a scarred wall

“But, they are ugly,” Julia fumed, slamming her foot down for emphasis.  Her tiny hands curled at her hips and her lower lip seemed to protrude much further than should have been possible for someone so small.

“Oh, honey, when you are older perhaps you will change your mind.”

Julia’s glare was the only response her mother received.

“It’s how we tracked my growth, too.  And my mother’s before me.  It’s a tradition that has been passed down for many generations.  Think of what that means.  Think of what you are now a part of.”

Julia was not swayed.  She loved her purple walls exactly as they were: purple, unblemished, and perfect.  The graphite etchings from her mom’s pencil, height and date, stood out hideously against the rest of the brilliant hue.

“They are like scars.  Horrible.  Ugly.  Scars.”

Julia’s mom sighed and smiled, “Yes, darling, a history in scars.  Those often lead to the best stories.  Trust me.”

The little girl looked from her mom to the blemish on her wall and frowned.  She wanted to trust her mom, but she couldn’t get passed the defilement of her beautiful painted walls.  She shook her head, her pig-tails bouncing back and forth, and pouted further.

Seeing her daughter distress over something so trivial brought a smile to Julia’s mom’s face.  Julia would grow, and in time, she would understand the importance of those marks.  In time she would learn that the world is perfect, and there is plenty of beauty to be found in mistakes, blemishes, and scars.

“Come along, little miss frowny, and let’s see if we can find some ice cream to put a smile back on your face.  What do you say?”

Julia looked up at her mom hopefully, without having forgotten the injustice of what had just occurred in her room.  The frown did disappear, though, and her eyes lit up with equal parts mischief and giddiness.  A small smile appeared at the corner of her lips and she couldn’t keep from bobbing her head up and down.  Ice cream would definitely turn the situation around.

……………………………………………………………………………………………………….

This bit of silliness brought to you in response to one of this week’s prompt words from the Inspiration Monday Writing Challenge:

The Rules

There are none. Read the prompts, get inspired, write something. No word count minimum or maximum. You don’t have to include the exact prompt in your piece, and you can interpret the prompt(s) any way you like.

OR

No really; I need rules!

Okay; write 200-500 words on the prompt of your choice. You may either use the prompt as the title of your piece or work it into the body of your piece. You must complete it before 6 pm CST on the Monday following this post.

The Prompts:

A HISTORY IN SCARS
SAY NO MORE
INDIVISIBLE
BETWEEN THE TEETH
A CRASH AGAIN