Lucy stared at the board. Letting her mind drift back to childhood. Chin resting on the table. Watching her grandfather play. Try too hard and it went fuzzy. Like a picture with the autofocus off. But if she just let her brain float sometimes she could recapture that moment of joy. When it all made sense. When it was fun. Before. Before she was a novelty. Before she was girl genius. Intellectual heir to Hawking. Right down to the chair. But today it remained fuzzy. The timer ticked. Counting. Days. Weeks. Months. Years. She stared at the board. Floating.
Cover Photo Credit: Jeff Arnold
Word Count: 99
Tina Stewart Brakebill 
Nice take, the trauma of being marked out as special and different to others, when all you want to do is be a kid like them.
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Thanks.
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Being different is never easy. Nicely done.
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Thanks!
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Something very poignant about this story. I’m glad she can still find a way to float.
Susan A Eames at
Travel, Fiction and Photos
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Thank you so much your kind words. I appreciate them.
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it’s one of those days we don’t want to grow up. you captured the feelings very well.
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Thanks.
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Lovely writing, Tina. It seems she is mourning the loss of her more innocent self, something I think most of us have done at some point or another. Her brilliance and the labelling of her as the girl genius have blurred her carefree memories.
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Thanks. I love your interpretation.
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The atmosphere was perfect. Her out of focus experience can lead to many interpretations. Mine took a sad turn: brilliant or not, her present is not the happiest, and it shadows the past pleasures, almost as if they were not fully real.
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Love your take on it. Thanks.
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Beautifully done, Tina. To wish for a simpler time before one was overly “special”…
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Thanks. And yes. Exactly.
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The word ‘driven’ came to mind. But it’s open to conjecture who was doing the driving, herself or others. Enjoyed this piece.
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Thanks. Interesting take on it. I like it.
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She was a genius, heir apparent. Something happened now she is not her usual self. Nicely done.
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Thanks!
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The curse of being special… Love it… hope she find a joy in the world of problems in the end.
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Me too. 😕 (and thanks)
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Very poignant, concentrated story. Well done, I enjoyed it
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Thank you so much for your kind words.
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