A group of boys were hanging out in the shelter of the bridge. Twelve to fourteen years old, skinny backsides slipping out of baggy jeans and cargo pants. They weren’t up to much – drinking, smoking, tossing rubbish and rocks in the lake. Old enough to get into trouble.
Maybe that’s where her Gabino would be in ten years time, hanging out with his cousins, boys from the neighbourhood. Boys with connections.
Marcia shivered, lit the second cigarette of her rest break. She was lucky. Her job was better paid than many, meant she had a little money spare each month as long a no extra expenses came up. If mother could only stay well enough to care for Gabino while Marcia worked, their little family might stand a chance.
She dropped her cigarette stub on the foreshore, pressed the final light from the ash as the phone in her pocket vibrated.
***
Written for What Pegman Saw, the prompt that uses Google Earth as its prompt. See here to join in.
Word Shamble 
A slice of life that can be found all over the world…
Lovely write, Lynn
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Thank you very much, Dale. Sadly, all too common. Been made both sad and grateful since seeing how the virus is affecting poor communities especially in over populated parts of the world. Wealth certainly can equal health at these times
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That is for sure. Was talking to a friend last night and we were saying if (when) this really hits India…
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Great interpretation of what’s happening in that image. It feels very real and poignant. I can feel her fear that she can’t control what happens to her child, but also her conviction to work as hard as she can to give him the best shot at a better life, despite her terribly limited circumstances.
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Thank you, joy. Exactly what I was aiming for. You can work as hard as possible for your kids, but a certain amount is it is your control. Thank you for reading
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Ominous last line. Beautifully written, Lynn. Lots of great photos in Brasila, it seems. This is a stunner.
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Thanks very much Josh
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A sad story, but with hope for the future
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Thanks Crispina. Let’s hope so
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🙂
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What a scene you’ve painted! I can see the boys, hear their laughter, smell the cigarette smoke and feel the hope and doubt in Marcia’s heart. Kudos!
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Thanks so much Lish. Glad all that can through and thank you for reading
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*Gulp* that phonecall, what may it portend? I like the way you’ve got us to invest in her, to share her hopes and expectations while understanding that she, like many, is living life on a knife edge of ifs and buts.
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Thank you Chris. Glad I was able to do that in such a small piece. Thanks so much for reading
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Wow, very realistic as these are worries that so many people feel, especially now.
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Thank you. Yes, very true. So many people’s livelihoods are being threatened at the moment. Frightening times in many ways. Thank you for reading
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That can only be bad news. People like her tend to get all the bad luck that’s going around.
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I’ve met our heard of a few people like this, who have trouble upon trouble heaped upon them. And yet others who seem to live a blessed life. No justice sometimes. Thanks for reading, Jane
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We probably shouldn’t expect justice.
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Precious little of that in the world
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No, there isn’t much anywhere.
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How well you tell the story, Lynn. The boys under the bridge – “Old enough to get into trouble.” Without ever saying so, you convey Marcia’s fear that her Gabino will have undesirable friends, will ‘get into trouble’. And that’s if things go well for her! Great story-telling, and a wonderful evocation of a way of life.
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Thank you so much, Penny. I guess Marcia just worries for her child like we all do. But her life is more precarious than many. Thank you for reading
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