An Indoor Picnic Written and Designed by James Smith Story ©2007 James Smith

As the rain began to fall over New York City, a car sped down the highway.

Inside was a man in a suit and a basket full of sandwiches and chips. The electronic sign in front of him blasted music videos and the latest news reports. The man whose name was Greg was on the way to lunch with his wife and child. Another electronic sign displayed the exit he needed to take: “Park Ave”.

The rain fell harder as he waited for the light to turn green. A crack of lighting and a blast of thunder. The storm was getting worse. The man pushed a button on his steering wheel and a monitor appeared. Another button was pushed and the man’s wife appeared on the screen.

“I’m sorry honey but since it is raining, we can’t do our family picnic today. Tell Henry I am so sorry” the man said. “It’s okay. We can do it inside on the patio” the wife replied. The light changed to green and the man turned onto the street.

The man’s wife, Ashley, turned away from the screen and walked up the stairs. Every week, their little family would go out to the park to have a picnic under the genetically altered palm trees in the park. Henry, their son loved to miss school if only for a couple of hours to eat under the trees. Greg loved the fact that he got to get away from his job creating robotic people at his work. For Ashley, it meant one meal she did not have to make.

Since it was raining, they would have to move it to their backyard patio. As she went up the stairs, a figure appeared in the teleportation tube. It was Henry. “Where’s dad” Henry asked. “He is not here yet. Henry, since it is raining, we will have to have our picnic inside” Ashley told him. “Okay” Henry replied.

The upstairs monitor suddenly turned on. A car pulled into the driveway and a man got out. It was Greg carrying the basket of sandwiches and chips. The two of them ran down the stairs to meet Greg. After the reunion, Henry grabbed his dad’s hand and led him to the patio.

A push of a button and the patio was transformed into the park with the palm trees. Henry unfolded the blanket and placed it on the floor. Even though they were inside, their patio allowed them to go anywhere in the world with a push of a button. As the three sat down and ate, they could actually feel the sun shining down on them. They could smell the funnel cakes that the park vendors would sell a few feet away from their picnic spot. It was like they were really there.

Suddenly, the hologram froze up and the power went off. They did not care. In the dark, they sat there and ate their sandwiches. 20 minutes later, the power returned. Their park reappeared. “Well, I have to go” Greg said. “Okay! Bye!” Ashley and Henry chimed in. As Greg walked out of the room, outside the rain began to stop. “Hey guys! Come out and look at this” Greg shouted. Ashley and Henry ran outside. Up in the sky was a rainbow that shined very brightly in the blue sky. All over the city, people looked out their windows to see the rainbow.

For some, it was their very first rainbow. For others, it was just another rainbow that they seen in the sky. For a brief wrinkle in time, the city was one. There was no race, no gender division, no crime, just a city united under a rainbow; the symbol of peace and happiness.

About the Author: James Smith James Smith was born at Scott& White Hospital in Temple TX. He currently lives in Harker Heights TX. In the fall, he will be in the 11 th grade at Harker Heights High School. James loves to read, draw, listen to music, play video games, etc. He has one cat named Kiki.