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A sasp leaves my lips as the implication of her words hit me in the chest I s, take the flower from her, and stare at her in astonishment “Thank you,” I say, and I mean it

This woman said exactly what I needed to hear at the exact moment I needed to

Not everything is black and white

Shades of gray make up the world

Weeds are flowers, too

I turn to walk ahen she speaks once more “Trent wasn’t always hateful like this, you know”

Trent?

I never mentioned his name

I turn and look back over my shoulder

My heart begins to sink before it kicks into high gear as I remember her eyes A crisp blue I’ve seen before

That’s when it hits me

She’s Trent’s mom

Ronald’s wife

“He was the sweetest boy,” she continues “I loved the fact that he was too kind, too soft, but his father knew that wouldn’t do He oal to harden Trent It’s not Trent’s fault that he goes about things the way he does now”

And then, with a sad, small smile, she turns back to her plants

I leave the little garden in a daze, stepping out a back door and edging ust of wind hits me The puffy, white seeds fly fro across the air until they’re too far to track

When I look back down, all that’s left is a stem

Trent’s

Nothing in this world stays the same

26

Trent

Today is a shit day

I went for a run, but that didn’t help

Ever since I saw Henry and his son together, I’ve been off

Don’t get , I’ it hard for me to concentrate

Now, I’ around on my computer

Story of my life

Work Work Work

The only ti Payton a hard time