Value

Posted on by Reena Saxena

“What made you collect this junk? And why am I not allowed to dispose it off?” Nick sounded pretty exasperated.

“I cannot see broken hearts around the junkyard tomorrow.”

“Whaddya mean by that?”

“The villagers I teach have gifted me this stuff from time to time. They put together their meagre savings to get the things you call junk. It was their way of expressing gratitude, as I did not charge a fee for making them literate.”

Nick’s voice softened, but he refused to give up.

“For how long are we supposed to retain it?”

“As long as I live.”

(100 words)

 

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30 thoughts on “Value”

  8. You’ve written a subtly different take on the idea that it is the memories behind ‘junk’ that are important. You’ve refined the idea to show that the memories in this case are those that fix her in her community; she has shown a commitment to the villagers, and they have shown gratitude – and these are the tangible manifestation of that. And, as those bonds will always exist, so she wants to keep the tokens.
    Nicely thought out, and well expressed.

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