Fiction & Nonfiction

Rosa

A young couple and their five-year-old daughter, Rosa, crossed the border from Mexico to Los Angeles with difficulty. It’s a rememberable weekend.

They rented a small house. The wife worked hard as a cleaner in rich houses. She was prepared to work hard, so the family could have three square meals a day. She wanted her child to go to school, then to college and later, to get a job standing in equal dignity with others.

The dad was a wastrel. He would indulge in drinking with wife’s money.

One day, mother and daughter walked to the small super market at the corner. The kid skipped alongside her mother.

“Darling, keep this ten dollar note with you. Give it to me when I ask for it,” said mom.
“Ok, mummy,” chirped Rosa, pocketing the money.

A homeless man came across.
“Lady, give some money,” he said. Mom walked on.

Rosa took out the ten dollar note and gave it to him. When the mother asked for the dollars to buy bread, Rosa told her what she did. Mother shed silent tears.

Rosa remembered that weekend incident and realised the need to be careful with money.


Word Count: 196
Prompt: “It is a rememberable weekend”
Written for Monthly Micro-Stories Contest’s Forum hosted by Rupali Goswami.