Photo: Xinhua County, China (Wikipedia)
It was the busiest time.
His loneliest.
He sought good fortune in small things. Mostly because it was absent from the big ones. There was always some disaster to contend with: illness, sorrow, loss.
He was born unlucky. His mother pushed by the side of the road because he’d come so quickly. He was blamed for his rash emergence. For her illness. For her early death. Blamed in the not-so-subtle ways that used words like blades.
“You always were impatient,” his grandmother would say. “Show too-little respect.”
He knew his grandmother resented his emerging like a peasant in the dirt when she had clawed her way out of the rice-fields. He had no response.
“Be grateful that you have enough to eat,” she’d frown. “Unlucky boy.”
Xinhua offered work. He fled.
The letter said that his grandmother had died.
New Year approached. His good fortune was to spend it alone.
For What Pegman Saw: Xinhua, China
Na'ama Yehuda 
What a sad story! I hope that he gradually comes to appreciate something of his own worth as a person.
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Yes … too many children grow with a constant infusion of erosion. And … I think he’s beginning to appreciate his own worth … Or perhaps he had already, when he’d left the toxic environment he’d been in for something that allowed him a breath. Now, I hope he finds company, because he need not be alone – I am sure there are others whose families are absent or gone ….
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What a heartbreaking story! It’s so awful when people blame children for things that they had no control over, and yet are saddled with the consequences. With some horrible family members, it is better fortune to be alone than to have to be with them for the holidays. So I feel sad for him that he is lonely, but perhaps this loss is the best step forward for him to living a better life.
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Yes, Joy, and I agree. Totally.
Sometimes being alone is better in some ways than being in an abusive environment, and it may open the door for him to a better future without toxic people in it. And … yes, it is awful when children are blamed for things outside of their control. Adults should know better. Here’s to better lives!
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If all adults actually knew better, the world would be a much better place. ❤
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It would, wouldn’t it? Well, we can start with ourselves and try to help more adults know better so more kids grow up to be adults who know better … 🙂
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One step at a time….
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Yep!
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Indeed, while some people bewail their aloneness, others celebrate it. I can get with that, being of the latter 🙂
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I think people confuse being alone with being lonely, and for many of us, it is not the same thing at all. I very much enjoy the company of others and interactions with people, but I also need decent amounts of solitude. 🙂
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I have a definite preference for aloneness. And in a crowd, I can feel miserably lonely.
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I hear you. I think it depends on the crowd for me, though I’m very social in some ways, and very much enjoy being in the company of others. I don’t NEED the company of others all the time, though. Quite the opposite – I need regular doses of solitude. It’s about balance for me. But I know people come in all different ‘ratios’ of need for solitude versus company. It’s all fine, as long as one is aware of what they need and why, IMO. Forcing it in other direction is the problem, in my view.
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Hmm, I hear you too 🙂
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You’ve pinned down a sad truth here, that not all children are loved, not all people welcomed and nurtured by there own family. As you say, let’s hope he can now move on with his own life and find others who can see the value in him. Beautifully told, Na’ama
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Indeed that is a sad reality for all too many, and one that I find helpful to keep in awareness. No not assume. To just less harshly or less readily. And … to know that sometimes the path people chart takes the slow route because they have a lot more path to take to get to or built from scratch things many of us can take for granted.
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She people have very hard lives, it’s true. A very good point, Na’ama
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Thanks, Lynn … and thank you for the comments! 🙂
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My pleasure
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🙂
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I suppose luck is what you make of it. Hopefully he sees this new freedom as a new start and a chance to make his own good luck from now on. Great full character in 150 words.
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Thank you, Iain! I hope he does. He had enough gumption to up and move and that’s already a good sign …
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Hi Na’ama
I’ve been trying to find the comments for Golden End – which is a lovely story – but I can’t find them. What am I doing wrong, please?!
With best wishes
Penny
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Hi Penny, WOW, I don’t know! I can’t see them, either! I’ll be sending a query to WP right now. THANK YOU for letting me know!
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There was indeed some problem with the comments on this post — we’re still trying to find out what it was. UGH. But it’s turned on now … if you’d be so kind to leave a message so I can see if they go through?
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