May 21, 2014 Teaching and Learning
It was like this:
There was a maiden who lived long ago in a land far from any we know. She was beautiful, with raven-black tresses, surrounding a perfectly formed face with flashing eyes filled with fire and mystery, with a hint of sadness buried in their depths, ruby-red lips, exquisite, shell-like ears, and an elegant neck. Beautiful she was, but it was her sweet, kind nature that brought her goodwill and gentle treatment by all the world.
Her name was Mina.
MIna’s family kept one fact secret: She had become deaf with the first seven years of her life. They had perfected the art of communicating with her by signs and signals, and teaching her to read lips. Since she had already known how to speak and how she should sound before she had gone deaf, she had a strange, child-like, lilting tone to her utterance.
Now,eighteen years old and stone-deaf, she led a silent life, surrounded by the love of her sister and mother and father, who protected her and never told the world about her plight.
For in that town, to be deaf was to bring misfortune. All the deaf people had been banished into the mountains, where they met their death sooner than later.
Long ago, the townspeople had decided that all physical disabilities were to be nipped in the bud, and those with major ones to be banished to inhospitable terrains, while those with minor ones were sterilized and not allowed to bear children.
All the people in town marvelled at her beauty, and spoke of her mysterious air of quiet sorrow. Because
The boy liked the girl and paid court to her.
He wooed her with songs and poems, and wrote her long, impassioned letters.
May 21, 2014 Original Short Stories
Welcome to my 100-word story contribution to Rochelle Wisoff-Fields’ Friday Fictioneers! This is an online community of writers who post 100-word stories based on a photo prompt provided on Rochelle’s blog. This week’s photo is courtesy of Erin Leary
PHOTO PROMPT Copyright – Erin Leary
Defenseless
©May 21st, 2014
By Vijaya Sundaram
It was a fence. I didn’t like it.
We had moved to the country. I didn’t worry about school and the monsters anymore.
I had a huge field of my own, a puppy, and fresh air.
But here was also a fence. I started moaning and butting my head against it.
The fog lifted. I continued butting.
Some sheep wandered over to watch.
Awakening in a white room, I saw a white-coated man.
“Is the fence gone?” I asked my mother, who held my hand.
She nodded. Her eyes were wet. I wondered why.
I closed mine. I felt happy.
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P.S. Question for my Friday Fictioneers colleagues: How do I get the InLinkz icon to show up below my story, like some of you have done? Do I need to subscribe to InLinkz?
I put the url here, in any case:
http://new.inlinkz.com/luwpview.php?id=401321
Tags: #Friday Fictioneers, #Original Short Story, autistic child, Fences