Fake a Smile

The girl in the blue dress seems so alive, so carefree, so animated. She skips and sings and whistles. Her platinum blonde curls spiral down her back. Would you for a second say that she is unwanted? neglected? hated? The girl sits in the front row every Sunday afternoon praising the lord. “Thank you Jesus” she repeatedly whispers to herself. When her bruises expose, people come up with any possible excuse for them. “She must have been swinging on a tree” “She was probably tackling that stray dog down the street” “Maybe she did those to herself”. None prefers to look beyond a smile. Who wants to doubt happiness? Those who are smiling the hardest are fighting something bigger than themselves. The girl’s mother and father were sent away to jail on August 14. The girl is now homeless and relies on the shelter to feed her. She has no family. “Thank you Jesus” she continues to say to herself at every church service. “Thank you for giving me strength.”

Paradise

She stares off into the horizon. The sky is a blender of colors. No one is around to hear her sobs. "This is paradise," she thought.