PHOTO PROMPT © Karuna
Abbie fisted her mother’s tangled hair in one hand, daddy’s shirtsleeve in the other.
“Why did the ‘nado come, Mommy?” she whispered.
“We don’t know, Sweetie. Sometimes they just do. But we’ll be okay.”
Daddy hugged Mommy and Abbie very close, squeezing so that Abbie could hardly breathe. “We’re going to fix your bears and your dolly,” Daddy whispered. “We’re going to clean them up and they’ll be just fine.”
Tears dripped down Mommy’s cheeks. Abbie wiped them away, letting go of Daddy’s shirt to hug Mommy’s neck.
“Don’t be scared, Mommy. It’s okay.”
Just Writing! 
A wonderfully sad tale. So true for far too many this year, it seems. Seen far too many ‘nados’ in my life. I could fill volumes and then some with stories tragic to heroic. But, a story like you’ve written… it stands the test of time. True literature. Loved it. ❤
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You humble me. Thank you for such encouraging words.
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I always look forward to reading your stories. 🙂 They’re always so good!
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Being in “tornado alley,” I can relate. Nice story!
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I grew up in southern Minnesota. No stranger to tornados there.
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Good take on the prompt. The human spirit is an amazingly resilient force.
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Dear Linda,
Very sweet take on the prompt. ‘Tis the season.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Thanks. Rochelle.
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Yes, sometimes acts of nature take everything except our spirit to go on.
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Abbie’s arm round her neck will remind her mother what’s important.
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such comforting words coming from a child. well done.
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It is hard to imaging powerful tornados living in England, but your story gave me insight to the destructive nature of them.
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In the prairies, where there are no mountains or tracts of trees in the way, tornadoes are terrifying forces of nature. Powerful and dangerous.
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I loved it! You wrote it perfectly. :o) Glad they survived.
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Thank you!
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This was so very touching. Lovely to read!
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Sad and evocative tale but at least they survived and there is hope
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Excellent take on the prompt. Loved the last line. So comforting.
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Thanks, Indira.
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Nicely told. Loved the line where you used the word ‘nados’. Gave my my internal reading voice a ‘Merican’ twang!
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Wait—but–Americans don’t have accents–just the ones in the South 🙂
Actually, I grew up in the midwest–Minnesota–and coming to Pennsylvania was a wake up . There is a vast difference in the way they speak out here, and in the years since, I’ve learned that every part of my country has a little different “twang” from everywhere else 🙂
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What a lovely child! Great story.
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Tornadoes must be terrifying, especially for small children, but that’s one beautiful caring little girl in your story, trying to cheer up her mother like that.
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Sometimes children surprise you with the resilience they have and this little girl has plenty and probably has comforted her mother more than she realizes. Wonderful story.
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Thanks. I appreciate you!
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Thank you! 🙂
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