friend. Not Elijah. Others have a Bunny Rabbit. Or even Mickey Mouse. Not Elijah.

No way, thank you very much.

He stared at his stuffed Albertasaurus. The green dinosaur smiled back with a mouthful of cloth teeth.

Quickly dress, scoot downstairs and sit for breakfast. That’s Elijah all right, run, run, and RUN.

“Didn’t comb your hair,” said mom.

“Nope…not yet,” answered Elijah. He winked at his mom.

She looked into his eyes. And smiled. Then said, “Okay Sunshine Boy, later. Now eat.”

“Toast, jam, one egg and …” Elijah cradled his head. “WOW! COW! All this for breakfast?” he asked.

“Your tummy won’t go KABOOM!” said mom. “Remember our picnic? And hiking will burn up lots of energy.” She raised her eyebrow, “Right?”

Elijah wished he could raise his eyebrow too. Then he could look like a pirate.

Daddy waited by the car.

Elijah quickly climbed into the back seat. Everything was packed. “Yikes!” He didn’t even help. No, not even one teensy bit.

As he looked at daddy, his eyes lit up.

“Sorry,” his smiling father said. He knew Elijah liked to help. “But you were a little slow getting ready for our trip. Right?”

Then daddy arched his right eyebrow. Does he want to be a pirate too? Elijah wondered.

The boy liked the way everything was different in the country.

Houses were no longer stacked closely like canoes on the shore. They were spaced apart like frogs with their own lily pads.

They didn’t look as tall as ones in the city, either.

Many were made of wood, with colorful sides. Some had blue and red roofs. Others had large yards. Some buildings looked like golf balls in a huge field.

Their hiking trail was really neat. No longer could he hear his feet THUMP! THUMP! upon sidewalks made of asphalt.

In the forest everything seemed cheerful. Especially after Elijah passed by. Trees seemed to stand straighter.

Grass looked greener.

Deer watching from the woods were at peace. They didn’t know how to smile when Elijah peeked at them. So, they just nodded their heads.

UP and down, UP and down.

A partridge strutted. An eagle watched from his perch.

And Elijah kept passing around smiles.

Yes indeed, this was a happy boy. He decided to race ahead of mom and daddy.

“Wait for us,” they called.

But he kept on going, noticing all that was around. Not wishing to miss anything. Not even a garter snake.

Sometimes it was hard to be happy. Especially when he tripped over a branch. Or fell down and skinned his knee.

“Clumsy me,” Elijah would say. Once in a while, it was hard for this little boy to be brave. Like right now. “Ooh…it hurts,“ said he, rubbing his knee.

“Where is mom and daddy?” he asked. But they were nowhere to be seen.

They must have gone another way, he thought. He hadn’t run that far ahead, now did he?

Will a bear smile at me, if my eyes light up? Elijah wondered.

If mom and daddy don’t find me soon, I won’t eat for days and days, thought the little boy. Then I might turn into a bag of bones.

Thoughts like these did not make his face light up.

In fact Elijah now had a sad sack face.

Suddenly mom yelled, “There you are!” She and daddy came quickly to his side. “You shouldn’t be in such a hurry,” said mom.

Elijah didn’t want her to be upset and put his head down. He did not feel glad. How could he ever make people smile again?

After a short walk, they had a picnic.

The eagle flew around, but the little boy did not watch.

And the partridge kept strutting nearby. But Sunshine Boy looked the other way.

Mom and daddy gave their little boy a hug. “We love you Sunshine Boy,” they said. “It’s okay to feel sad sometimes,” said mom.

“You can’t make people smile all the time,” daddy added.

“Come here son,” they called. Then the three of them walked to a little pond.

“Here fishy-fishy,” daddy called, throwing in a handful of corn.

A loud SPLASH! Quickly answered.

Fins showed upon the pond’s surface. Rainbow trout in large numbers seemed to dance in the water as they circled the corn.

At first it frightened Elijah. But twisting and leaping fish making bubbles helped him laugh. It was good to laugh, “Te-He-He.”

Then it became “Ha-Ha-Ha.”

Soon he was rolling on the ground, getting all mussed up. But mom and daddy didn’t mind. Their little boy was happy again.

Chasing each other through scratchy raspberry bushes was fun.

Then, it was time to go home.

After the family’s return, Elijah walked past old Mrs. Frisbart’s house. “Mrs. Frisbee,” his chums called her.

She liked to bake Elijah the best peanut butter cookies in town. Now she came outside with a bag for him. As he looked at her, his eyes really lit up.

The smile she quickly returned proved he was A-okay. Sunshine Boy’s magical smile was working again.

As Elijah strolled to his front door, the grass seemed to sparkle. The birch tree stood so proud.

And the peanut butter cookies tasted great.

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© 2006 Richard & Esther Provencher
All Rights Reserved