Love - Brandi M

Nobody loves children like she does. The boys, the girls, the bullies, the shy ones, the fat ones, the skinny ones, she loved them all. It was unfair really, to love anything that much. And yet she couldn’t help herself.

And they needed her. Their tears made it so clear to her that she was the only one who understood them. Oh she knew their parents and family tried. But they could never really understand. Not like her. But who was the priority here? The children. Obviously. And so she watched out for them.

Nobody minded the old woman on the park bench with her knitting. A lonely woman enjoying the life of the children in the park. She was harmless and put everyone at ease. She would bring brownies and give them to the children, asking for the parent’s permission of course. She had to win them over as well, otherwise she was a creepy old lady in the park.

Eventually the children would come to her on their own. Tearfully. With reports of how unfair their parents were. How mean the other kids were. This was the time. This was when they were ready. She could make it all go away. The tears, the struggles. She could preserve their innocence. She would soothe their souls. She would calm their fears.

She put her hand on their heads and they would look up at her, with grateful smiles for the cookie. And that is the last time they would be seen. It happens so quickly, it doesn’t even frighten them. In a moment they are frozen in that time, in that place. They would never have to cry again.

Thank you to David Swan for the photo and Bliss Morgan for the project.