Sharda Mishra is the Readers’ Choice in this week’s Indies Unlimited Flash Fiction Challenge. The winning entry is decided by the popular vote and rewarded with a special feature here today. (In case of a tie, the writer who submitted an entry first is the winner per our rules.) Without further ado, here’s the winning story:
Trees
by Sharda Mishra
It’s not like looking at snow always feels good. It reminds me of how brutal snow can be. While driving towards the mountain top, we saw numerous trees lined up; all of them had been stripped of their leaves—standing there just in bare bones.
“Mom, look at these miserable trees! They look so barren and sad,” my five-year-old daughter said, pouting. “I can’t even climb on these trees. Mom, are they sick?”
“That’s the way it is sweetheart! A tree’s life also goes through ups and downs, just like us. Sometimes they are sad and sometimes happy.”
“Will the leaves ever come back, Mom?”
“Yes dear, once the snow melts, the trees get all their leaves back, looking lush green again,” I said with a smile.
My daughter felt a little relieved. How trivial things can make children sad. Unlike us, their sensories are more active. They can see sadness even in trees.
Four months of winter passed. Summer almost knocked at the door. There was no snow anywhere anymore.
“Mom, can we drive up to that mountain top? I want to see if those trees are happy now; if they got their leaves back.”
We drove up, and I had never seen my girl this exhilarated when she saw the lush green trees lined up again.
