“Finished! It’s our family!” My four-year-old granddaughter hands me her colored-pencil drawing: multiple circular heads with round eyes and dots for pupils, stick-like arms, legs, and torsos topped with clumps of hair plus huge semi-circle smiles. Except one: no mouth. “Who’s this?” I query. She shrugs, smoothing out a blank paper, preparing her next creation. “I dunno.” I point to the figure lacking a mouth. It’s eerie imagining who in our family she’s depicting. “C’mon, who is this?” She leans over, examining her own work. “I really want to know,” I cajole. She whispers in my ear, “So do I.”
Liz deBeer is a teacher/writer with Project Write Now and volunteer reader at Flash Fiction Magazine. She's inspired by iguanas. www.ldebeerwriter.com Bluesky and Instagram: @lizdebeerwriter LinkedIn: Liz D. Substack: @lizardstale