Write on Wednesday - The Saddest Thing I Ever Heard

The Saddest Thing I Ever Heard....

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They sat around the table reminiscing about the good old days of living in the big old house on the farm, while the rain tapped a melody on the hot tin roof. Each took their turn bringing forth a memory; holidays by the beach and being nipped on sunburnt toes by crabs; travelling to Sydney with the windows down and the smell of fields and fields of rain drenched grain; mad games of hide and seek ending in finding the younger children asleep in the hay loft; school lunches of vegemite sandwiches and little blocks of homemade cheese. 


"Dad, remember that game you used to play with us before dinner? The 'Water Game'?" The now adult children all remembered this with great fondness and began recollecting tallies and amounts and bragging rights. 


"I loved that game. I do it with my children now. But we do it after dinner so the children don't spoil their dinner. We gather around the table and see how many glasses of water we can drink. My kids love it!" They all chirped in with more accounts of the famous family game.


The now old and frail father had tears streaming down his face. He looked at his children with pleading eyes, "The farm wasn't making any money, the drought had hit hard, there was simply not enough food.... We had to play that game, we couldn't let you go to bed with empty stomachs. We gave you lots of water to drink so you wouldn't go to bed hungry." His voice trailed off and soft sobs could be heard.


The room filled with silence. Even the rain stopped tapping.


"Dad, that is the saddest thing I have ever heard. But, I am so proud of you for never telling us. I thought I grew up as a king; I had fresh air aplenty, sun to brown my skin, a mother who made her own jam and a father who grew grain that fed our country. I have never been as proud of you as I am right now."


More tears, more hugs, more respect, more tea and more memories were shared that night. The children went home to their children better people for knowing what they had learnt about their past.






Thanks for the inspiration Mr Cool... This story is based on an urban myth, although it may very well be true... I was really struggling to come up with something to write about for this prompt. But, over the washing up we were discussing that even though things are tight at the moment, it is just a season and pretty soon things will get better. It was good to be reminded that there is always food on our table and there are always clothes in our cupboards. I don't think we will ever appreciate how hard things were and are for those who work the land or who cannot earn enough to sustain a family... 






I am linking in with InkPaperPen for Write on Wednesdays...
The Write On Wednesday Rules: Get creative with the writing exercises - there isn't a right or wrong. Please do try to visit the other members of Write On Wednesdays and leave a comment of support and constructive criticism. 
Write On Wednesdays Exercise 25 - I heard a song on the radio during the week and I thought the lyrics would make an interesting prompt for WoW. So, write the words "The saddest thing I ever heard" on your page, set your timer for 5 minutes and write the first words that come into your head based on the given prompt.