“Marigold,” by Vivian Gragg: March 2025 2nd Place

"You are not born with insecurity; it is made by society."

If only society knew what it had built.

My first insecurity was born on the third day of kindergarten when Peggy Stone asked, “Why is your mark different from mine?” Her innocent curiosity cut deep, a reminder that I was not like them.

By eight, I had learned to disappear—sleeves long, fingers curled. The mark of my culture—a marigold—hidden from the snowflakes. They were effortless and identical. I... was not.

Now, at ten, I stand before the mirror, my mother’s concealer in one hand, trembling as I paint over my mark. The shade is wrong—too light for my warm brown skin—but I blend until the marigold fades into something dull. Something empty.

"Isabella! Time to go!" My mother’s voice jolts me. The bottle slips, nearly staining my carefully chosen shirt. A final stroke, and it’s gone.

For the first time, my skin looks like theirs. But why does it feel like I’ve erased more than a mark?

The concealer holds through the morning. I move unnoticed, blending in. At lunch, I keep my hands hidden, picking at my sandwich. Across from me, a girl flicks her wrist, her snowflake catching the light. My stomach churns.

After lunch, I rush to the bathroom. My breath catches.

The concealer has streaked. The marigold peeks through.

A girl steps beside me. She sees—really sees—then smirks and walks away.

It shouldn’t matter. But it does.

I pull out my phone. "Mom, can you pick me up?"

"What’s wrong, mija?"

Tears blur my vision. "I tried to cover it. Someone saw. They laughed."

A pause. “Oh, sweetheart… you don’t have to hide.”

Her voice is steady, warm. It doesn’t erase the shame, but it lingers.

Late to fourth period, I take the only empty seat—beside a girl with a marigold.

She doesn’t hide it. Doesn’t shrink.

Her hands move as she talks, mark gleaming in the light. She catches me staring, then smiles—small, knowing.

For the first time, I don’t look away. I pull my sleeve up.

Maybe, just maybe, my mark belongs too.