Morris Never Had Time For Tears
20250416
Prompt from DailyPrompt.com
They called me soulless because I never had time for tears. Too busy working and planning and looking after my siblings to stop and feel anything.
I was fourteen when dad died in the mines. Dropped out of school the next day and started hunting for odd jobs.
Pete wanted to do the same but I wouldn’t let him. He’s smart, always has been. I told him to work hard at school, try and get into university. That he was our best bet of the family escaping poverty. He listened and bust his ass just as hard as me, though in very different ways.
Jill also thought about dropping out. Said school wouldn’t do much for a girl anyway. And with her only being a year younger than me she was responsible for everyone too. I argued she ought to stay in a few more years, long enough to get certificates. Meant she could go for nursing or teaching, or who knew what else. So she kept at school but picked some work up part-time. It helped.
Billie had always been the baby. But she saw everyone else stepping up and declared herself mamma’s little helper. Was nearabout running the house within two years.
Which’s good, because mum got tuberculosis. She passed when I was seventeen and three months. Gran left her retirement home to be our legal guardian, then signed it all over to me when I finally hit eighteen. She was relieved to go back.
So there I was. Working full time. Looking after three younger siblings. Fighting for them, for us, every step of the way. Folks started calling me “Moody Morris”. I accepted it. Thought that’s who I was. That I’d sold my happiness for our hope.
And now here I am. Walking Jill down the aisle. She’s glowing. Jacob is too. He’s a good man. Kind. Thoughtful. They’re so happy together. Reminds me of mum and dad. I hope theirs is just as sweet but lasts longer.
Pete’s beaming. Bouncing in place like he’s a kid again. I’m so glad he never lost that, even after all those years of studying and working. He confessed to me that, now the family’s settled and we’re alright, he’s thinking of shifting his accounting business to focus on helping charities. Give other families a chance. But he wanted to pay for Jill’s wedding first.
Billie’s practically glowing. Drinking it all in. I’m sure this is going to end up in one of her books. She hasn’t cracked the bestsellers yet, but she’s making almost as much writing as she is running the bookshop. Even if that never changes, we’re all so proud.
It all hits me in that moment, gazing at them as the music swells. Pride. Joy. But what hits hardest is relief. Realising we made it.
Decades slide off my shoulders. My mouth curves unthinking. Wrinkles twisting in new ways, forming channels for tears. Like pain melting and dripping away.
Mum… Dad… I hope you’re watching.
Prompt was “Create a scene about the scenario that causes your main character to cry for the first time during adulthood. Remember their tears don't have to be from sadness.”