“Is daffodil a boy or a girl?”, my child asks.
“There is no boy or girl in daffodils”.
A plant grows out of a single seed with all the knowledge it needs. This human seed came with a list of questions instead- and trusting eyes to absorb any answer as the absolute truth.
“Am I a boy or a girl?”, my child asks.
“You are a …”, I pause…to laugh at life’s irony…any disappointment leftover from the day I saw the tiny blip between the sonogram legs dissipates…
“You’re an angel”, I finish…it’s the absolute truth.
—end —
It’s the absolute truth …children are angels until they hit their teens and then all bets are off 🙂
To think that we assign gender even before a child’s birth and expect gender typical behaviour when a child is born with no concept of gender…
—-
This 98 word story was written for a 100 word Photo prompt based writing challenge hosted by Rochelle Wisoff-Fields. Rules and details can be found at this site:
https://rochellewisofffields.wordpress.com/2016/02/10/12-february-2016/
The Photo prompt is copyrighted to “The Reclining Gentleman”. PHOTO PROMPT © The Reclining Gentleman
To read other amazing takes on the prompt by fellow “Friday Fictioneers” , click the froggy below:
Roots & Water 
So sweet!
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Thank you Dale.
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How true. Children are angels
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For a while they are angels 🙂 Thanks for reading Donna.
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Really thought provoking.
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The questions that children ask without any preconcieved notions of the world can be very profound. Thanks for reading.
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yes, they are angels for a time.
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Yes 🙂 Thanks for reading.
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What a beautiful exchange between parent and child. Sensitively and thought-provokingly written story, Ansumani!
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Thank you Vijaya.
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My pleasure!
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Sweet story!
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Thank you Ali.
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These are lovely thoughts, and a great answer of the mother. If only she could prevent the environment from gender-typing her child.
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If only we could…I would have “changed” the gender of one of my children 😉
Thanks for reading.
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A lovely tale. Well done.
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Thanks Sandra.
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Beautiful !!!!!
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Thanks Mersha.
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Deep thought. We are still learning so much about how to regard people, gender etc.
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It’s a unique time in history where gender identity is being questioned. Thanks for reading.
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It’s amazing how quickly they can migrate from Angels to the other end of the spectrum, but after another 10 to 15 years, most revert back.
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Have you reverted back Russell ? 😉 I can’t wait for my former angels to get back to being angelic.
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I love this story. I had this experience with my son when he was a toddler. He asked me the same thing, if he was a boy or girl! It was such an eye-opening moment. I thought to myself, what purity! Well done.
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Thanks Amy. The purity is amazing and scary at the same time …because everything we do seems to pollute that purity.
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Children certainly do have an endless pool of questions, many of which make us look closely at our own views and prejudices. It’s good to be challenged in that way, though not always easy when you are put on the spot, knowing that everything you say will be taken as absolute truth, at least until such time as they move beyond the ‘angel’ years.
A lovely, thought-provoking read
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Thank you Siobhan. Raising children is a huge responsibility and their questions sometimes help us to correct our own prejudices.
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They do ask questions that challenge our ideologies.
Bless them.
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Thank you.
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I love how you weave it around a child’s curiosity… Sometimes we are stumped for answers…
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Thank you Bjorn. I have found it hard to answer questions about God or the origin of the universe…but they never stop asking when they are little.
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My son always seemed to know he was a boy (perhaps because he had a big sister?) but it didn’t stop him wearing a dress to the shops with his Dad. A great story – a wonderful answer to the child’s question.
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Thank you. Your son must have assumed from the ample clues around him 🙂
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well said and well done.
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Thank you.
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Dear Ansumani,
I love the mother’s sensitive answer (I suppose it could be the father. 😉 ) Sometimes they manage to become angels again once they’re out of their teens. Well done.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Thanks Rochelle. I tried to keep the character genderless so it could be either a father or mother. And I can’t wait for the next angel phase 🙂
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Gender identity is such a complex issue. We’re discovering so much about the physical and psyhological forces at play in the formation of this important part of who we are and how we see ourselves. I like how your dialogue developed. The parent’s answer is beautiful.
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I always say that the reason children are born as babies, is that so we will fall in love with them. If they were to be born as teenagers we would eat them.
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Beautiful story… lots to ponder with this one 🙂
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A darling story, Ansumani. Small children are angels. A questioning child is a blessing. We should never stifle curiosity. Well done. 🙂 — Suzanne
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