Innocent Child

I watch her as she’s sitting by the playful swings at the park. She observes closely a child, maybe 5-6 years old, a little boy. Her facial expression gives away her mixed feelings. Her frown slowly becomes a smile and then a frown again, as the lines on her face reveals her smiling dimples and then her pre-mature wrinkles. This takes place several times while she becomes irrationally disturbed by this child’s presence. She pretends to not notice the little boy, as he plays blissfully nearby. She ignores his joy; and yet she can’t help but smile at the sight of a mere innocent being. Her eyes light up as this tiny being approaches her shyly. The little boy had picked a flower, and so, he gives it to her. He smiles and hurries away. She holds the fragile flower in her hands as though it’s her heart. She observes the flower and lets out a sigh of despair which betrays her most intimate thoughts. She yearns for the days of her childhood, the days where her innocence was not lost in the abyss of the world today… I observe her from where I am sitting. Keep strong stranger- your innocence will never return but that beautiful crooked smile of yours can give that feeling back to you in an instant.