Member-only story
What did Humanity Teach You?
300 Words Flash Fiction
Joy sat in the courtroom fighting the tears that rendered her weak after a jury of 12, sentenced her only son to 20 years for murder, wondering, “What did I do wrong? What could I have done differently? How did my baby turn into a monster?” A mother’s guilt, pain, and regret squeezed her heart and she trembled, her thoughts going back to the six weeks of trial. She sat in the courtroom every day, praying, hoping, wondering if they were really talking about her child, refusing to give in to tears.
These words helped to pull the tears down, and they came with hurricane-strength winds.
“And to my mother, who taught me only the good things in life, I am sorry.”
The Judge asked, “if she taught you only the good things in life, how did you get here?”
“She really didn’t teach me cruelty, hatred or any of the things that I am accused of,” Joseph said, in an attempt to ease his mother’s pain and shame.
“Then who taught you?” The Judge demanded in knotted brows.
Joseph turned to face his crying mother and said, “Humanity.”
Many of us don’t have to worry about teaching our children the bad things in life, but we can help to guide them along the path away from it. Who guided you away from the bad things? Tag and thank them today.
Thank you for reading this piece. I hope you enjoyed it and humanity taught you the good things.
