The Bicycle
Tiny Memoir #7
On a sticky, sunny, summer day, I rode the shiny red bicycle my parents gave me for my fourth birthday. I cruised around our picnic spot, around and around and around. “Stay within my sight,” my mom said, but for one brief moment I passed behind a tree. I was there, then not there. My parents didn’t notice. I was being adventurous; I was having fun. I was being defiant, bold, rebellious, naughty. My bike would later be stolen from the dark basement of our apartment building, and my dad suspected the neighbor who touched me where he shouldn’t have. I was there, then not there. My parents didn’t notice.
Barb Natividad (she/her) is a disabled writer living in Chicago. Her stories and poems appear in several publications, including BigCityLit and Babaylan: An Anthology of Filipina and Filipina American Writers. Barb holds an MFA in poetry from The Ohio State University. She writes Comedy, Tragedy on Substack, and is currently writing a novel.
Submissions to Tiny Memoir are currently closed, and will re-open in April. If you have not heard back yet about your Fall submission, we are still considering it.
This is so powerful.
Congratulations Barb, great storytelling!