I never truly thanked you for that time when we were 14, when
I was shy and you walked a fine line between kindness and cruelty.
We shared a desk in French. You had some friends in the class
and I had none. On that day, two of your friends Rachel and Claire made fun of
my voice and the way I moved my hands. The teacher didn’t say anything and nor
did you.
As we packed away our books, I bit my lip in sadness and
insecurity. Then you slipped me a piece of paper, torn badly from an exercise
book. The note was sealed with a heart and read,
My Babica
always tells me to hold my head high and smile and the world will smile with
you.
Underneath the words, you’d drawn a smiling sunflower. And I
knew I would never show it to anyone else because you wouldn’t want me to.
But I still have that note, from that time you cared.
(Words: 170)
The story came from a response to a challenge in this book x
Lovely!
ReplyDelete