Readers' Favorite International Gold Award-winning short story for adult readers
I know there are thousands
of wonderful writers waiting for their chance to be heard, who are a million
times better than I am. One part of me would not dare compete with their
skills and talent, but the other part does not want this story to disappear.
For years, it has flowed through my veins and tortured my mind. Therefore, here
I am, an author who still struggles with English and sweats over every
sentence. An author who feels helpless and frightened without her worn-out
computer, missing most of the letters on its old keyboard. An author who made
her editor rewire his brain to better understand her thinking.
A few years ago I left my comfort zone, and
with two fingers on my daughter’s old computer I wrote my first story, “TheLittle Girl Praying on the Hill.” I may not know how to write perfectly in English, but my
soul does. I believe stories like this could help growing generations better
understand the purpose of life and the nature of the human spirit, and help
them value what they have. It may change their views about the underprivileged
and the forgotten.
“The Little Girl Praying on the Hill” is a
bittersweet story based on the emotional childhood memories of a young girl
trying to understand God’s will. The beauty of nature around her animates her
and paints the perfect combination of colors, but life in her rundown village,
sinking in mud after each rainfall, is a strong contrast. She exists between
two worlds: her beautiful imagination and the harsh realities of life. The
picture of majestic nature does not fit with the picture that God created for
the people he loves. Why did he not paint the village in the same vibrant
colors as he did the nature around her and complete his art? Why did he place
her on the wrong side of the world? Her emotions rise to unreachable heights
and sink to devastating lows.
The heights are the happy moments of her life,
filled with imaginary friends and sparkles of happiness, but the depths contain
haunting memories, full of sadness and hate, crushed dreams and
disappointments. Her daily existence forces the little girl to find escape in
an imaginary world where she feels free and happy. Hiding in her imaginary
kingdom, the girl clings to nature, which helps her to cope with the misery in
which she was born. Growing up in a poor village of the post–World War II era
in a country where half the men drink themselves to death by the age of forty,
the confused child questions God. Why did he divide this world so
unevenly? Why did he drop her in the wrong place? The gripping beauty of
his creation mesmerizes her young mind, but only for a moment before her
memories of specific events make her doubt God’s intentions. Standing on top of
the hill, surrounded by magnificent nature, the little girl tries to recognize
his wisdom. She’s determined to understand the purpose for her existence.
"The Little Girl Praying on the Hill" has
many emotional ties to my early childhood. It is based on memories of my life
in the Soviet Union in the early 1960’s. I write about what I know
best—life.
Available on AMAZON
Available on AMAZON
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