Snapshot Reveal - And 5K Views!

OMG, I just hit 5K views on my blog!!! :D Thank you, everyone - I appreciate the love.


I have a Snapshot Reveal for you today. The prompt post went up yesterday, so check it out and don't forget to link up your story over there. Do it by 8pm next Tuesday to be entered into our Monthly Ad Contest.

--------------

Eyes of the Beholder

Nan decorated the hovel with years worth of needlepoint designs. The floors were wood so worn there were holes in some places. The kitchen held only a sink and a fridge, a wobbly table was both prep space and eating space that looked over a grass field. Nan had one bed against the wall, as close to the wood burning stove as I could put it safely. I slept on the floor, as close to that same stove as I could get, looking out the one window in the kitchen every night, staring at the moonrise.

The stitched fabric of her art helped insulate the thin walls of the small home and added comfort and warmth. She said stitching helped the autonomic dysfunction of her digestive system. I just nodded, sitting on the threadbare rug at the foot of her rocking chair, tending to the stove.

I wasn't sure Nan was all there. Though her eyes were sharp, they were always focused on her needle and thread, the only brightness in a body gone lax and gray. But she was all I had, and I was all she had.

Every day I had to leave her, I hated it. I had tried to skip school, but the state caught up with me quickly. It was go to school, or Nan went to jail. Nan told me I had to go anyway, that I had to learn to get a good job. She scoffed every time I brought home a lottery ticket, telling me that jackpot was out of reach, but I could work my way up in the world if I tried hard enough.

I thought it was stupid. School was stupid. The cops were stupid. But I did what I had to to keep her safe. And one day, one day I would win the lottery - or she would, since I wasn't 18 yet - and we would get a real house, and I could pay someone to watch her whenever I had to leave, and we would be happy.

"I am happy," she said, her bright eyes sparkling from her pale face. "I've got my home, my thread, and a grandson who loves me too much."

"Never too much, Nan." Her smile would get bigger and she would nod.

"See, child? We are already rich." I smiled back, lottery ticket crinkling in my pocket.