💜Snippets💜 - A Lost Winner

 A Lost Winner

One, two, three. That's the farthest they would go. Sitting on a flat rock close to the river, the young man picked up yet another small stone from the pile and flung it across the ever-serene body of water. This time, it only went until two. He quietly observed the little ripples start out from the middle of the splash and then start to fade as the circles widened. He sighed as the sun started setting, just above the horizon. The trees were still lush and smelled like fresh earth. The chirping of the birds was only beginning to dim. The vast sky was getting redder by the minute. But his mind was elsewhere. With his father. Remembering the pebble-flinging competitions they had, each trying to outdo the other. He remembered when his eyes would appreciatingly widen each time his father won, and every single time, the father would tell the little boy that he would one day be strong just like him. And the little boy would sulk until his father paraded him around on his shoulders, telling the child that he would win the next day. Then, they would both laugh and go for supper. But now, there was no laughter and no competition. The young man was the winner.