Friday, June 25, 2010

Beggar: Short, Short Friday Fiction

I looked at them all, every one of their dirty weathered faces surrounded by ratted hair, their yellow smiles and grimaces aimed in my direction. Their eyes told stories. Some were bright with the light of living free, a concept I could not understand. Most were dimmed from the repeated disappointments life had left packaged on their proverbial doorstep. This I understood and extended my empathy toward them like a hand reaching out to soothe their ills.

I looked at them every opportunity I could. At stop lights, in doorways, signing them into the homeless shelter, serving them soup. Their faces followed me. They slept on my pillow each night and stared at me in the mirror in the morning. They floated in the cream of my coffee throughout the day. Every different face gave me hope that my daughter was not one of them.

*** One Minute Writer ***

3 comments:

  1. I enjoyed reading that! My favorite line was "Most were dimmed from the repeated disappointments life had left packaged on their proverbial doorstep."

    Ec

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  2. Thank you Eddie.... that happened to be my favorite line as well! Stopped by your site the other day too. Belated Happy 24th b-day!

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  3. This is really nice. I too like that line. I also like the like right before it "Some were bright with the light of living free, a concept I could not understand" It would be interesting to put that in to a character.

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