By Jim Gunshinan
He has a scar between his eyes and a memory of pain and panic. Blood trickles past his nose and over his lips. He can’t remember what started the rock fight. He had leaned over a bridge, looking down at the teens throwing rocks at cans. A painter, working on a house nearby, heard his screams, came to him, and walked him home. His mother gave him an orange-flavored Saint Joseph’s children’s aspirin, and let him lie in her bed. The house’s only air conditioner buzzed in the small window above his head. He was so glad he didn’t need stitches.
I love the way this shows physical and internal scars from a childhood trauma. Some memories are so vivid (like the A/C) and some so fuzzy. It feels very real!
Nicely captures how pain can shape memory. A good read.
Nicely done!
The first sentence brought me right in with its image, its “pain and panic,” and its rhythm. Great story in just a few sentences beginning with the innocent-sounding narrator (wrong place & time), building tension, then resolution. Well done!