I wanted to fill the hole in my heart. I wanted to know what a real smile felt like. I couldn’t feel the sun on my skin. I grimaced. How was that different from any other day?
“Sister what’s that.”
“Don’t touch that you don’t know where it’s been,” the woman said. She pulled the little girl’s hand.
“But what is it?”
I sensed the older woman’s desperation but didn’t understand why she felt it. She hooked her hand into the girl’s collar and dragged her away. The girl released oaths no child should know and struggled like a trapped animal. The crowd was blind to her actions and deaf to the girl’s screams. I didn’t care to help. The woman picked up the red faced girl and ran down the street.
I moved to the object that infected the girl. It was a piece of paper. The miserable thing has had a hard life. It looked so weary. I wanted to burn this pitiable paper and end its torment. If it could talk, it would tell of the time people didn’t know existed. Did I want to hear its story and listen to the pain that weaved together each and every tale?
No one else seemed bothered by this forsaken paper but what kind of person would be?
I pulled a napkin from my hand bag and with it, picked up the limp green piece of paper. Numbers were in the four corners, a ten. An imposing man was in the center. “Hamilton” was printed under this bust. Another picture of an impressive building called the “U.S. Treasury” was on the back. The rest was too tattered to be legible. It looked as if it had once been attractive. Why would someone have thrown something this nice away? With another napkin, I folded the paper and put it in my purse. I wanted to hear its story.
2 thoughts on “Enjoy- Deathless Flame”
Very intriguing, I want to read more. Well done.
Thanks Raising Marshmallows. I'm glad you liked it.
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