Writer's Workbook #14

#14 Once upon a time…

There was a boy, sad and sick from loss. He was alone in the world. No family, no friends, no benevolent monarch to take him in as their own. The boy only had himself, and he was barely much at that. His body was withering away as starvation and illness ate away at him. He was too weak to even attempt to steal food.

There was almost a mother. A mother who lost a child before they were born. Her face was stony and lifeless as she lived with the pain of her lost child. She had family and friends to comfort her, but no bouncing baby to cry and whine for her with every instant. On the rare occasions she went out her heart twisted and ached whenever she saw children with their parents.

The fairytale only comes to life when, on one of these such rare occasions, the would-be mother came across the almost-gone boy. She saw him, sick and close to death, lying in the streets. She approached the boy, asking if he had a family she could take him to. With what energy the boy had left, he croaked out a single “No.” New strength of heart in her, the mother picked the boy up in her arms and took him to her home. She fed him small amounts at first so his body would not reject the nutrients, and dialed a hospital to get him better care.

Once upon a time, there were two souls, wandering lost in the world without the love they needed. These souls found family and care in each other, mother and son, to be with each other in these simple roles.