Something to Smile About

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This week’s photo prompt is provided by Grant-Sud. FFfAW

“Why do you do that?”

Morning sunlight peeked over the horizon, songbirds offered their first chirps. His voice cracked too loudly in the new day.

“What?” She stood, dusted debris off her tights, slipped her chalk into her dress pocket.

“Those stupid smiles. Why you gotta draw them everywhere?”

“When I was 7 my daddy killed my kitten,” she said. “Right in front of me he did.”

“That ain’t nothing worth smiling about.”

“Daddy’s gone now. You’re here and this wall is pink. Pink is my favorite color, you’re my favorite person, and there is always something to smile about.”

He shook his head, walked toward the office to pay. Her heart blossom with a brilliance to rival the rising sun.

In the car she took out her chalk, sketched a smile onto the dashboard and waited for him to take them home.

(144 words)

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This was written in response to a Flash Fiction for Aspiring Writers prompt.

Visit FFfAW to read the rules and share your own response.

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4 thoughts on “Something to Smile About

  1. This is heartwarming Nona, with some wonderful turns of phrase. It’s good to be reminded that there’s (almost) always something to smile about.

    I like your blog title, which I’m guessing is a play on wild herbs (?). Herbs being, incidentally, another word that can cause puzzlement when said by an American person to a British one. Why do Americans drop the ‘h’? I always think an ‘erb sounds like someone who lives in a big city.

    Like

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