Tears pooled in David’s eyes, his hand hot with pain. He ducked into the shadows behind the dugout so the other boys would not see.
The hard-hit baseball he caught gloveless left deep red lines across two fingers. The lines mirrored the pattern and color of baseball stitching.
He would not cry.
In minutes, the sear of pain faded. But the marks, shown off at school, tattooed his fingers for days.
Now he stood at practice with the loud boys. Now he slapped his fist into his glove and laughed loud at their jokes. Now he wasn’t the same boy.
I love this! Who hasn’t been there in their life at some point?
Very nice Little League story about fitting in and acceptance. Also, David probably held his tears because he remembered “there’s no crying in baseball.”
What a wonderful little story about growing up. Perfect.
So true. That was me.
Perfectly true story of growing up.
Excellent.,
OMG I love this. Well done.
A perfect story. I found it sad – poignant.
Sad but true. The enduring pains just to fit in!