Anna’s Delight
Anna’s Delight
There once was a beautiful young woman named Anna. Everyone adored her for she was not only the most beautiful woman in town, but also the kindest. She could make the meanest and grumpiest man laugh with glee using just a friendly smile and a few sweet words. She was a marvel and a rarity among fools.
As the years went by, Anna received less and less appreciation for her looks. Time has a way of taking its toll, and for dear Anna this meant that her once soft golden ringlets had become locks of silver and gray, her smooth perfect complexion now had brown spots and wrinkles, and her hourglass figure had turned round and lumpy. Now instead of several heads turning when she entered a room, she was greeted with slight disgust and revulsion. When she smiled at people and said kind words, they responded with tight-lipped glares and disapproving grunts.
It didn’t take long for Anna to lose her kind smile and sweet words, and then not long after that the light in her eyes. She moved to the far end of the town so she could avoid the painful looks as much as possible. Sitting alone in her cottage one night, Anna cried and cried and cried. She had never felt so lonely in her life. The shame that had inevitably started growing inside of her reached its breaking point as she looked in the mirror and promptly smashed it with her bare hands. Crying out in pain, she couldn’t tell what hurt worst: her badly cut hands or her soul. She stumbled outside and lay in the pounding rain as it washed away her tears and soothed her aching hands. She didn’t know how long she stayed like that and she didn’t care. As far as she was concerned the rain could swallow her up and spit her out; it made no difference at this point. All she wanted was her youthful looks back, just for one day.
Suddenly the rain stopped. Anna rose up wearily and went inside to make herself something to eat. “Since I didn’t drown in that storm, I might as well live another day,” she thought to herself.
God Bless You
Fr eugene Lobo SJ
