There is a chilly breeze that ruffles the streets, the rustling of leaves as they fall lightly onto the roads below. The smell of concrete fills the world, as a Grandma and Grandson play on a sidewalk.
One or two people pass by. The women winces at the sound of cars rushing along the highway.
The boy is playing with chalk. The colors get everywhere; on his shirt, on his pants, on his hands.
He scribbles senseless pictures, abstract in a way only a child his age could manage. A vague impression of a sun, an imprint of the sea, all tangling together into a mess.
But he's proud.
He grins from ear to ear as he presents it to his Grandma. She smiles, encouraging and complimenting his art.
Someday, years from now, this will be a vague memory. He will remember the flashes of color, the shape of a sun, the sea, the sparkles of joy caught in the wind.
The Women sits on the edge, watching her Grandson draw.
She smiles, if sadly, as she reflects on her childhood
But it quickly fades away, as once again she is back in the gray, gray world.
She was fighting with her daughter. Shouts and curses had suddenly fallen silent, the phone laying still in her pocket.
Her hand flickers to it, and she wonders if she should call her, apologize, beg for forgiveness-
But now was not the time for that.
Because any moment now, she would hear back from the doctor.
Her hands began to shake, a cold dread filled her, freezing her from the inside and out.
Then, there was a tug at her sleeve.
"Granny, look!"
The little sunbeam pointed at his newest sketch, "I drew us!"
The women held back her tears as she beheld the drawing. By no means was it good, but it was bright, it was happy, and it was colorful, standing as a beacon against the gray backdrop.
She reached out, and hugged her Grandson, "It's so good!" She said, "I love it so much, thank you!"
And in that moment, both before all the hardships to come, and after the skies had darkened, the women realized.
In between the bitterness of life, there was always love.
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