The Color of a Baby's Cries.

Winning writers cramp entry 1/11/23

Mauve sparkles speckled my vision, translating John Jr.'s wails easily into a cry for a fresh diaper. It was amazing how my quirk of synesthesia had somehow become a magical translation of each of J.J.'s fussy sounds into a clear request. Sure it took time to figure out what each cue meant but now it was a simple as if he just made a request. The mauve deepened towards the purple and I rushed to J.J.. He urgently needed changing. I got there and smiled down at him his cries stopped before I reached for his diaper.

J.J. knew mommy would make it better without a stumble or daddy's frustrated confusion over what he needed. It wasn't that the cries were all that different sounding to me it was just the colors and sensations that came with them that were unique. Something within me just heard the subtle tonalities and that was enough. I changed J.J. efficiently and picked him up. What a sweet baby boy I had. I sniffed him, the diaper cream felt like the sound of waves breaking on the ocean. It always brought me such a peaceful feeling.

I had felt like an especially lucky person before his birth but the joy of being his mother left me feeling truly blessed.

356 words


Prompt ▶︎

NEW PROMPT:

Write about someone who has synesthesia. Use PARENTING as one of your genres.

From WebMD: Synesthesia is when you hear music, but you see shapes. Or you hear a word or a name and instantly see a color. Synesthesia is a fancy name for when you experience one of your senses through another. For example, you might hear the name "Alex" and see green.

NEW PROMPT DUE in 17 hours 38 minutes 19 seconds
(11:59am on Wednesday, January 11)

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