Fall 2010 Writing Contest Winner
Congratulations First Prize Winner: From Saanichton, BC, Gwen Thompson!
Theme: Centennial
One small, smooth hand rests in another, the latter lined with age.
The small hand belongs to a four-year-old boy. This year, the boy’s great-grandfather will receive a letter from the Queen.
They sit quietly with their heads together, solving the problems of the world. Or possibly, why worms come up when it rains. On a nearby park bench, a woman smiles, watching her son and her grandfather.
She is aware of how precious this is – how little time her grandfather may have remaining. Yet his white teeth still shine when he laughs, tousling the child’s hair. The child’s great-grandfather has been his hero since the day he was born, and opened blue eyes to meet brown.
The sun is setting on the horizon. Below her the park runs from grass to sand. Seagulls swoop and dive, calling to each other. She feels as though the world around her is frozen in time.
She wants to capture this instant: when the clouds are lined with gold and orange, when the light breaks through the last of the clouds in rays so bright her eyes tear up if she looks up for too long. The air is cold and crisp, and tastes of autumn.
The light sound of her son’s laughter reaches her from where he sits, cross-legged, heedless of grass that is still wet from the afternoon rain. She catches the gentle look in her grandfather’s eyes as he watches the brown hair on her son’s head, bent to the task of examining dirt.
There are times when she imagines that she can feel the centennial that spans between them.
In this moment, she knows the years have been nothing but the blink of an eye.
>>>>>>>>>>>>
Second Prize: Heidi Sullivan
Honourable Mention: Christa de Beaupré and Joan Mahaffy
