Summary: Sometimes something quite small can bring sorrow and joy at the same time.<\/p>\n
Rating: G, Word Count: 650<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
A Stain<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n In all probability it would have gone unnoticed. A stain so small that even a casual glance would not have attached much significance to it even had it been noticed. But it was, and immediately feelings were aroused, and memories unleashed.<\/span><\/p>\n Ben Cartwright felt his throat tighten involuntarily as he saw the small mark on the page of the book he was reading. It would have meant nothing to anyone else. Perhaps they would have wondered what it was, why it was there, who had caused it to be there, and then they would have turned the page over and forgotten.<\/span><\/p>\n But he could not forget. Now as he looked hard at the page he found the words merging into a thousand blurs, and he had to close his eyes.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cPa?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n He had thought himself alone. Now he swallowed hard, dredged a smile from somewhere and turned to look at the boy standing in front of him. Such an earnest little boy. He reached out a hand and took the boy by the arm.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWhat\u2019s wrong, son? There\u2019s nothing worrying you, is there?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n The child shook his head and quickly slipped his small body into the space between his father\u2019s arm and body. He leaned against the big man, and smiled contentedly,<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cPa, I thought you were unhappy about something. I thought you looked sad.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cOh, did you?\u201d Ben forced his smile to grow wider and he pulled the boy closer, so that the warmth of the child\u2019s body could be felt through the thin night shirt he was wearing,<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cSometimes you do look sad, Pa.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cOh, but then everyone does, at times.\u201d Ben said, with a touch of lightness to his voice. A lightness that he didn\u2019t feel at heart, and the boy noticed and gave his father a long, quizzical look,<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cYes, I suppose so. Sometimes I\u2019m sad, you know,\u201d the child replied and sighed heavily as though to emphasize the point.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI guess you are. Want to tell me about it?\u201d Ben said quietly, holding the boy gently in his arms now.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWell, sometimes I wish I had a mom of my very own, you know.\u201d the dark brows knitted into a dark line upon the smooth brow, \u201cWhen I see the other kids at school with their parents I do wish I had a mom of my very own, Pa. Sometimes they ask me why I haven\u2019t got a mom, and I have to tell them that she went away. But, Pa, I wish she had not gone away, I wish she had stayed with us, or had taken me with her.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Ben shivered. Oh God, what would he have done had his son died with his dear Elizabeth. And why now? Why had Adam to say all this now when he had found that stain on the page of his book? A small stain. A teardrop that had fallen upon the page of the book they had been reading only hours before she died. Sometimes, life could be cruel.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cSometimes though,\u201d the boy continued, unaware of his father\u2019s misery, \u201cI\u2019m glad I didn\u2019t go with momma, because then I would not have been with you, would I?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cSometimes, Adam, I think the very same thing. What would I do without my boy by my side, huh?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Adam smiled, and turned quickly into his fathers embrace and entwined his arms around the man\u2019s neck and held him close.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m glad you\u2019re my Pa. No one else has got a Pa like you\u2026 you\u2019re the best Pa in all the world.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Ben smiled and held the boy close. It went without saying that he thought his son the best boy in the world. He closed the book and put it aside. Sometimes, in life, one is made aware of just how much joy can be found, and without even looking too hard for it.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n From the Brandsters:\u00a0 This story was originally written and posted on BonanzaTrailRiders.\u00a0 Brand is happy to offer this story a new home.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Summary: Sometimes something quite small can bring sorrow and joy at the same time.
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