Mimi Torchia Boothby

Thank you all for all of your wonderful entries in the contest. We got a large range of entries, from a Haiku to a short story. Some were funny, some were sweet and some were macabre I really enjoyed them. I’d like to start with my honorable mention, because she really did create a mood. That was AynE, who wrote the short story. The winner, on the other hand goes by the unlikely moniker, Barkley’s Mommy. I am guessing Barkley is a dog, but I am not sure. Barkley’s mommy is an educator in New Mexico with 3 dogs.. Here’s her story:

Six year old Mabel loved this time of the morning, the not-light, not-dark moments just before dawn. Her mother had worked the graveyard shift at the mill and was snoring quietly on the couch. Her little brother was snuggled in his crib, surrounded by tattered stuffed animals with no eyes. She peeked through the curtains, eager to see what the day would bring. As she sighed with joy, she wrapped her threadbare sweater around her thin body, and quietly opened the front door. The crisp morning air tasted like grass and it was so silent and still that she imagined she could hear the dew drops falling from the lush, green boxwood bushes. She smiled the smile of an innocent child as a friendly crow cawed “good morning”. “Today will be a good day,” she whispered to the world.

thanks to everyone else who wrote and commented!