The Day of Differences
How a city learned to see beyond its own reflections
Today is the International Day of Human Solidarity - one when a jigsaw becomes completely fitted.
When walls part, and partitions close.
When differences meet, magic happens.
🌟
The city of Parting was - parted. There were many parts, true to its name.
Every district spoke a different language. And within each language, a separate dialect.
Rules veered like cars as they steered from street to street. Neighbours saw each other - only with their eyes. Glances fleeted, lasting shorter than seconds.
🐾
Kevin frowned at George's odd dances. Harry squirmed at Sheila's crooked smile - one fixed on her face due to facial paralysis from an accident.
They laughed at Juno - he wrote, but climbing Everest was easier than reading.
But the little child smiled like an angel.
Then, the Mayor threw them a ball into a curve that was already curvy.
The Day of Differences. A town holiday.
To mark the day and make it as COMFORTABLE for the edgy as he could, he PAIRED the townsfolk.
Two worlds collided in a day.
Leila, the quiet librarian, frowned at George's heady dance moves. Tom, the straightlaced mathematician, baulked at Ben's cheeky eyebrow raising.
The differences sounded louder than cymbals.
Hearts listened, though minds ignored.
✨
The diversity blanketed Parting - now Imparting - and beyond.
Leila held Dance Appreciation Days at the town library - with George's help. Ben spun records at the radio station with the help of a metronome that Tom assembled - after a mouthful of quirky complaints.
And containers were no longer separate - the pairings melted hard plastic partitions.
Into nothingness.
🌟
Original story by Michelle Liew Tsui-Lin. AI tags are coincidental.
For Mikeydred's December challenge
About the Creator
Michelle Liew Tsui-Lin
Hi, i am an English Language teacher cum freelance writer with a taste for pets, prose and poetry. When I'm not writing my heart out, I'm playing with my three dogs, Zorra, Cloudy and Snowball.
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