Pick-Up Sticks
By Christian Barragan
November 15, 2024
November 15, 2024
My aunt let go of the sticks too forcefully. It wasn’t so much “letting go” as it was “throwing.” We already told her several times to simply release her grip so the sticks can fall on their own. That’s what everyone else did, but she insisted she was doing it correctly. Anyway, I’m pretty sure a red stick fell off the table, among others. A red would have been twenty points. Or was it fifteen? My mother doesn’t remember the rules either and she’s been playing since childhood. Of course, she usually says the rules in Spanish, a language no one assumes I can speak. But I do. I just play this game during reunions. Otherwise I spend my time writing useless stories, hoping some of them will outlive me.
The instructions on the box have long since faded away. Even if I could see the instructions, I don’t think I would want to know how far we’ve strayed from the original game. How many sticks are missing by now? We barely have any family in the area so it's not often we have these reunions, and we don’t lose sticks every time we play, but it still happens.
The floors are perpetually covered with things we’ve meant to throw out over the years, so I’m sure we’re never going to find those sticks there. The fallen sticks have probably entered the same realm as all those socks and pictures we never found. We can’t just replace them either. Each one is specifically designed for the game and has certain attributes that make it unique and valuable. Now, every time I look at a red one I will remember seeing my aunt after twelve years and how she threw the sticks too hard. Some of these twigs are worth more than others, but what kind of family only has the most valuable ones?
One day we might take the game out and realize we don’t have any more sticks. Once that happens, we’ll have to take out a different game. One thing worries me. My children, if I have any, will come across one of the sticks we’ve lost and insist we use it in the next game.
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Christian Barragan is a graduate from California State University Northridge. Raised in Riverside, CA, he aims to become a novelist or editor. He currently reads submissions for Flash Fiction Magazine. His work has appeared in the Raven Review, the Frogmore Papers, and Caustic Frolic, among others. Find him on Twitter: @CrumpledBundle.
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Author’s Note:
This piece recounts an experience during a family reunion earlier this year. I had never previously written nonfiction and rarely write anything relating to family dynamics, but I felt compelled to write this piece in particular. I grew up far from most of the rest of my family and I rarely see any relatives outside of my household. This brief, simple exchange pushed me to further contemplate the importance of holding onto memories and traditions while recognizing that they can evolve over time.