This is a diminutive tome, and it’s somewhat momentous to me because It required no spelling or grammar changes. That’s neat. Seven more days of Flash August Fiction. I’m lengthening my strides and thinking I’ll go in head first. If you have missed a few stories, go on back and check a couple out. They’re short.

There are a thousand things to be thankful for on Gladsome Hill. It’s a place where people take stock of the good things. When a person visits Gladsome Hill, they tend to focus on their blessings, their better memories, and the lessons that they have been granted in their lives.

Frank takes his canvases up there to paint. He paints what he sees. The lovely little town where he grew up. His memories as a University student. The love of his life, Rebecca, and their four children.

There’s more, though, because from the hill, one can see the small town of Gladsome, appearing through the mist of morning. Frank paints the small town as he sees it, but he adds to the painting, the likeness of his old dog, Beacon, overseeing the town from Frank’s vantage point.

Greta takes her notebooks up the hill. When she’s on Gladsome Hill, she does her most positive work. She has a tendency to let the world get her down, and it starts to show in her writing. When she feels her expressions are becoming a touch morose, she goes up to Gladsome Hill, to get a more balanced perspective.

Today she wrote a lovely story, about her Middle School teacher, Mrs. Miller. Mrs. Miller was the first adult to recognize Greta’s love for writing. She was very encouraging, and she was a huge inspiration to Greta.

Toby is a young athlete. He has great hopes, and his abilities are definitely on par with his goals. He comes from a family with sad, violent parents and jealous siblings. It can be very difficult for him to remain motivated.

He comes to Gladsome Hill in order to be away from the mental illness of his living situation, and to focus. Today, he is doing all of his stretches and deep breathing. Then he’ll do visualization drills. He’ll go straight to his competition from the hill, this way there will be no interference from the non-wellness of the house he lives in.

Gladsome Hill has this effect on people. It’s a place that seems protected from the ills of the world. It appears to be what the people have determined.

The End364 Words

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