Cwtch

Cwtch (like butch but with a slightly longer "oo" sound)

My chosen word is Welsh and is a word which I never used at home, as despite being Welsh, my parents never spoke the Welsh language. I would imagine that ancestors of mine did but I only learnt very basic Welsh at school as was required by the curriculum and I wish I knew more. It is something that I have always regretted. I know a smattering but nothing that would enable me to hold a conversation and it is a notoriously difficult language to learn. However, despite my lack of proficiency in it, I have a connectedness to it that I feel in my blood with its harsh sounds and its sing-song rhythm. Indeed, when I hear it especially in the national anthem of Wales, I feel it like a cwtch, which means a cuddle or embrace, with a sense of offering warmth and safety.

I have decided to do a microfiction this time for the challenge as I am writing a series at the moment and miss writing snippets and scenes, like a snapshot of a life.

Cwtch - a memory

I love my mam. She makes me feel super safe. When she pulls me to her, her cariad, and I'm buried in her body, with the smell of her face cream and the light fruitiness of her, I'm snug, warm with the person I know will always want me there, close; with her. I like it when she's been baking and her fingers leave trails of powdered silver in my hair, from the flour left eagerly clinging to her hands' strong capableness. She kneads and provides and comforts and cwtches and her arms are railings to keep me from falling.

100 words exactly

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"Cariad" is also Welsh and means love or darling; an endearment.

You can find out about Penny's challenge here: