A Little Red Ball

I wrote this for a contest.

A young child dressed in rags ran out onto the street, nobody noticed her, nobody cared about her. Such a young one with such a tragic fate, but with a smile wider than a fat man's waist. I watched her each day, in this lonely neighborhood. She was the only kid who would come out and play, she played all day with a glowing red ball in a grey setting.

Grey buildings with cracks and broken windows and shards of glass laying around. Bottles lay, empty bottles with broken promises. No other kids came out to play, no other kids would come out. No adults, it was only her and I. She doesn't know of me, but I know of her. Her favorite game is handball, but she has nobody to play with. That red ball of hers is the only color that glows.

Cars drive and drive, never stopping here. Dead trees with rotten flowers, tainted brown grass. The young child played in it, each blade of grass being crushed to a more dead-like state.

This window I watch from, the protection from the outside. A shield protecting me like a knight. My face is painted with a frown, while the little girl's face is a genuine smile.

She used to come out everyday, everyday with that red ball. That ball brought some color into this grey canvas, but it now lost it's glow. It waits each day, longing for the return of the girl in rags. I wait for the girl in rags, her smile of warmth is now just a chilly reminder.

I watch cars drive on by, I watch plants rot. I watch grey getting grayer, becoming a black nothingness. The little girl is no longer, a girl in rags is a girl in bed. In bed with men, whoring to earn money. I watch from my window, oh what she would do for money.

The little girl's genuine smile was no longer, it was just play. The red ball waits for the girl, but she ignores it every time she passes it. The red eventually went on her lips, then her face then her wrists.

A girl in rags used to live on this street, nobody cared for her. Nobody, but that red ball.

© 2014 DarkestStoryline

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Featured Review

Aimee Olivera

Dear DarkestHumor,

Thank you very much for entering this story in my competition "Topic Short Story or Poem", I am pleased to inform you that it has been awarded 3rd place! (:
This story is very well written, I enjoyed reading it. Despite the themes being dark, you managed to write a piece that was engaging and has a great sense of theme. I hope that you write more stories in the future, congratulations!

Yours Sincerely,
Aimee Olivera