Therapy Bits

Thanks Missy for hosting this weekly challenge!

Missy’s MAD Challenge # 059 – M.A.D. Works

This week our challenge phrase is:

• “It was a terrible day,” said the old man in a raspy voice.

Here’s my take!

“It was a terrible day,” said the old man in a raspy voice.

He sat by the hearth, the glow of the fire painting his lined face in gold and shadow. The children leaned closer, their eyes wide with curiosity. They had heard his tales before, of storms at sea and battles long forgotten, but never had he spoken with such heaviness.

“What happened?” the youngest asked, her voice barely a whisper.

The old man’s gaze drifted to the window, where the night pressed in thick and black. “The day the river rose,” he murmured. “I was just a boy, not much older than you. The rains had been falling for weeks, and the ground could hold no more. The air smelled of iron and sorrow. When the water came, it was not a trickle—it was a beast.”

The children huddled together, listening as he spoke of trees torn from their roots, of houses carried away as though they were no heavier than paper, of voices calling out in the dark only to be swallowed by the roar of the flood.

“But you survived,” said the eldest, trying to sound brave.

The old man nodded slowly. “A neighbor pulled me onto the roof of a barn as the water surged past. From there, I saw the whole valley drown. I watched my home vanish beneath the waves. I never saw my parents again.”

Silence fell in the small room, broken only by the crackle of the fire. The old man’s hands trembled as he reached for the mug beside him, though whether from age or memory, none could tell.

“Why do you tell us this?” the eldest asked at last.

The old man turned back to them, his eyes glistening in the firelight. “Because the river remembers,” he said. “And when the rains return, you must be ready. Terrible days come again, children. But forewarned… you may live to see the sun rise after them.”

The fire popped, sending a spark leaping into the air. The children shivered, unsure whether it was the cold or the weight of his words that made their hearts beat faster.