Paige turned around to claim her prize and there it was, gone. She had been distracted for only a few seconds and someone had stolen it right out from under her nose.
Her focus had been disrupted by the fish monger yelling at his wife, berating her in public, again.
"How could you be so stupid?" he yelled.
The poor woman cowered beneath her husband's withering gaze. Sadness seeped from her pores and filled every wrinkle on her face. His words, like a spade, had dug the furrows deeper and deeper over time and her eyes showed nothing more than broken resignation.
Paige quickly turned her attention away from this display as it always made her very uncomfortable and as she did so her eyes sought out what was rightfully hers. It was gone.
She had been browsing the butcher's stall, trying to decide between the short ribs and the sirloin tip, when for some reason she had looked toward Kim's Fruit Stand and there it was. A glorious, golden, globe sitting atop a pyramid of lesser globes. She had abandoned the butcher and walked, purposefully, towards it. She could taste its juicy essence, already, and she could imagine its sweet ambrosia dripping down her face. That was when she had been distracted by the fish monger and now it was gone.
She walked dejectedly towards the crime scene and looked around for the culprit. There was a young boy of perhaps six or seven standing at the till. Her precious peach was on the counter and he was, earnestly, counting his change to pay for it.
He walked away, forbidden fruit in hand, and an eager smile upon his face. Paige watched him as he strode, steadfastly, and was surprised to see him stop at the fish monger's stall.
"Grammie," he said, in a delighted voice, "look what I found for you! Your favourite."
As the fish wife looked up to greet her grandson, a transformation occurred before Paige's eyes. It was amazing. Her whole face lit up as she accepted the prized peach from his proud little hands.
"I bought it myself, Grammie! With my own money."
Paige walked away with misty eyes and a smile lingering upon her lips. Her craving for sweetness had been completely satisfied.
Submitted to The Red Dress Club
This week's prompt was to write about a treasure that was stolen from you or your character, and what you did about it.
9 comments:
this was a beautifully written emotive piece. you conveyed so much in a short time! Love it!
oh I loved this. I am in awe of how quickly I was transported to this market and the scene you painted. I really loved the ending too, the transformation of the sad woman into someone loved. Beautiful.
Thank you Jenna. I am glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for stopping by.
Sara, the market that I write about is an actual place that I seem to write about a lot. I guess because I really love it there.
How incredibly sweet indeed! Your description of the delicious peach had my mouth watering, but the end of the story was so gratifying that I completely forgot my craving as well. Lovely.
I especially loved your description of the fish monger's wife. I could picture her perfectly.
That is perfectly lovely...I do mean perfectly!
This such a sweet story. I love love love this! I could see it as a children's story.
Heart-warming, tear duct wetting and so well done. X
Love the ending, her craving for sweetness satisfied. I felt like I was in the scene watching it unfold.
Beautiful story! Sometimes, children know just what to do to make things all better.
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