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| PHOTO PROMPT © Erin Leary |
Distant rumbles leave her perturbed. Is it thunder or guns? One can never tell these
days. Chilly gusts of wind swoop in as she draws her shawl closer around her
shoulders.
The lake’s shoreline lies under a cover of lotus flowers,
water lilies and water chestnuts. In summer it transforms into a floating vegetable
garden. In happier times the houseboats would be full of tourists, now only the
brave venture here.
She watches the predatory grey herons wade into the water,
for them the paradise still lives on. Hers died the day her son stepped on the
land mine.
***
Written for Friday Fictioneers Word Count : 100I confess the picture had me stumped. The obvious route was to have a dead body or two and submerged under the lilies. That and bad time management in setting time aside to write makes this probably the last entry. Yes the story is darker but a tiny reflection of our troubled world. One day peace will return and it will be paradise regained.
As usual, you deliver the bombshell with aplomb. A touching piece of flash fiction.
ReplyDeleteThank you Umashankar for those words. I am glad you liked it.
DeleteDear Subroto,
ReplyDeleteFor someone who was stumped, you came out on top. Your story is a companion to mine I think. It's another legacy left in Viet Nam and Korea. Unexploded landmines. Well written piece
Shalom,
Rochelle
Thank you Rochelle. The statistics are frightening. There are an estimated 110 million anti-personnel mines in the ground and another 250 million stockpiled in at least 108 countries around the world. http://www.care.org/emergencies/facts-about-landmines
DeleteI love how you've sprinkled images of menace and threat throughout this otherwise gentle setting. Very good. The ending brings it all together most poignantly.
ReplyDeleteThank you Margaret, I am glad you liked it.
DeleteWhat a moving, beautifully written story, Subroto! It made me think of Kashmir. Powerful images in your narration.
ReplyDeleteThank you Vijaya, it was indeed supposed to be Kashmir. Thank you for your kind words.
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