By Rémi Savard
A rubber ducky bobs lazily on the water’s surface, its garish, painted smile pregnant with plastic sadness.
Raj cleans the pool, silent. Each dead leaf extricated from its depths is another page of a life they once contemplated, now defunct. Annie sits nearby, her sobs matching the carefree dance of the floating toy. The test results, still fresh in their minds, were unequivocal; the verdict, unforgiving. She could never be a mother, nor Raj a father. They wouldn’t know the miracle of creating new life, never hold their dear baby. Their dream, like leaves, had drowned.
Unwavering, the rubber ducky smiles.
I love the bookending with the ducky, and the juxtaposition of it’s pregnant smile with the couple’s devastation of never being able to get pregnant. Sad indeed. Really well done in 101 words, Rémi.
Such depth of emotion you manage to convey. Superb storytelling.
Gorgeous and poignant
Well done.
Not a single superfluous syllable. One snag for me though was Annie’s sobs “matching” the dance of the toy. Didn’t feel that word fit there….but all in all, this certainly tugs at the heart.
Absolutely heartbreaking and gorgeous! Really well done, Remi! So much emotion and longing packed into the quiet chore of cleaning a pool. Loved it!
The life story of so many, beautifully written in so few words.