In this “coming of age” story from Alice Walker, a ten-year-old farm girl finds the decomposed body of a decapitated man while collecting flowers in a field. Surprisingly, this doesn’t seem to faze her; she gazes around the spot with interest, then stoops to pick a wild rose. It is not until she notices something else on the ground that we are told her summer was over. As a testament to Walker’s talent, the story contains no dialogue and minimal narrator interpretation of the girl’s emotions; changes in mood and atmosphere are almost solely engendered through actions and setting.
Original Text / PDF / Audio (562 words)