Ficlets

Five year old Kaleb started sadly at the small bowl of rice that had just been handed to him for lunch. He carried the bowl back to the rickety table where the rest of his classmates were sitting.

With a sigh he picked up his fork and started eating, making sure not to drop a single grain, knowing that he would not recieve more food until dinner. When he had finished, he looked at one of the older students, Jacob, who was angrily stabbing at some bugs crawling along the surface of the table.

“Why are you so angry Jacob?” asked Kaleb.

“Because I’m hungry. There’s never enough food!”

Kaleb looked confused, “But we always get this much. There is no more.”

“That’s where you’re wrong,” Jacob said, “There is more. In America, where the rich people are, they have whole buildings full of food! They can eat whenever they want, and as much as they want, too! But we, we only get a small bowl of rice…”

With the innocence that only a child could have, Kaleb asked, “But why don’t they share?”