Sitting Silently, by Maggie Fox
I sit silently. The wind caresses my hair as I breathe in its musty scent. A fly soars lazily in and out of my line of vision. Absently I grasp a piece of wheat and twirl it between my fingers. I lay down, and my eyes close. I lay still until I feel the sun's warmth on my cheeks.
He should be coming any minute now. I lift up my head just in time to see him sauntering over. He wears an empty expression, with his hands in his pockets. I return his stare as if I were looking at nothing more than the sun rising behind him. For a while he looks down at me in my overalls and dirty t-shirt, pondering the scene before him.
I break the silence. "Why did you do it?" He looks away from me now, seeking truth in the sun's rays.
"I wish I hadn't."
"A lot of people wish that," I snap back. He turns back to look at me, a single tear glistening on his tan face.
"I'd do anything to take it back, honest." Then it all comes out of him. The pointing, the rumors, the unbearable shameful silence. It all bursts out of him into one high-pitched sob. I watch him quietly, waiting for the horrifying sound to stop. Finally he speaks. "You'll still be my friend, won't you Suzie?" I look into his searching, desperate eyes, now rimmed with red.
"Yes, Bill. I'll still be your friend." He collapses on the ground next to me. I take his hand and he holds tightly. We sit silently.
*This prompt was inspired by the photo above taken by Lily Fitzsimmons*
:)
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