Day 141: The Bomb

The Bomb
by
Matt Zurbo

 

Sometimes Ruby played in the old abandoned donut van near the park. All that tin, for some reason, it reminded her a little of a bomb.
(Little girl outside old, empty donut van in colourless grey park.)

There were many types of bomb.

They did awful things.

Ruby wondered who makes them?
(Evil, sinewy semi-human creature making bomb)

Who buys them?
(Similar, but in a suit.)

Who orders for them to be dropped?
(Creepy, clinging to table or wall, slyly looking sideways.)

“Why do people like that exist?” Ruby asked.
“No, be positive,” Dad said. “Maybe ask instead: What sort of bomb would I make?”
(Ruby in van talking to Dad standing outside it, in grey park.)

Hm. That got Ruby thinking.
Was there a way she could put rainbows into a steel shell?

What would a hug bomb look like?

What if her school bag was really waiting to explode with Widjits and Fidjits?
How would she get them in there?
(Cute, weird little creatures. Widjits blue, Fidjits yellow. Ruby is stuffing some in while others run, laughing, and others hid under table, behind glass of water, etc.)

How would she catch them again once the bomb went off?
(Widjits and Fidjits exploding from her bag. Students laughing, amazed, scared)

Would they become a part of the neighbourhood?
(Widjits and Fidjits in street, walking like pets with kids to school, on their shoulders, heads, same with lollypop lady, riding on roof of car, hanging from tree, happy. Three or four of them walking the one dog.)

Would the Widjits and Fidjits make more Widjit and Fidjit bombs?
(Footpath a sea of them. Ruby surrounded as she walks, little explosions of even more of them going off.)

Crazy ideas like that got Ruby thinking even more!
Maybe an idea could be a bomb?
(Ruby thinking.)

“Mum, Dad…” she announced, “I’m going to turn the old donut van into a bomb!”
“What do you mean?” asked Mum and Dad. They were worried about their little girl.
But Ruby went ahead anyway.

She wrote a note that would light up people’s imaginations, and delivered it to every kid she knew:
‘Tomorrow at the park, let’s all get together and make happy bombs.’
(Ruby writing letters, that little birds are flying out the window with, small love hearts falling about.)

Well, the people who make and use and sell normal bombs weren’t happy at all!
(Three of the makers, users, sellers of bombs from earlier, all washed, grey colours, in industrial background, looking at one of Ruby’s small, colourful invites. The bird that was delivering it is in a weird little bird trap.)

“Happy bombs?” They didn’t even know what happy means.
(The three of them marching, frumpily. One with scrunched up invite. Other with bird in clenched hand.)

They crept and crawled into the park (and hid behind trees) ready to be bitter and mean, and to bring Ruby’s happiness down.
(Slinking behind things in grey park, near van,)

But Ruby and her friends were ready for them.
(Kids peeking between cracks of van.)

Ruby walked into the park, smiling.
(Ruby walking past leering bomb makers.)

Up to the old donut van…
(Ruby entering van.)

And BOOM!
(Van window opening with kids in costumes. Other kids pouring our of door, some on roof. Streamers, colour, small speakers, a rainbow, etc…)

They had brought flowers that let of explosions of colour.

Told jokes that let of explosions of laughter.
(Kids, animates, telling jokes, surrounding baffled bomb user)

Gave explosive ideas.
(Four kids talking, animated, as if to reader. Above each head his what they are talking about. A rocket ship and Saturn. Solar powered walking car/machine, A flowerpot that has eight flowery stems growing from it that lead to eight other flowerpots with flowers in them. A chittering monkey holding up a love heart.)

Kicked leaves into the air with explosions of fun.

(Bomb maker hiding, scared, behind tree as kids happily play in piles of dead leaves.)

Sung, letting off explosions of noise!
(Bomb seller cowering from noise.)

They did a play, which floored everybody in the park!
(Kids, dressed like Punch and Judy performing in van window, other kids on van roof and in front of van, holding, operating, fake waves and clouds, and a cardboard image of a dragon, etc. Some kids by the van’s side playing music instruments, with little Pas. Crowd watching, loving it, sitting back, using arms to hold themselves up, almost as if being knocked over.)

They brought joy.
(Faces of smiling crowd.)
Pow, bam, boom!

And all the bomb makers, and buyers and users could do was slink away,
defeated,
with songs in their hearts,
and flowers in their hair…

After that, Ruby and her family saw bombs everywhere…!
(Ruby, Mum and Dad looking at picnic basket.)

But only the good kind, though.
(Picnic basket opened, in middle of spread of colour and noise. Ruby, Mum and Dad on colourful picnic blanket, laughing, eating, with colourful food all about, and birds and dog behind them jumping for a ball. Someone flying a kite, a musician playing, etc…)

 

 

 

The End.