Wednesday Blog Hop - The Kindness in Youth

The Wednesday Blog Hop is a great hop that happens each week and it has two criteria for taking part. One is a picture prompt and the other is five random words that have to be included in a short story of no more than 500 words.
Once you have your story go to one of the hosts, Carrie Sorensen, Nicole Pyles, Tena Carr and Leanne Sype, and link up before reading the other contributions.

The picture this week is:

and the five words are:   aerial, far, rain, sale, profit.


This week was quite tricky getting the words to fit, plus I think I'm coming down with the dreaded bug that has been doing the rounds, so I'm not sure how much sense this weeks offering is going to be.

Anyway, here goes ...

The Kindness in Youth

Sam leant against the window with his nose pressed up against the glass. Even from the outside he was sure he could smell the sweet goodness from everything on display. He held his shiny coin in his hand, it was aching from where he'd been clutching it so tightly. His mother had given him her last bit of cash in her purse and told him to get himself something nice. He'd run the whole way in excitement but had been worried about dropping the money on the way. He opened his hand stiffly and looked again at the coin. There was so much variety for sale he couldn't make his mind up.

The last time he'd seen such a lovely selection had been at the school fare, his eyes had been so wide it made his mother laugh. He'd been disappointed though, a huge storm hit and there was so much rain it had to be abandoned. He'd gone home empty handed, saddened at what he'd missed.

He'd not thought much of it until today. His mother didn't bake much and she'd always insisted they all ate healthily to grow up strong. She was a kind woman but very strict with the sweets and cake.

He'd been so surprised when she sent him to the bakery he'd almost thought he was dreaming. All he'd done is repair her tv aerial for her so she could watch her favourite programme during the day. He'd done it more to get her out of his hair than to help her out. Without it she was hovering around the whole time, trying to help with his school projects. It was easier for him to fix it so he could get his time back for himself. He never realised there would be any extra profit in it.

And now he was deciding what to get with his unexpected gift. He was poised on the verge of opening the door when he noticed an elderly man slumped against the side of the shop next door. His clothes were ragged and his shoes worn through, a hat pulled dow over his greasy hair. Sam looked at the cakes again, longingly, and then back to the man. Sighin deeply he took his hand off the door handle and handed the money to the man. 'Here you go, sir,' he said, 'get yourself something to eat.' The old man looked up into Sam's eyes, filled with gratitude. He took the money and shuffled down the street to the coffee shop.

Sam resumed his position at the window and gazed in. He didn't notice the jangle of the bell as the door opener, and the owner stood next to him in his bright blue apron.

'That was a lovely thing you just did, son' he said, holding out a brown paper bag. 'Why don't you enjoy this little treat for your kindness.' Sam felt the smile spread across his face.

Word count: 495

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