Bicycle a child, dressed in white, comes home from play with dirt streaks on her dress. "what did you do today," her mother asks her, "to make such an awful mess?" the girl cries in shame, and lies to escape, "i fell off my bike, but i'm really okay." as the years go by, the white disappears. its glorious magnificence haunted in dirt streaks from the bicycle that took away her innocence. the years have passed, but the hurt is harbored like a wounded boat with nowhere else to go. in sudden fear of holy eyes, she turns to a dear friend, shows him the scar and explains how she fell off her bicycle that day. he looks at the tugboat of shame and hidden fear, and cuts the ropes. they watch as it slowly floats away. Alissa Wiens