Monday, February 27, 2012

There It Was...

I think I'm becoming addicted to flash fiction contests, and McKenzie McCann turned me onto this one. The challenge was to write a 250-word microfiction story beginning with, "After all this time, there is was." Here's my answer:

After all this time, there it was.

It was a boy—a simple, small boy, maybe seven years of age.

It was maybe half the height of the other boys, a third the weight, with shining eyes and a wide smile.

It was the proof that good things came in small packages.

And maybe it was the lifeline that would help pull her out of her personal ocean of depression.

She approached it—him—cautiously, as if he’d disappear if she got too close. But he smiled at her, big and broad, showing a gap where two front teeth were missing, as if he were oblivious to his own troubled past. “Hullo,” he said.

“Hi,” she replied, softly, so as not to scare him.

“Are you here for Jeffy?”

“No,” she said, and her heart broke for this little boy who’d been passed over so many times already.

His brow furrowed. “Britney then?”

“No.”

“Oh. Um, Carly?”

“Nope.” The guessing game was relaxing her, and he looked taken aback when she finally smiled at him.

“Then who’re you ‘dopting?”

“Well,” she said, feeling like this was the biggest moment in her life, “if it’s alright with you, I’d like to adopt… you.”

His big, shining eyes got even shinier, and suddenly there it was again. That ache in her chest that told her they hadn’t taken her heart when they’d taken everything else.

There it is, she thought, taking him in her arms while he cried. There’s my son.

5 comments:

  1. Aww, that was so lovely. It makes me want to know what happened to both of these characters before this point!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Oh I love it!! So touching! I want to know who 'they' are and what they took from her! Great job and thanks so much for participating :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Aww! Okay, I'll admit, I blinked away a tear. I have a special place in my heart for adoption, so this tugged at me. I love it.

    I'm a new follower, glad that I found your blog. :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Did I? Oh, how nice of you to mention. I'm glad you joined in. This story was so sweet! I adore it.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Wow I had shiny teary eyes when reading this one! Beautiful! Thanks for joining us. :)

    ReplyDelete