Photo credit: Goroyboy
“Aren’t they pretty, Eva?”
She kept the name the nuns gave her. She had little in common with them, but they made occasional allies in her fight to take the children away from the depravity of the streets.
“Of course they are, Malika. Where did you get them?”
“The old man said he was closing his cart for the day and they wouldn’t sell.” The six-year-old waif nodded vigorously.
Eva trusted few men, but she had been watching the vendor for months with an eye that sought evil. So far, she had seen nothing from him to threaten her children.
“I wanted to give you something as pretty as you.”
Eva smiled weakly and was brought closer to tears than she wanted to be. A child of the streets herself, although now an adult, she bore a multitude of invisible scars and some physical. Suffering from rape at age three, she could never bear babies of her own. Yet her shelter was full of the laughter of all the children she would ever need.
I wrote this for FFfAW Challenge 163 hosted by Priceless Joy. The idea is to use the image above to inspire the creation of a piece of flash fiction between 100 and 175 words long. My word count is 174.
This is part three in a small series that starts with The Downfall of Eva and continues with Whatever Happened to Eva. I’m trying to give her a happy ending, but as you can see, even healing leaves behind some scars.
For more stories based on the prompt, visit InLinkz.com.
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Eva sounds like a wonderful person and the children of the streets are blessed to have her on their side. Great story, James!
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If you read the two prior stories I wrote about Eva, you’ll see she has a very dark past and has not always been “wonderful.” However, redemption works many miracles.
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It’s much too hard for me to try and keep up with continuation stories. Thanks for telling me though.
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They’re all pretty short. 😉
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I know James but I have a hard time remembering them which makes it difficult for me to enjoy them.
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Beautiful. I like it when someone overcomes the evil in the world and replaces that darkness with light.
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I originally wasn’t going to take Eva in that direction after the original story, but two sequels later, here she is. Thanks.
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Everyone has scars in their past. The important thing is that Eva is trying so hard to erase them.
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Not sure you can really erase them so much as learn to live with them.
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I like the positivity you crafted in this tale.
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Yeah. I couldn’t just leave her in depravity and despair. This way, not only can she be redeemed herself, but she can do the same for the kids who are growing up the way she did.
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I’m glad Eva is turning her life around. Many victims of child abuse suffer from severe mental trauma. One such incident in India has recently shaken the whole nation.
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A lot of these kids grow up and are so damaged, they never lead very productive lives, but every once in a while, there’s a few who rise above. Thanks.
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A little kindness goes a long way to the neglected. Hit allot of emotions James
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Thanks.
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